Def Comedy Jam VHS

Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam on VHS, Vol. 10, sealed in original shrink wrap with the Blockbuster price sticker still on the case. This is HBO home video from the 1990s, the era when the Jam was the most important platform in American stand-up comedy, and this copy has never been opened.

Def Comedy Jam ran on HBO from 1992 through 1997 and then returned for a revival in 2006. Vol. 10 is from the heart of the original run. Steve Harvey was already a known name from "The Steve Harvey Show" and his time with The Kings of Comedy circuit, but on the Jam he was raw in a way network television never allowed. Ricky Harris was a South Central Los Angeles fixture who brought a street-level delivery that clubs and small rooms had been rewarding for years before HBO gave him the camera. The Jam as a whole was the room where Martin Lawrence, Bernie Mac, Chris Tucker, D.L. Hughley, and Cedric the Entertainer all sharpened material that would carry them through the next decade. HBO gave Black comedians a national stage without a network censor in the way, and the VHS releases let that energy move outside cities with cable subscriptions. By 1996, these tapes were in rotation at every dorm room and barbershop with a VCR.

This copy is sealed, which is increasingly rare at this point in the tape's life. The Blockbuster sticker on the case dates the retail history without ambiguity. Sealed 1990s comedy VHS in this condition does not come through often, especially from a volume with this kind of headliner pairing. Display it sealed or open it and watch it, both choices make sense depending on what you want out of it. Before you decide, check the shrink seam along the long edge of the case for any splits or lifting that could affect the seal grade.

OWNER VERIFY: Confirm Vol. 10 designation and Steve Harvey / Ricky Harris as headliners match the tape label on the cassette itself, not just the box art.