Amy Schumer

Amy Schumer’s blend of wholesome, girl-next-door good looks and edgy comedy has earned her a rapid rise in the comedy world. Her comedy embraces a friendly, conversational tone that makes it all the more shocking—and funny—when she suddenly veers into a taboo area or attacks a member of her audience before skillfully segueing back into more relaxed, easygoing material. Schumer smartly exploits the contrast between her mock-ditsy persona and the exquisitely worded nastiness of her material on her debut album, Cutting—No. 9 on The A.V. Club’s list of the best comedy albums of 2011—which would ring false if not so finely crafted. It’s an impressive album for any comic, much less such a relatively green one.

Updated 04/12/2012