Fatimah Ali: Comedy, with a Cos

PHILADELPHIA is a tough nut, and if people here don't like you, they let you know it in a loud and boisterous voice.

The city sometimes has the reputation for being violent, rude and dirty - a place where the level of illiteracy is outranked only by our overcrowded jails, filled mostly with the residue of our almost 50 percent high school dropout rate.

But, despite the city's harsh rep, we still have plenty of homegrown gems to boast about. Bill Cosby, for one, a household name and who was just honored with the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on Monday night.

Cosby not only pokes fun at society with his comedy, but routinely seeks solutions to our many ills.

He just can't understand why so many of today's comedians insist on earning their laughs by degrading women, employing foul language and using the n-word. Even at age 72, he continues to break down barriers, most recently by trying to influence the thinking of young people.

I always tell my children that there's a time to listen and a time to respond, and that they can't do both at once. For them, learning should mean listen first and then speak, a tool that Cosby mastered at a young age. Many comedians have learned much from Cosby.

Philly's bad rap doesn't faze Cedric the Entertainer (real name Cedric Antonio Kyles). He's bringing his own brand of comedy to the Academy of Music on Friday - and says a city with problems can provide some very ripe material.

HE AND HIS TEAM of writers build a basic comedy routine and then follow the news and customize it for each audience.

With his deft comedic timing, his deadpan smirks and smooth St. Louis swagger, he cracks me up just looking at him, and you can feel his jokes coming. As soon as the corner of his lip starts twitching, I know he'll make me laugh.

So it was hard for me to imagine that someone whose career has skyrocketed from standup comedy to the big screen had ever fallen flat while performing.

"You don't get to become a legend without having a bad night. Sometimes, it's just challenging to catch a good wave," he explained in a phone interview last week.

He added: "These days, comedians can't 'go to the gym' " first and perform at smaller clubs to hone their routines. Every comedian must learn to "let go of the handlebars and ride."

His advice? "They should always expect that everything that comes out of their mouths may not be genius."

But, to him, Bill Cosby is an icon, a legend and a master. Cedric says Cosby's winning the Twain award is "well-deserved."

The Cos doesn't just talk the talk, he walks it as well, and for the past few years has toured on the lecture circuit, where he's unleashed several severe tongue-lashings, particularly aimed at irresponsible African-American parents who neglect their children's futures.

He has raised the bar for family values and taken his message to the world of hip-hop, where he believes his reach can help mold and teach youngsters. His latest project, which he produced but doesn't appear on, is called "Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency."

It's an empowering combination of rap, poetry and jazz that sounds an alarm for young people to take positive action with their futures. If every entertainer followed in Cosby's footsteps, there's a good chance we'd have far fewer problems with the younger generation.

Over recent years, national magazines have named Philadelphia the fattest city, as well as the ugliest. Even our sports fans can get unruly, like last year's crazy celebrants who turned the city upside down when the Phillies won the World Series.

The negative recognition is grossly unfair and has tarnished what is actually a beautiful place with lots of potential to join the ranks of world-class cities like New York, Paris or Tokyo.

If we do go all the way again this year over the New York Yankees, wouldn't it be wonderful if the rowdies stayed home and let revelers celebrate in style?

And, who knows, Philadelphia might just be able to become a world-class city, for once and for all.

Fatimah Ali is a journalist, media consultant and associate member of the Daily News editorial board.