There is no denying that such behaviour is offensive. But what about Hunter? Would he argue that he's reclaiming the word from racists?

"The idea of reclaiming it is bullshit because we never owned that word. It's not like eight centuries ago we used to go around calling each other 'nigger', then slavery came and we gotta get it back. It's just that where I grew up we used that word all the time. It's the way I speak."

But would he use it in the presence of white people? "If I'm with white folks and I want the evening to go smoothly I won't call nobody nigger, but I won't not say the word. I get annoyed with people who want to embrace the word but not let it evolve with the rest of the English language.

"Look at phrases such as 'Go girl' or 'Keeping it real' - they come from the black community but are used by everyone now. My question is what if I don't feel bad about the word? Should I train myself to feel bad just so you'll feel better about me saying it?"

What he clearly resents is the idea that he should make himself more acceptable to a politically correct white audience. "The greatest trick of racism is to convince us to sectionalise our own human pain. Divide and conquer - the idea that the black community has got to be like white folks to be just as good as white folks as if white folks are the template, the Manchester United of people."

Hunter's background suggests he's willing to define his own values An upbringing in America's Deep South as the youngest of nine children didn't hint at a future spent in the stand-up clubs of the UK.

"I had a strict church education - in the way that working-class blacks are expected to become middle-class blacks." His oldest brother, Oliver is a top district attorney and two of his sisters joined the clergy. There is more than the touch of the preacher to Hunter's deep, thoughtful delivery, but he insists that he doesn't want to tell his audiences what to think.

Earlier this year he returned to Georgia and performed in his home town for the first time in front of family members. Were his sisters offended? "You could say they have their ministries and I have mine. Oliver had real trouble with the word 'nigger', but he is 52 and grew up in a different time when you had to drink from one water fountain, so segregation is burned into his brain."

Hunter is adamant that he doesn't set out to offend; he just likes to say things as he sees them. This might go some way towards explaining why this tall, good-looking, quietly charismatic man is single at the moment. He has been in and out of relationships and was with the same woman for 12 years - nine in America then three in London when they first came to the UK together, before they split up for good.

"I guess coming to England was my dream but not hers," he says, with a hint of melancholy.

In London, he formed a close friendship with fellow stand-up John Gordillo, and they now share a flat. Both are obsessed by comedy - when Hunter is not gigging incessantly, he is bouncing ideas off Gordillo, who directed his Edinburgh shows.

"I just talk about what is bugging me, John makes notes, then we work out where the laughs are and try to focus." When not writing he spends his evenings going out to comedy clubs. The stand-up circuit is a tight-knit group, often socialising together backstage, staying up late and rising late.

"One of the things about stand-up is the work is quite isolated," he admits. "What you forget is while you talk in a rough way with your friends, everybody else might not be on that level. My exgirlfriend would take me out to dinner, I'd say something and silence the table.

"I'm like an uncivilised man in a civilised world - like Tarzan. Other people have a lot more presentation to them. I cut to the chase. I fear there may be some disconnection going on which helps the work but I don't know if it is good for my life."

This refusal to compromise has meant it has taken Hunter longer to break into the mainstream. After turning down endless roles as a "cool-talking pimp", he agreed to appear on the C4 panel game, 8 Out Of 10 Cats. He looked uncomfortable, slouched in his seat, but the camera loves him and he made his mark.

"TV has found a wonderful way of showcasing comics on these bullshit panel shows, but a lot of them are banal, empty and stupid. I end up sitting for long stretches without saying anything because I don't work that side of the street. But after doing it I noticed a lot more young people in my audience, so maybe those 30-second soundbites work."

Has he finally come round to the idea that he has to play the game to get on? "I don't know of a human being on this earth who interacts with other human beings who doesn't have to compromise. But I'm not married and I've no mortgage so I won't be compromised that way. I see lots of comics who are just paying the bills. I don't have a big car or a big house but I am in charge of my goals."