I'm pretty sure his use in The Hangover (and willingness, whether he understood it or not, to let himself be made fun of) led to the comeback.

I definitely think he benefitted from the pop culture push (Adult Swim ran a cartoon with him as a detective, etc), and he's seemed game to let himself be used in cameos.

I watched this video a while back. I'm not the target audience -- it's by a black creator aiming at other black viewers -- but it's still an incredibly thorough and deep dive into his life and background.