Chappelle's 'Block Party' Rocks Big Screen

 Stephanie Perez, staff writer

The documentary, “Block Party” was just above complete genius and that’s

what Dave Chappelle, is a mad genius.

Usually documentaries are boring and put you to sleep but Block Party was both entertaining, and it gave people a better understanding of the comedic genius.

Basically, Chappelle was going to have a block party on Sept 20, 2005 in Brooklyn, New York in front of an older couple’s house who were going to celebrate their 46^th wedding anniversary that weekend. Chappelle wanted this event to be free of Hollywood, money and commercialism. This

was a time of free spirit and listening to some great hip-hop. Whether or not you’re a fan of the music, you still have to give all respect to the artists who performed including Jill Scott, Eryka Badu, Mos Def, Dead Prez, Common, Kanye West, John Legend, The Roots, and, yes, The Fugees.

Two days before his block party, Chappelle went out to a small town in Ohio close to were he grew up and was handing out Golden Tickets. He compared himself to Willie Wonka, saying that “Not even Willie Wonka gave away this many golden tickets.” He gave some out to two black

guys who were on their way to play golf. He also gave some to the owner of the convenience store where he buys his cigarettes. But the best one was when he gave some golden tickets to a college band and asked them to perform at his block party. So he loaded about 20 strangers on a bus, sent them all to New York, and gave a free hotel room. The band also had the privilege to perform with Kanye West during his smash hit, and one my favorite Kanye West songs, “Jesus Walks.”

It was just a down-right good time. It was interesting to see how all of these

hip-hop artists have been friends for a long time. There was no drama, any bad blood was left behind. This was just a time to have fun. Pras said something to that extent when he was asked how he felt about performing with the Fugues again. Pras mentioned the beef that he and Wyclef had, but he said that once he heard Lauryn Hill sing “Killing Me Softly,” he knew that it was just the right thing to do. When asked by the audience where Hill had been, she just smiled and pointed to her son, Zion. The funniest part of the film was when Mos Def played a rim shot for Dave on a skit that they did on stage together. “Block Party” is not at like “The Chapelle Show.” So if you are wanting to see “The Chapelle Show” then watch re-runs on Comedy Central. This is just a feel-good documentary with some great music. I think that with all the success of this documentary, it really should give Chapelle the feeling that we miss him. So go watch it and be entertained.