My Take on Dave Chappelle's Block Party

Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2005) is the film of a 2004 concert which Chappelle sponsored in Brooklyn, New York. He managed to put together at one place and at the same time many of his favorite musicians and rappers. As advertisements for the film declare: "This is the concert [he] always wanted to see." The film was inspired by the Wattstax film of 1973, on a somewhat smaller scale. 

Several of the opening scenes show Chappelle walking the streets of Dayton, Ohio, trying to drum up support for his block party. He offers free transportation, free hotel accommodations, and of course free entry into the show. Not surprisingly, several of the people we meet early in the film actually do attend the concert, despite the less-than-optimal conditions. On the one hand, the price is right. On the other, they say you get what you get what you pay for, and often that is true. 

As the name suggests, the concert takes place on the block, at the intersection of Downing and Quincy in Bed-Stuy. The rain does not prevent shoulder-to-shoulder attendees from dancing and singing to performances by Common, Kanye West, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Jill Scott, Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, and The Fugees, who had not performed together in nearly ten years. The credits list too many stars of the hip hop world to name here, and far more than one might actually recognize. 

The concert performances are interspersed by comedic routines by Chappelle and a serendipitous visitation by the Central State University (Ohio) marching band, whom he just happened to meet three days before. Some of the musical performances are rousing, if not edited to distinct advantage, and a few of the comic interludes are amusing, if you like Chappelle’s style of humor. There is a call-and-response exchange between Chappelle and Mos Def that is sort of cute. Otherwise, Dave Chappelle is much the same in the film as he is on his television show - sometimes corny, and nearly always irreverent.