in my no-tv having life i often troll youtube geeking out on visual art, music video art, vintage music from my youth, or documentaries that make their way online. on occasion i'll find something from a show i do like that doesn't crush the brain.
one evening i found an episode from inside the actor's studio with dave chappelle. well cool, i thought! i *loves* chappelle and this series. i'm fascinated by chappelle's stories of his youth, his honesty about how he was dealing with fame, his subsequent escape, his creative process, and the realization that hollywood is a sick environment that can fuck people up. yet he still remains diplomatic. it simply wasn't a game he wanted to participate in anymore, that it compromised his humanity, which was far more precious to him than money. 'thus, africa'.
he will have you rolling as he reflects on experiences in his professional life; his glorious bombing at the apollo or what inspired the 'baby selling weed on the corner' routine (a classic from his HBO comedy special, killing em softly).
so he sets the record straight. yes he freaked out and as a practicing muslim he went to africa to meditate and cool out. but because he became this superstar he was under scrutiny. why the hell would you walk away from $50m, man? the real question is - why not? it came down to a simple realization that he was an artist who wasn't going to sell his soul to the devil by creating work that was socially irresponsible and so so he bounced.
after the dust settled he got his shit together and put on block party, an excellent concert documentary shot in brooklyn with jill scott, dead prez, mos def, the roots, common, badu, and for the first time in a long time, the fugees. this was a free community benefit and represents the more positive and productive kind of art chappelle wants to celebrate. if you adore chappelle and hip hop i highly recommend to check it.
on a side note (and i attribute this to my scandalous ways back in the day) but i swear, later in the show, chappelle is high - i mean blazed up, but he's cool. he's coherent and articulate, which some folks can be when they're blazed - even more so than when they're straight. herb can either free thought or obliterate it. but you have to take this into context. how chill would you be sitting for two hours in a studio with james lipton and a gang of acting students interested in the all about you. a bit overwhelming i would think.
Inside the Actor's Studio - Dave Chappelle.
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