What's wrong with gangsta rap, again? It can't be because it's violent and misogynistic, as that characterization applies to tons of rap and non-rap nowadays. Oh, yes, it's better known, more successfully commercial, and whites, blacks, and others consume it in much greater quantities than any other rap.

I love Dead Prez but they are smart enough to realize the propagandistic power of gangsta culture (including endorsing gang violence and armed robbery) rather than premising a pro-rap, political message on denigrating rap's most successful work to date. That sort of pro-rap message will rob you of the support of every rap fan who's not a snob or a dilletante. Believe it or not, many of us live for the simulated blood in gangsta lyrics, just as we do with bestselling video games, popular cinema, and all sorts of other "bad" examples that so many promoters of those genres want to sweep under the rug to attract the support of people who aren't interested in the first place.

ummm, I think you are reading a little too much into things. I went to see it last night and I loved it. I would say it was amazingly unlike his tv show. Everyone in the movie seemed to be having a good time. The thing that I am amazed by in every review I have seen is that everyone concentrates on Chappelle. The music is great and no one seems to mention that. I wish the director hadn't cut so many of the performances short though. Sure it ain't Santana doing Soul Sacrifice at Woodstock, but what is? I'm going to tell everyone I know who likes hip-hop to go see it.

i had planned to see the movie, but reading this article, i wont waste my time. too bad.

i dont know his show, but from this article, it appears he is nothing more than another sad take on a black person desparately trying to do anything to get white folks to like him, even putting on a party for them. no doubt white folks will make 98% of the profits. everybody "included", but its in the same $#@3B%8&* roles, blacks skinning and grinning so the whites will accept hip-hop (them).

i know dave is modern and swears a lot and all of that, but does anybody else see the strange synthesis of jack benny and rochester in chappelle's timing, style and material?

I'm glad to see some others already addressed this, but trying to do a red state/blue state comparison with Brooklyn and Yellow Springs is really stretching it. Ohio isn't really ever a red state, it's kind of purple.

And as someone else already said, places like Yellow Springs are very much blue. I've never heard Dave Chappelle or anyone else talk about Yellow Springs without using the term "hippie town" (I grew up a few miles from YS). Also, the Central State U., where the Ohio marching band in the movie is from, is a historically black college.

Of course there are vast differences between Brooklyn and Yellow springs (economically, racially, socially, crime, etc.) and I think Dave realized this when making the movie, which I think is a great idea. I don't think he was thinking of it as a red state/blue state political thing though.

I'm excited about seeing this film because I like seeing/hearing anything Dave does. I enjoy his humor and his honesty. He can take something I might typically think of as offensive, and make it funny. As Ms Zacharek pointed out, he breaks down the barriers. He's just plain fun. Ya gotta love that...

Stephanie Zacharek is one of the few critics who doesn't bore me. I enjoy her pieces, and they always give me something to think about. I remember seeing the trailers for Dave Chapelles' Block Party and thinking the energy about it seems genuine -not at all faked - and making a mental note to see it. I'm glad to see her deeper analysis bears out my instinctive impression.

Sometimes I don't agree with her opionions, however I always enjoy her perspective. That is the mark of a great writer, I think.

WHAT?!

I stand up for free speech, but that was uncool.

I, personally, love Dave Chappell. (Not to say the letter writer I quoted doesn't... just don't like the phrasing of his statement). He says things I have always been thinking, and saying, but unlike me, he is funnier and has better timing.

I admire anyone who can say these really edgy, pointed statements and get laughs. If you aren't uncomfortable about what you laugh at sometimes, you are probably missing the joke.

Dave

Your letter smacks of a frustrated consumer that that didn't get the goods he wanted delivered on time.

Dave is approaching his comedy as an artist, not a businessman. Rather than ship the order on time, he held it up because the quality of what he could deliver wasn't up to snuff. In TV lingo, he didn't want to jump the shark.

If you are consider the mediocre product of your typical American sitcom to be the gold standard of comedy, then there are plenty of other options available to you. Dave, God bless him, had the courage to renege on a 50 million dollar contract. Say what you will about him, but at least he isn't a whore--a rare quality nowadays.

Me, I think he has proven himself to be an artist. Because a true artist will ALWAYS "flake out" before they SELL OUT.

Dave Chappelle _lives_ in Yellow Springs. He works elsewhere much of the time but YS is where he makes his home.

"Forget the red-state, blue-state divide"

Yeah. Like Salon'll ever do that.

From Vh1 website:

Looking back, Gondry is happy to say he was there every step of the way. "People had suggested that he [have the concert in] Central Park. ... My first contribution [was that] I suggested he should go to a place where it would mean more for the people who lived there," Gondry recalled. "That's how we ended up at Fort Greene, which is in Brooklyn."