Dave Chappelle's Block Party
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''Dave Chappelle's Block Party'', also known as ''Block Party'', is a 2005 American
documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
hosted and written by
comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audienc ...
Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006), which he starred in until quitting in the middle of p ...
, and directed by Michel Gondry. The film and its soundtrack are dedicated to the memory of
music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon vari ...
who died of
lupus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Commo ...
one month before the film's release. The film was officially released at the
2005 Toronto International Film Festival The 30th Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 8–17 and screened 335 films from 52 countries - 109 of these films were world premieres, and 78 were North American premieres. Awards At the Festival's closing event, the following ...
. The film grossed $12.1 million in the box office and debuted at #6 in its opening weekend, grossing $6 million in 1,200 theaters.


Plot

The film follows Chappelle during the summer of 2004, ending on September 18, 2004, when he threw a
block party A block party or street party is a party in which many members of a single community congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual solidarity and enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which ofte ...
on the corner of Quincy Street and Downing Street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The film features nearby sites, including the
Broken Angel House Broken Angel or the Broken Angel house was a building located at 4/6 Downing Street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, at the intersection of Downing and Quincy street. The house was featured prominently as a backdrop in the ...
in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn as well as areas in
Fort Greene, Brooklyn Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the we ...
and Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The film was produced before Chappelle's highly publicized decision to walk away from a $50 million deal to continue his hit ''
Chappelle's Show ''Chappelle's Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedians Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show and starring in the majority of its sketches. Chappelle, Brennan, and Michele Armour were th ...
'', and gained prominence after the announcement. Chappelle invited several hip hop and
neo-soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contem ...
musical artists to perform at the party, including
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
,
Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...
, Jill Scott,
Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...
, and
The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...
along with The
Central State University Central State University (CSU) is a public, historically black land-grant university in Wilberforce, Ohio. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Established by the state legislature in 1887 as a two-year program for t ...
Marching Band.
Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...
was also scheduled to perform at the party, but since
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...
refused to release her songs for use in the production, she decided instead to reunite
The Fugees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
for the occasion. In addition, Chappelle performed comedy
monologues In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...
and sketches in between the musical acts. Unbeknownst to the world, a young unsigned
J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...
was in the crowd watching as the legendary hip hop duo
Black Star Black Star or Blackstar may refer to: Astronomy *Black star (semiclassical gravity), a theoretical star built using semiclassical gravity as an alternative to a black hole *Saturn, referred to as "Black Star" in ancient Judaeic belief Literature ...
performed.


Performers

*
Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006), which he starred in until quitting in the middle of p ...
*
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
*
Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...
*
Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...
* Jill Scott *
Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...
*
The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...
*
Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...
*
Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in ...
*
Kool G Rap Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper from Queens, New York City. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and a ...
*
The Fugees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
*
Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name) (a list of people with the name) * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places * Bilal Colony, a neighbourhood of Korangi Town in Karac ...
*
Dead Prez Dead Prez, often stylized as dead prez, is an American hip hop duo composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with lyrics focused on both militant social justice, self ...
*
Cody Chesnutt Cody Chesnutt (stylized as Cody ChesnuTT; born October 21, 1968) is an American R&B and neo soul musician from Atlanta, Georgia. Biography Chesnutt's music blends elements of rock, funk, soul, hip hop, and blues. After relocating to Los Ange ...
*
John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...
*
Central State University Central State University (CSU) is a public, historically black land-grant university in Wilberforce, Ohio. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Established by the state legislature in 1887 as a two-year program for t ...
Marching Band *
A-Trak Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known by his stage name A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highly ...


Soundtrack

A compilation of "music from and inspired by" the film was released on March 14, 2006. The album was released by
Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...
, and produced by Corey Smyth for Blacksmith Music Corp and
Questlove Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American musician, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Tho ...
. #
Dead Prez Dead Prez, often stylized as dead prez, is an American hip hop duo composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with lyrics focused on both militant social justice, self ...
 – "Hip Hop" #
Black Star Black Star or Blackstar may refer to: Astronomy *Black star (semiclassical gravity), a theoretical star built using semiclassical gravity as an alternative to a black hole *Saturn, referred to as "Black Star" in ancient Judaeic belief Literature ...
 – "Definition" # Jill Scott – "Golden" #
Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...
 – "Universal Magnetic" #
Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...
feat.
Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...
 – "The Blast" #
Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...
feat. Erykah Badu &
Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name) (a list of people with the name) * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places * Bilal Colony, a neighbourhood of Korangi Town in Karac ...
 – "The Light" #
The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...
feat.
Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in ...
&
Kool G Rap Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper from Queens, New York City. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and a ...
 – "Boom!" #
Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...
 – "Back in the Day" # Jill Scott – "The Way" #
Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...
 – "UMI Says" #
The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...
feat.
Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...
& Jill Scott – "You Got Me" #
Black Star Black Star or Blackstar may refer to: Astronomy *Black star (semiclassical gravity), a theoretical star built using semiclassical gravity as an alternative to a black hole *Saturn, referred to as "Black Star" in ancient Judaeic belief Literature ...
 – "Born & Raised" All the songs were recorded live in concert, except "Born & Raised", an exclusive new studio track from Mos Def and Talib Kweli's Black Star. Many performances, including
The Fugees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
' reunion and
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
's performance, could not be included due to legal restraints with the groups' record labels. Chappelle's version of
Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...
's "'Round Midnight" was featured in the film, but was not released on the compilation. Cody chesnuTT was featured in the film with his song ″Parting Ways″ among others, was not released on the compilation but is shown on the end credits.


Release


Box office

The film grossed $11,718,595 in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and an additional $333,329 overseas, giving the film a total gross of $12,051,924; based on a $3 million budget, the film was a moderate success. The DVD has sold a total of 1,240,405 copies since 2006, grossing a total of $18,776,445.


Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
gives the film a 92% "Certified Fresh" rating based on 128 reviews with an average score of 7.70/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "''Dave Chappelle's Block Party'' is a raucous return to the spotlight for the comic, buoyed by witty, infectious humor and outstanding musical performances."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film an average score of 84 based on 30 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dave Chappelle's Block Party 2005 films 2005 documentary films Films directed by Michel Gondry American documentary films 2005 comedy films Concert films 2000s English-language films Focus Features films Central State University Fugees 2000s hip hop films 2000s American films Dave Chappelle