4B —Thursday, September 14, 2017
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NETFLIX
Comedy icon Dave Chappelle
Seeing Dave Chappelle:
Hip-hop’s favorite
comedian hits the road
Dave Chappelle — the bold-
faced funny man who emerged
in
the
early-2000s
as
an
Afrocentric satirist, unafraid
to
squeeze
risqué
racial
commentary
into
his
now-
legendary sketch comedy show
— has long been an important
figure in hip-hop. The first
season of Chappelle’s Show
(which briefly aired on Comedy
Central)
featured
musical
guests such as Mos Def, Talib
Kweli, Busta Rhymes and The
Roots, while its second included
DMX, Erykah Badu and Kanye
West (to name a few). Yet, unlike
so many artists who haunt the
primetime late-night sets of
Jimmys (Fallon and Kimmel) —
often seeming so out-of-context
during
their
promotional
performances that one wonders
if the hosts even knew who they
had invited — artists’s arrivals
at Chappelle’s Show felt like
pointed
recommendations.
Their performances served as
punctuation marks for each
episode.
So,
a
true
Chappelle
fan
should
not
have
been
overwhelmingly
surprised
when
hip-hop
legends
Ms.
Lauryn Hill and Nas announced
— just days before the launching
of their joint PowerNomics Tour
— that the notoriously-reclusive
comedian would be joining
them on the road. In fact, the
closer that one has been paying
attention, the less surprised
they ought to be: Since June,
Chappelle has performed aside
Ms. Hill, Chance the Rapper,
Childish Gambino and more
during a residency at Radio City
Music Hall; he has questioned
Kendrick Lamar for Interview
Magazine, an already-historic
conversation in its own right;
and he has continuously owned
up to his role as a musical
gatekeeper, like when he labeled
Lil Wayne “one of the most
clever
motherfuckers
ever”
during an appearance on Sway
In The Morning. Much like
modern rappers, who can earn
enough clout through their
craft to eventually expand into
other ventures (think fashion,
film and Diddy’s Ciroc vodka),
Chappelle became so deeply
embedded into hip-hop through
humor that his position aside
two historic emcees just feels
natural.
For
anyone
who’s
ever
nostalgically
wondered
how
Chappelle’s Show accomplished
its
near-perfect
roster
of
conscious Black musicians, or
has hoped for a similarly prolific
blending of hip-hop and comedy
to occur today, the PowerNomics
Tour — which touched down
at
the
Michigan
Lottery
Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
in Sterling Heights on Fri., Sept.
8th — represents a perhaps once-
in-a-lifetime
opportunity
to
travel back in time and become
a witness to history. Both Nas
— whose debut LP, Illmatic,
is commonly considered the
best rap album of all time —
and Lauryn Hill — whose only
solo LP, The Miseducation of
Lauryn Hill, was the first hip-
hop project to win Album of the
Year at the Grammy’s — are like
walking relics from a former
version
of
hip-hop,
hardly
recognizable against modern
standards.
But
performing
after Chappelle, who is himself
also representative of a long-
gone era, one in which impolite
humor
and
cable
television
ruled supreme, the pair truly
succeeded in establishing a
sense of then.
Throughout
his
forty-five
minute set, Chappelle appeared
in full-form, talking through
even the touchiest of subjects
in his classically casual tone
and unflinching against today’s
heightened
expectations
for
correctness.
Skewering
the
famous
sexual
assault
allegations
against
Michael
Jackson,
he
minimized
the
late, great pop star into the
“Jay-Z” of hanging with kids,
drawing parallels between MJ’s
odd indulgence in children’s
fantasies (he owned a monkey,
an amusement park and beds
dedicated
exclusively
to
jumping on) and the veteran
Brooklyn
rapper’s
similar
obsession with luxury goods
(references to cars, yachts and
watches decorate his every
album).
Traversing
through
race-relations,
Chappelle
laughed off the time that a
pregnant Asian women (who is
married to a Black man) became
so offended by his commentary
on interracial marriages that she
went home to write a complaint
to his promoter. And, finally,
sweating through a bit that he
swore he wouldn’t have told if
attendees’s phones had not been
locked into inaccessible pouches
upon their arrival, Chappelle
cringed at memories from a
night of clubbing in Hollywood
during
which
he
danced
(initially unbeknownst) with a
transsexual woman.
Clearly, Dave Chappelle was
simply being Dave Chappelle,
but in 2017 that’s a major
accomplishment
in
its
own
right. Throughout the next
month, the PowerNomics Tour
will bring him — along with
two equally historic and fabled
musicians — into fifteen more
cities, fifteen more jam-packed
theaters filled with thousands
of
people,
old
and
young,
who could’ve probably never
predicted such an opportunity
would
arise.
But
more
importantly, it will also generate
millions of dollars worth of
proceeds, a major portion of
which its team has pledged
to
donate
towards
further
enfranchisement
of
African-
American communities.
This tour is not simply a parade
of nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake,
and it’s also not an attempt by
old artists to collect new cash.
Rather, it’s a strong-handed
effort by a legendary team of
Black entertainers to merge
their platforms and heighten
their impacts — both on the
crowds they entertain and the
communities that they will
assist. This point was hinted at
by a briefly serious Chappelle
in the final moments of his set.
Addressing Detroit, he professed
how proud he is to be among
residents of the largest Black
community in American history,
then reminded attendees that
Motown — which was launched
right here in our own backyard
— is still the most quintessential
example of a Black cultural
enterprise, period.
“Detroit, I’m gon’ fuck with
you until the wheels fall off!”
Just like that, it was time for
Nas and Lauryn.
COURTESY OF THE SECOND CITY
Second City performing at their various venues
The Second City brings
laughs, love to The Ark
The legendary improvisation group that has birthed comedians
like Tina Fey and Amy Poeher came to Ann Arbor last weekend
I’m second row and center for
The Second City. It’s really the
best seat in the house, because
sitting front row risks getting
heckled at by the troupe. Before
the show starts, the crowd is
already pulsing with noise and
laughter, eagerly awaiting the
comedy stars of tomorrow. I
held expectations of seeing
something similar to “Saturday
Night Live,” a favorite show of
mine. Since this performance
was actually live for me, I feel
no remorse in saying that The
Second City blew present-day
SNL out of the water.
Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Bill
Murray,
Keegan-Michael
Key: These are just a few of
the hilarious stars born out
of The Second City. Based in
Chicago, this comedy troupe
has produced original, satirical
and comedic pieces for nearly
sixty years. This past Friday,
the national tour “The Best of
The Second City” made a stop
here at Ann Arbor’s The Ark,
which was recently renovated.
Amidst the typical musicians
and theatrical plays, we finally
had a notable comedy revue in
A2, bringing diversity to the
entertainment scene.
Improv is what makes The
Second City legendary. The
actors can instantly come up
with a catchy song in relation to
whatever an audience member
shouts out, like a dog eating
your
boyfriend’s
plant
and
having a fight about it (true
story). The actors can flip
between two separate scenes,
from a horror porn movie with
a boob-sucking dracula to two
astronauts trying to contact
Houston while it’s underwater.
Both scenes are given to the
actors on the spot and they
immediately make it uniquely
hilarious.
Not
many
actors
are
comfortable with calling an
audience member a bastard
or having an elderly audience
member (deemed the baddest
boy) spank them on stage.
Both were achieved during
the performance, and both
had me laughing until my
mouth hurt from smiling. This
troupe of comedians are able
to connect personally with
the audience, making local
references,
shaking
hands,
asking questions and being real.
It’s this connection that lights
the audience on fire, creating
moments of high energy and
fun that you wish would never
end.
With three girls and three
guys, the faces of comedy’s
new generation are memorable.
Each has such likable charisma,
the kind I want to see more of
in the film industry. Alison
Gates, Adam Archer, Danny
Catlow, Eve Krueger, Greg
Ott, and Lauren Walker are all
experienced comedians; many
participate in iO Chicago and
The Annoyance. The director,
Tyler Samples, teaches and
performs at The Second City
and hosts the Rabbit Hole
podcast with other Second City
guests.
“The Best of The Second
City” features classic skits that
helped launch the careers of
comedy’s best and brightest,
along with skits distinct to
this tour. The style of the
show was very similar to that
of
“Saturday
Night
Live”;
both
have
an
arrangement
of different comedy sketches
that usually reflect on current
political, social and economic
happenings
in
America.
Many of the actors currently
performing with SNL made
their start with The Second
City.
I not sure how anyone else
feels, but to me, SNL has been
lacking in delivery in recent
years,
dwindling
down
to
repetitive skits and jokes that
just aren’t that funny. After
seeing The Second City, I have
hope again for a better comedic
future. A hope of SNL returning
to the hype of Will Ferrell,
Eddie Murphy, Amy Poehler
and Chris Farley. I think we all
miss those days.
With classes not quite in
full swing, now is the time to
explore all the amazing venues
that Ann Arbor. While comedy
may not be as common as other
shows, nothing will bring you
into good spirits better than
laughter.
People
love
The
Second City not just for its
humor, but for its creativity.
It’s different every time, and
it’s different from the comedy
you see on TV. You may have to
reach into the deep corners of
A2 to find comedy, but I assure
you, the search is worth it.
FALLON GATES
Daily Arts Writer
SALVATORE DIGIOIA
Daily Arts Writer
I feel no remorse
in saying that The
Second City blew
present-day SNL
out of the water
With three girls
and three guys,
the faces of
comedy’s new
generation are
memorable
This tour is not
simply a parade
of nostalgia for
nostalgia’s sake,
and it’s also not
an attempt by old
artists to collect
new cash
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