In July, Dave Chappelle unveiled a series of stand-up performances for autumn 2023, aptly named the “It’s a Celebration B**ches Tour.” This week, on both Tuesday (Aug. 22) and Wednesday (Aug. 23), audiences thronged the inaugural venue of the tour, New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden.
Adding to the significance of these inaugural nights was the approaching milestone – Chappelle’s 50th birthday on Aug. 24. The event drew a star-studded crowd, with celebrities like Burna Boy, Donnell Rawlings, Aziz Ansari, Chris Rock, Earthquake,
and Luenell coming out to honor the comedian. A highlight of the evening was when Travis Scott, who recently celebrated the success of his latest album UTOPIA, took center stage to serenade the Washington D.C.-born comedian with “Happy Birthday.” It’s worth mentioning that Chappelle had lent his voice to Scott’s album, particularly the evocative track “PARASAIL.”
In related news, as highlighted by REVOLT, Dave Chappelle’s influential works are set to become academic material.
Concordia University in Montreal is introducing a course that will dive deep into Chappelle’s most notable contributions. Yassin “Narcy” Alsalma, the course instructor,
shared some insights on the Dubai-centric podcast “Jibber With Jaber”, noting that they will be “exploring ‘The Chappelle Show’ and some of his renowned specials.” He also emphasized the course’s aim to “delve into the significance of comedy in music, and explore the nuances of Black performance in the context of North American culture.”
