Dave Chappelle's After-Party

The movie world continues to be astounded by the success of Tyler Perry's flicks. Madea's Family Reunion topped the domestic box offices for a second week in a row earning a total of $47.7 million. This despite competition from the more critically accepted Bruce Willis/Mos Def led 16 Blocks and DAVE CHAPPELLE's Block Party, which phenomenally drew raves from 93% of the nation's cine-journalists. Count Tasty Clips in that group. The movie is the best of the year so far. With its musical contributions from the aforementioned Def, Kanye West, Common, Jill Scott, Big Daddy Kane, and a heralded Fugees reunion, it is the best cultural/concert film since Wattstax. So why did Block Party only gross $6.2 million for a seventh place showing, beaten even by the month-old remake of The Pink Panther? "Chappelle is a television comic," offers column contributor Emdee8ch. "He just hasn’t proven himself to be funny carrying a movie like an Eddie Murphy or Martin Lawrence. Because of the genre, many already have it on DVD or will wait until it comes out officially."

The week before his opening, Chappelle brought his soiree to an audience in North Carolina, but it was the after-party that got the attention. Tonya Jameson of the Charlotte Observer reports that she and a few hundred people at Tempo went home with tales to tell. For at least an hour, Chappelle, rapper Talib Kweli and friends celebrated singer Erykah Badu's 35th birthday. They cut loose. It was a jam session and sing-a-long. It was like hanging on their tour bus or behind the scenes on the set of the Chappelle's Show. Chappelle asked fans what they wanted to hear. Then he sang a few versus of Notorious' B.I.G.'s Fuck You Tonight. The crowd, Kweli and Badu joined in for that one. Chappelle sang the first line of Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing. That would be "Baayybeeee..." Then he started laughing and gave the microphone to Kweli. They went on like that for a while. Chappelle would sing a little something and then pass the microphone around. Badu sang Bag Lady and threw in impromptu rap about liquor, driving her man's car and sleeping with his best friend. When she finished, fans were cheering and laughing. Her brother and sister cut-up on stage as well. Even better than their stage antics was how approachable all three were. At the bar, Chappelle and Badu signed autographs, talked to people and posed for pictures with anyone who asked.