S-Curl Accident

Today in the mail, I got the new Esquire with Dave Chappelle on the cover. Unlike last month's Blender cover story which Chappelle didn't pose for (they photoshopped it), this article gave everybody a better insight as to what Chappelle is going through. The great thing about the article is that for the most part it is Chappelle in his own words telling what is going on with him and his thoughts on the intersection between art and commerce.
I liked reading about it because it showed that Chappelle has more depth to his personality than the buffoon that some people take him for. He is serious about his craft and his art, and wants to be free to make his art without corporate interference (..ahem....Viacom) but most importantly without sacrificing artisitic crdeibility or creative control.
He seems somewhat uneasy with the environment in hollywood. The article talks about him feeling kinda of out of place at Prince's post Grammy party (no, Prince didn't beat him and Charlie Murphy in a game of pickup basketball). But the most important thing that comes across to me is that Dave Chappelle is a very talented, intelligent down-to-earth guy with strong principles and he's gonna do things on his own terms. And the guy is fucking hillarious. When asked what he want's to do next his answer was "I want to SPIT HOT FIRE!!!" He wants to get back to doing stand up which is his frist true love. And he mentions that it gives him more time to spend with his fam. I'm definately rooting for Chappelle on this one since he refuses to play the industry Sambo. The article he says how the only movie-role he was being offered was Soul Plane and he turned down the role numerous time. Instead he put out Block Party, and that was the most fun I think I've ever had in a theatre. Another great thing about this article is that Dave says that he doesn't want to look like a victim, he takes some responsibility for the way things broke down. But its sad that it had to come to this. Comedy Central had said that they are going to put out the season 3 sketches (which do look pretty funny) sometime in July. I hope they don't since Dave left the show for a reason. Plus they will probably further alienate Chappelle if they do.
If you can find it, get Chapelle's interview on Inside the Actor's Studio with James Lipton. It is an awesome, hillarious interview and Chappelle comes across like a true genuis in it. Above all it underscores how seriously Chappelle takes his art. You realize that his craft, and the message contained in it is the most important thing to him. Chappelle's example of walking away from his show is a good example of when keepin' it real goes right.

Simpler Times: A younger (18 or 19), and broker Dave- check out the Cross Colors, very early 90's.