Movies - Dave Chappelle's Block Party

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	Movies - Dave Chappelle's Block Party

Dave Chappelle's Block Party (aka Block Party) is a documentary film hosted and written by comedian Dave Chappelle, and directed by Michel Gondry.

Plot

The film features Chappelle during the fall of 2004 when he threw a block party in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The film gained prominence after its production, as it followed Chappelle's highly-publicized decision to walk away from a $50 million deal to continue his hit Chappelle's Show. He invited several alternative hip hop and neo-soul musical artists to perform at the party, including Kanye West, Mos Def, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu along with The Central State University Marching Band. Lauryn Hill was also scheduled to perform at the party, but since Columbia Records refused to release her songs for use in the production, she decided instead to reunite The Fugees for the occasion. In addition, Chappelle performed comedy monologues and sketches in between the musical acts.

Performers

Kanye West
Mos Def
Jill Scott
Erykah Badu
The Roots
Talib Kweli
Common
Big Daddy Kane
Kool G Rap
The Fugees
Wyclef Jean (solo)
Bilal
Dead Prez
Cody ChesnuTT
John Legend
Central State University Marching Band

Soundtrack

A compilation of "music from and inspired by" the film was released on March 14, 2006.

The album was released by Geffen Records, and produced by Corey Smyth for Blacksmith Music Corp and ?uestlove.

1. Hip Hop - Dead Prez
2. Definition - Black Star (Mos Def & Talib Kweli)
3. Golden - Jill Scott
4. Universal Magnetic - Mos Def
5. The Blast - Talib Kweli feat. Erykah Badu
6. The Light - Common feat. Erykah Badu & Bilal
7. Boom! - The Roots feat. Big Daddy Kane & Kool G. Rap
8. Back in the Day - Erykah Badu
9. The Way - Jill Scott
10. UMI Says - Mos Def
11. You Got Me - The Roots feat. Erykah Badu & Jill Scott
12. Born & Raised - Black Star (Mos Def & Talib Kweli)

All songs except track 12 recorded live in concert. Track 12 an exclusive new studio track from Mos Def and Talib Kweli's Black Star.

Many performances, including the Fugees' reunion performance could not be included due to legal restraints with the group's record label.

The album is dedicated to the memory of James D. Yancey aka J Dilla.

Trivia

Its format was inspired by the documentary, Wattstax
.
An incomplete version of the film was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Date of the party was September 18, 2004.
Just six months after the block party, Chappelle would make the controversial decision to cancel his third season of Chappelle's Show.

Box Office and reception

As of March 19, 2006, the film grossed a total of 11.1 million dollars in the United States Box Office. It recieved a 93% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes, making it the best reviewed wide release of 2006.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Dave Chappelle's Block Party ]

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