For What It's Worth

Dave Chappelle spent much of this 2004 set explaining how miserable it is to be famous. Filmed in the middle of his Chappelle’s Show run, the performance captures a comic who had reached the absolute peak of American pop-cultural relevance, only to find himself deeply annoyed by the people who put him there.\n\nFilmed at the Fillmore in San Francisco, the special contains some of his most famous stand-up routines, including the ‘Where is Ja?’ bit, which mocked MTV for asking rapper Ja Rule for his perspective on the September 11 attacks. Chappelle also works through the R. Kelly trial, asking ‘how old is 15, really?’ before using the premise to point out how the American justice system treats Black teenagers as adults.\n\nThere is a palpable friction throughout the hour. Chappelle laments his loss of anonymity, recounting a trip to Disneyland where overzealous fans yelled his catchphrases at him in front of his kids. The material is loose, conversational, and occasionally uncomfortable, featuring bits about San Francisco drug culture, the difference between juice and ‘grape drink’, and a defense of Bill Cosby that serves as a fascinating, awkward time capsule today.\n\nThe special serves as the final document of Chappelle’s peak-era television fame, captured just months before he walked away from his contract and vanished from the public eye.