Dave Chappelle's Block Party (aka Block Party) is a documentary film hosted and written by comedian Dave Chappelle, and directed by Michel Gondry. It was released on March 3, 2006. 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, 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. As of March 5, 2006, the film grossed a total of 6.5 million dollars in the United States Box Office. |