Now that Dave Chappelle is officially back, he's popping up all over the place! Chappelle was back on NBC last night when he surprised the audience during a sketch on The Tonight Show. Check out the video below to see for yourself:
For a second there, Jimmy Fallon actually fooled me into thinking he didn't know he was talking to Dave Chappelle! Of course, the bit was almost certainly a planned segment to help promote Chappelle's appearance at the Radio City Music Hall for 14 nights and encourage New Yorkers flock to the ticket booths and buy out all two weeks' worth of shows. We can also assume it was all a bit because, as with most of his sketches, Fallon could not keep himself from laughing.
All kidding aside, Dave Chappelle continued his hilarity hot streak by keeping the audience of The Tonight Show in stitches by making jokes about himself during "Freestylin' With The Roots." The "going away for long periods of time" bit really hit home with people as Chappelle quipped about his famous disappearance after signing a major deal with Comedy Central for Season 3 of The Chappelle Show. Coincidentally Chappelle was seated right next to actor Donnell Rawlings, who appeared in several sketches in the show in addition to playing host alongside Charlie Murphy during that ill-fated Season 3.
There's another connection in here, as the frontman of The Roots Questlove (who really loves Get Out) was featured in a sketch for The Chappelle Show back in the day with John Mayer. The Roots also performed in the movie Dave Chappelle's Block Party, so it appears everyone is connected in this sketch minus Jimmy Fallon! Apparently appearing on The Tonight Show multiple times is not enough to net him tickets to that two-week comedy stint that features different special guests like Chris Rock, Childish Gambino, Trevor Noah, Chance The Rapper, and many others. The Roots will be performing there as well, so it's extra cold that Fallon can't find a ticket, provided that's really the case and they aren't just pulling his leg.
This skit marks another win for Chappelle, who has been on a roll in the past year. His stand-up specials are the most viewed comedy specials Netflix has ever had, his SNL monologue following the election was a standout moment of an already record-breaking season of Saturday Night Live, and he seems to be loving life perhaps even more than at his peak years ago. Let's hope his trademark superpower doesn't kick in again anytime soon because this man is on fire!
As mentioned, Dave Chappelle's two comedy specials The Age Of Spin and Deep In The Heart Of Texas are both currently streaming on Netflix. For more great programming that's new and exciting, be sure to visit our summer premiere guide.
