Dave Chappelle has gone from being nowhere to everywhere. The once-reclusive comedic genius followed up a raucous Thursday morning (June 29) appearance on the Sirius XM “Sway in the Morning” show by slipping into the audience on Thursday night’s Tonight Show to play a round of “Freestylin’ with The Roots.”
After host Jimmy Fallon and the house band — who will also join Chappelle for his upcoming 14-show August run at Radio City Music Hall — indulged a nice woman from Florida with a Beach Boys-style rap, they got to business with their not-so-mystery guest.
“Hey, what is your name?” Fallon asked the tall gentleman dressed all in black wearing aviator shades. “Dave,” he replied with a big smile as the audience slowly caught on to who the unassuming self-proclaimed “comedian” in their midst was.
Asked if he had any fun summer plans, Dave responded, “Yeah, I’m gonna play Radio City for 14 nights. It’s gonna be amazing. I’ll be co-headlining with the likes of Chris Rock and Erykah Badu, Childish Gambino, Lauryn Hill, Lil Wayne, Mos Def (also known as Yasiin Bey), Chance the Rapper and, of course, the legendary Roots Crew.”
Jimmy said he’d love to come, to which Dave quipped, “I bet you would.” Watch the Roots freestyle a New Edition-style song about their pal Dave’s theoretical Spider-Man-like superpowers:
Chappelle will also be joined by comedians, Trevor Noah and Ali Wong during select shows, along with other as-yet-unannounced additional guests. Chappelle’s residency at Radio City Hall will kick off on Aug. 1, and conclude on Aug. 24. Unfortunately, all those laughs don’t come cheap; tickets are ranging in the triple digits. Check out the full schedule and ticket prices here.