Irreverent comic laughs at life

Dave Chappelle is a strange comedian. He does not have the clean-cut persona Chris Rock or our own Trevor Noah exude on stage. In fact, it is actually a good joke to imagine Chappelle in a suit, period. But that doesn’t mean he dresses like a ragdoll.

He comes in somewhere in between, perhaps to match his character. It appears as if he doesn’t want to be too out there, yet he knows he still has to perform.

So you won’t see him next to Robert de Niro in a lead role that would otherwise be played by Eddie Murphy. But you will see him as Martin Lawrence’s sidekick in the classic comedy flick, Blue Streak.

Having been in the game for a long time, with his peers such as Martin Lawrence, Mark Curry and Will Smith all having had their own TV shows back in the Nineties, you might wonder why Chappelle never have a solo TV offering. But we’re happy to tell you he has finally come through and the Chappelle’s Show will be a reality in your living room.

But this is not another attempt at The Cosby Show. The Chappelle’s Show is sort of like a classroom for studying life. After doing a short comedy skit for a live audience, the man then presents pre-recorded sketches on a given subject.

At face value these sketches seem like nothing but jokes, but once you analyse them you realise they are embedded with strong messages.

The material dwells on subjects that include prostitution, sexuality, gun violence and racism.

There are a lot of concerns on how Chappelle handles issues such as race and sexual preferences, but you will have to draw your own conclusions. Whatever you decide you can’t deny the man finds comedy in everything.

On the pre-recorded footage you will see interesting people such as Neil Brennan, Sophia Brown, Paul Mooney and Mos Def as regulars.

Essentially the show is like an animated editorial cartoon as it talks about everything under the sun. It might also remind you of Zapiro’s ZA News as no subject is left untouched.

Considering the show first aired in 2003 and had an impressive run of three seasons, Chapelle did really well for himself. See for your yourself and find out if you agree.

• Chappelle’s Show airs Mondays at 9.20pm on Comedy Central (DStv channel 122).