Now I’m sure that many in our circle of progressive relatively earthy children of the children of the civil rights era went out to see Dave’s return to the screen. This part documentary, part concert, part series of comedic narrations is a vivid glimpse into Dave’s private life and his working collaboration with the Okayplayer set (The Roots, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Cody Chestnut, Martin Luther, etc.) Having all run in the same underground circles since the beginnings of their careers, this impromptu block party was in some ways a celebration of this crew and it’s ever-increasing audience in the face of mainstream hip hop’s identity crisis. The very fact that Dave could spread the word about a concert on a Bed-Stuy block in a matter of days and get the turnout, buzz and starpower it took to make it real is a testament to the kind of power he wielded nearly two years ago, long before his controversial bouncing.

But if you’re going to this film to laugh your ass off, you might be a little disappointed. While there’s plenty of comedy to go around, Chappelle’s team-up with director Michel Gondry is more about the comedian bridging the two worlds in which he lives, bringing the folks from the Ohio town where he resides (including the entire Central State University Marching Band) to collide with the African American enclave in Brooklyn where so many artists like himself were either born or have lived during the past decade. The end result is a documentary that is unique, often engaging (though I might’ve trimmed it down by 15 minutes of so) and meditative when it comes to the state of black music. Plus you get to see the Fugees performing for their first time together in almost a decade.

As a child of the same era that reared these artists (Chappelle and I actually met during our high school years when he was a guest on Teen Summit) , it’s always a proud moment to see folks with politics that mirror my own making music for like-minded individuals. It’s even better when that music does goes great business for Hollywood on Oscar weekend. With a $3 million budget the film raked in $6.5 million, which means that with halfway decent word of mouth, it might top out at $10 or $12 million at the box office. Translation: Any little film side project Dave Chappelle wants to do after this will get made.

More importantly, Dave Chappelle’s Block Party and the artists it showcases are evidence that contrary to Cosby belief, there is a next generation of artistic activism beyond the Baby Boomers, and one that while not packing the wallop that King, Malcolm and the Panthers did, can still get Black people together, can still make them think about who they are and where they’re going, and can still master their crafts far beyond any of their contemporaries. This film is the first thing in a while that’s sent me to my keyboard inspired, to remind me of how needed art is in the minority communities that has a sense of things beyond the overblown and coonish status quo. Viewing the trailer for the latest Wayans offering, Little Man, just before “Block Party” easily reinforces my point.

I personally believe that almost everyone who’s reading this would’ve been at that block party if they’d known about it (except for silly little me, who told my man Rich is was too cold and rainy to walk the few blocks down there. Damn!) I think we all would’ve loved to spend a day taking in some dope sounds and remembering the first times we’d seen or heard Black Star or Erykah or Dead Prez. We would’ve moved to the rhythm all night, no matter how much our feet hurt in the end, and gone home to tell the tale a million times over. If that’s the case then maybe we should do this more often. Maybe, music and a venue with some other things in between might help us to reach the seemingly unreachable. I could be too geeked about this, but what the hell? What would we have to lose by trying?

more from kenji @ kenjijasper.com