Four Thumbs Up: The 8 Best ‘Chappelle’s Show’ Music Performances

A confession: during Chappelle’s Show initial run in 2003-2004, I always fast-forwarded past the musical performances. Here was Josh’s mindset at the time: no Eminem, no care. Just awful. I was a dumb kid from the country who wasn’t yet aware of the brilliance of Killer Mike and the Roots, and it wasn’t until 2006, coincidentally when Chappelle’s mediocre season three aired, that I began to appreciate Nas rapping in a car.

It’s been a decade since Chappelle’s Show first premiered on Comedy Central, and while the sketches themselves have been widely dissected and bracketed (rightly so), far less attention has been paid to the rappers Chappelle booked over the first 25 episodes, spanning seasons one and two. This past Sunday, March 3rd, was the nine-year anniversary of Kanye West’s first major TV appearance, when he performed with Common during the “World Series of Dice” episode, so we thought we’d take a look back at some of Chappelle’s Show greatest non-sketch music performances. Sorry, “Dancing for Different Cultures” and “Wu-Tang Financial.” You’re #1 in my heart.


Artist: Nas
Song: “Close Edge”
Episode: “1.1”

Artist: GZA
Song: “Knock Knock”
Episode: “1.10”

Artist: The Roots
Song: “Hardware”
Episode: “1.9”

Artist: Talib Kweli ft. John Legend
Song: “Around My Way”
Episode: “Music Jump-Off”

Artist: Killer Mike
Song: “Akshon (Yeah!)”
Episode: “1.7”

Chapelle’s Show: Black Star Music Video from Jared Morgan on Vimeo.

Artist: Black Star
Song: “What’s Beef”
Episode: “1.12”

Artist: Big Boi
Song: “The Rooster”
Episode: “2.13”

Kanye and Common on the Dave Chapelle Show from Derek Blair on Vimeo.

Artist: Common and Kanye West
Song: “The Food”
Episode: “2.7”

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