I'm rich, biatch.
(CAR ENGINE SPUTTERING)
You filming us?
Hey, man, what's happening?
We were riding.
Car just broke down? Yeah.
Try it one more time. Try it one more time.
Short bursts.
(ENGINE SPUTTERING)
MAN: Hey, yo, Dave!
What happened? Oh, I'm sorry. You're...
We stopped the engine. We can't get it started again.
MAN: Yo, Dave!
Uh...
You put too much gas in it. That's what I'm saying.
♪(MARCHING BAND PLAYING)
I have the butterfly wide open. Try it now. Try it now.
(ENGINE SPUTTERING)
Stop, stop, stop.
How much of this did you spray in there?
He said, "How much of that did you spray in there?"
How much of this did you spray in?
I don't know what his answer is.
That's right. Saturday, coming at you!
The Block Party of life!
With Kanye West,
Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common.
Did I mention the Fugees? Did I mention Dead Prez?
Did I tell you Erykah Badu was gonna be there?
And Jill Scott's gonna be there. And The Roots crew is gonna be there.
And yours truly, David Chappelle!
That's right! Once in a lifetime!
I've got the Brooklyn Steppers behind me.
And we do a little something like this.
(EXCLAIMING)
Saturday night, Saturday afternoon
featuring barbecued chicken for lunch.
DAVE: It's a celebration, bitches.
It's a celebration.
Ha, ha, ha!
All right, I'm gonna go talk some stuff and then we're gonna...
And then, I'm gonna bring you up, Kanye.
MAN: Hey, yo, Brooklyn, make some noise for Mos Def, y'all.
MOS DEF: Brooklyn.
Bed-Stuy!
Brooklyn!
Let the shouting out begin!
♪(PERFORMING TWO WORDS)
(RAPPING) ♪ Now throw your hands up, hustlers, busters, boosters, hoes, everybody ♪
Most High, we thank you just for being here with us.
We thank you for this day, God.
The sun is shining. They said it was supposed to rain.
But, God, you letting your face show that you want us here.
You want every soul here, right now.
We thank you for this message that you sending through all these people.
We thank you for bringing Dave to bring us together.
We dreamed of this day and we ask that you just utilize our souls
and our spirits and our voices to glorify you in all that we do.
We don't forget people that's poor.
We don't forget those that's at war right now.
We don't forget our comrades that's in prison.
We don't forget our children, God.
And we praying that you can just be through us and live through us
so that we can raise our people up and raise ourselves up.
We put you first in all we do.
And now just bless the energy of us and the people out there.
And allow your message to be through us.
Amen. Amen.
In the name of Jesus, in the name of Allah and the Spirit of the Ancestors, amen, ashe.
DAVE: All these people, what we all have in common?
I think we all have a very personal message that they try to get across.
And it's about more than just making money.
All these people that have come here to this concert, before I ever met them,
I was fans of theirs.
So to work with these people, in this kind of setting, it's a dream come true.
This is the concert I've always wanted to see.
♪(PERFORMING GET 'EM HIGH)
(RAPPING) ♪ Keep your hands up,
♪ hustlers, busters, boosters, hoes, everybody, fuck that ♪
♪ Still nowhere to go Still nowhere to go ♪
♪ Brooklyn ♪
It's your boy, M Def. Yeah, he back.
Feels good to be home, y'all.
DAVE: This is my local coffee shop. The journey starts here.
Preparing for game day, Saturday.
We got to get some people to come to this concert.
I don't think that'll be so hard.
Hey, Bobby, guess what he offered us? What?
He said that there's gonna be a rap concert in Brooklyn
and if we wanna go, he'll give us tickets.
Man, I can't rap. Dave, you know better than that.
You don't have to rap.
But I'll get up there and try.
All you gotta do is listen.
MAN: What?
How often does a brother get a chance to chill out with the probation officers?
On some social stuff.
Man. And some social... No problems.
I ain't even... I ain't asking you to turn around, drop me a cup of urine.
None of that. No cups, man. DAVE: Yeah. No peeing in the cup.
It might look like a lot, but this is it. These are the golden tickets.
Wee Willy Wonka didn't even give out this many.
This will get you guys there.
It'll get you a hotel in New York for the night.
All right.
And it'll get you into the concert. And it'll get you a ride back.
Okay. We get in our Cadillac like we... My Cadillac, I should say.
Like we always do. And we go drive, go golfing.
It's this little corner store that we always go to for snacks.
And the next thing we know, we see Dave Chappelle.
I was like, "Oh!"
Chappelle, he grabbed this ticket.
Out of nowhere. He pulled it out his ass.
We was like, "Oh!"
We were like, "Where did that come from?"
After we got done seeing Chappelle, we went on golfing.
And we going on to the hole number 11.
Just imagine, we feeling like this high.
Man, we feeling like this high.
This high. Top of the world right now. This top of the world, man.
You can't crush us. We untouchable.
Can't crush none of our feelings.
There's a house to the left.
It's deep over there to the left.
And the tee right here. He had to take a piss. So he respected the house.
You know, he respected it.
I was down into some woods somewhere.
You know, on some adventure stuff. And he went on this side.
You know, he handled his business, you know.
Right. Everybody does it on the golf course.
It's nothing. Man.
But...
Some guy comes out and just says,
"You nigger." I said, "Oh!" I said, "No."
Man. It's a new era, though.
I thought it was over. And this old guy was so old-school.
I never thought somebody would say "nigger."
I said, "Oh, my."
And then, I'm up here just holding him back.
"No. No." If it wasn't for him, it'd been over.
'Cause you know, that's his private property. We want to go to Chappelle on Saturday.
(SINGING) ♪ Chappelle's Show Chappelle's Show ♪
♪ Chappelle, Chappelle ♪
♪ Yeah, Chappelle's Show ♪
So, we gotta go.
So we did it for you, Dave. Yeah.
We didn't whoop nobody's ass for you, Dave.
It was for you, Dave. For you, Dave. For you.
Watch your back. You almost bumped into a pole.
I never steer you wrong. Anyway, I come here and get cigarettes.
Nice lady, Miss Hall, owns this place. I had the pleasure of meeting her before.
I wanna see if she'll come listen to some rap music.
Just 'cause she's not a traditional person to a rap concert. Look out. Pole.
I'm telling you, I'll never lie to you.
So, you're ready? Saturday night? Bring your Timberlands.
All right.
And get the dance.
Do you think I would enjoy that at my age, really and truly?
DAVE: And I just wanted people from around the area that I live in,
that might not normally go to something like this...
That's right.
...to get a chance to experience something like this.
So, I figure, I'll go to the store.
I come here, I buy my cigarettes sometimes in the morning.
I just wanted you to be able to come in and do your business and leave.
So... No, that's why I live here.
Everybody treats me like...
But inside, I was screaming, "That's Dave Chappelle!"
(DAVE LAUGHING)
Hi. CAMERAMAN: Hi.
CAMERAMAN: How's it going? Yeah. Do you wanna come in?
Come on in.
I really don't know what to take to a rap party, Block Party.
I knew I should have bought a thong.
(RAPPING) ♪ I'm trying to catch the beat ♪
♪ I need to catch the beat ♪
♪ Now, throw your motherfucking hands, get them high ♪
♪ Throw them high, get them high ♪
♪ And all the girls pass the weed to your motherfucking man ♪
♪ Get them high, get them high Come on, get ♪
♪ Now I ain't never tell you to put down your hands ♪
♪ Keep them high, keep them high, yeah ♪
♪ And if you're losing your high then smoke again ♪
♪ Keep them high ♪
♪ Now, my flow is in the pocket like wallets ♪
♪ I got the bounce like hydraulics ♪
♪ I can't call it, I got the swerve like alcoholics ♪
♪ My freshman year, I was going through hella problems ♪
♪ Till I built up the nerve to drop my ass up out of college ♪
♪ My teacher said I'm a loser, I told her why don't you kill me ♪
♪ I give a fuck if you feel me I'm gonna follow my heart ♪
♪ And if you follow the charts or the plaques or the stacks ♪
♪ You ain't gotta guess who's back, you see ♪
♪ I'm so shy you thought I was bashful ♪
♪ but this bastard's flow will bash your skull ♪
♪ And I will cut your girl like Pastor Troy ♪
♪ And I don't usually smoke, but pass the 'dro ♪
♪ And I won't give you that money that you asking for ♪
♪ Why you think me and Dame cool? We assholes ♪
♪ That's why we hear your music in fast-forward ♪
♪ 'Cause we don't wanna hear that weak shit no more ♪
♪ Now everybody throw their hands ♪
♪ Get them high, get them high, yeah ♪
♪ And all the girls pass the weed to your motherfucking man ♪
♪ Get them high, get them high Get them high, yeah ♪
♪ Now I ain't never tell you to put down your hands ♪
♪ So, keep them high, keep them high, keep them high, keep them high ♪
♪ And if you're losing your high then smoke again ♪
Hey, yo, Kwe, I need you to spit that shit right now.
(RAPPING) ♪ Yo, yo, yo ♪
♪ I can't believe this nigga use my name for picking up dimes ♪
♪ But never mind, I need some tracks He trying to pull tracks out ♪
♪ And my rhymes is fitting to blow, he about to blow back South ♪
♪ Well, okay, you twisted my arm, I'll assist with the charm ♪
♪ Hey, yo, ain't you meet that chick at the conference with your mom? ♪
♪ Her sister's the bomb, but she got the bougie behavior ♪
♪ Always got something to say like a Okay Player hater ♪
♪ Anyway, I don't usually fuck with the Internet ♪
♪ Or chicks with birth control stuck to their arm like Nicorette ♪
♪ You really fucking that much or trying to get off cigarettes? ♪
♪ And she think it's fly She ain't met a real nigga yet ♪
♪ I apologize if I come off a little inconsiderate ♪
♪ I got the Bubba Kush and a sister could get a hit of it ♪
♪ Get them high, get them high, yeah ♪
♪ All the girls pass the weed to your motherfucking man ♪
♪ Get them high, get them high Come on, yeah ♪
♪ Now I ain't never tell you to put down your hands ♪
♪ Get them high, get them high ♪
Old people fucking love me, man. They love me.
You know you must be doing something right if old people like you.
Hi, miss. WOMAN: Hi.
Do you like rap music?
I like you, man, I tell you.
I'll take that. You want to come see a rap concert I'm throwing?
When? It's in Brooklyn on Saturday.
Sorry, I can't do that.
I'll get you on the bus.
I'm going to Canada on a bus.
Canada? You trying to dodge the war?
I don't know if you like rap music, but...
No, it's not a question of liking.
I don't hear well enough to catch the words.
You know, I got the concert jump-off this weekend.
Oh, do you? I can get you there.
Hell, yeah. If you get me there, I'll go.
On a bus.
It don't make no difference to me.
You'll go? Yeah.
No matter how we get you there? I ain't gonna send you on a donkey.
MAN: He'll hurt the donkey.
I'm a football player. I'm 320 pounds.
You play football? Where? At Central?
No. Hell, no. Oh, excuse me, I shouldn't be cursing.
Oh, that's all right. Look. Pussy hole. You see?
You can say anything. This is a movie.
You got a big hat for me? Yeah.
And the mirror's right here? Yeah.
That's the one. All right, I'm gonna surprise myself.
Here I go. Damn! Oh, snap!
Pimpalicious.
This a bad coat. Yeah.
You think I can wear this to a rap concert?
You sure could.
Where is my money, bitch?
Now, this is the popular stuff? Yeah.
All right. This is current styles.
(IMITATING PIMP) Look here, bitch.
I'm gonna tell you this and I'm gonna tell you this once.
I want my goddamn money.
Tell your wife I said hi. I can't wait to meet her.
What's she like?
She's the shit. Red hair, big tits.
Red hair and big titties? All right, I'll keep an eye out.
Get her drunk, she'll show them. Really?
All right, make sure we have beer at the concert.
This place is called HaHa's Pizza, right?
Back in the day, it was started by some hippies.
And they had certain pizza toppings that made you laugh. Get my drift?
You ordered a mushroom pizza at this place back in '71,
chances were you were gonna hallucinate.
(RAPPING) ♪ Keep them high ♪
Brooklyn, make some noise.
I rolled up on you guys completely by chance.
What are the odds that I'd be shooting the beginning?
It's God. I'm shooting a concert movie.
That's God. That's God, man.
I'm trying to think, how am I gonna get people to come?
And all of a sudden, a marching band crosses the street.
How perfect is that?
Now, ladies and gentlemen,
I'm standing here with a piece of black history.
The first black man named Milsapp, right here, ladies and gentlemen.
And not only is his name Milsapp, but he's also the director
of Central State University's band we got here.
This is not any old band though, is it?
No, it isn't. This the drum line.
Mr. Milsapp? Yes.
All right, how do y'all travel when you travel?
Very carefully.
We travel by charter bus.
By charter bus?
We gotta have a huddle, guys. Come on, let's huddle up real quick.
Look, man. All right, say I chartered y'all a bus, right?
Would you all come play at my concert, Block Party, in New York?
I don't have a problem with it. The whole band?
Yeah, yeah, with two buses, right? Yeah.
It's not gonna be more than two buses, is it?
No, it won't be more than two buses.
Yeah, man, come on, rep southwest Ohio, man.
Yes, we would. You'll do it?
Yes, we would.
Is there a compensation, or what?
Compensation? It comes with a sandwich.
Will there be snacks?
Oh, there'll be snacks. We got...
Don't we got snacks in the budget? This is a low-budget movie.
You know how Steven Spielberg
have all them trucks and stuff? Got the hookup.
DAVE: This is it. We pulled up in a minivan, baby.
We're working on a tight budget.
You have to go through the channels, right? Run it up the flagpole, that type of thing.
Yeah, and that would be done expediently. That could be done.
And now we're just caught up in a little bureaucracy.
Now, how hot would it be if these kids got a chance to come through Bed-Stuy,
beating them drums, playing them horns?
The whole neighborhood is amped, screaming.
They're saying "It's CSU!" That's what we're hoping for.
The anticipation is killing me.
♪(PERFORMING DEFINITION)
(RAPPING) ♪ One ♪
♪ Two ♪
♪ Three ♪
♪ Four ♪
♪ Lord have mercy ♪
♪ Hey, yo, from the first to the last of it delivery is passionate ♪
♪ Whole and not the half of it, vocab and not the math of it ♪
♪ Projectile and I'll blast away Accurate assassin shit ♪
♪ Me and Kweli close like Bethlehem and Nazareth ♪
♪ After this you be pressing rewind on top your master disk ♪
♪ Shining like an asterisk for all those that be gathering ♪
♪ Connecting like a roundhouse from the townhouse to the tenements ♪
♪ All my Brooklyn residents, all the heavy regiments ♪
♪ Don't believe, here the evidence ♪
♪ Brooklyn! ♪
♪ From where they selling tree at to where the police be at ♪
♪ Talib Kweli e-Kweli-ty Yo, tell them where we be at ♪
(RAPPING) ♪ We be in Brooklyn, New York City ♪
♪ Where they paint murals of Biggie In cash we trust ♪
♪ 'Cause it's ghettofabulous, Life look pretty ♪
♪ What a pity Blunts is still 50 cents, it's intense ♪
♪ Tree scent is dominant can't be covered with incense ♪
♪ My presence felt, my name is Kweli from the Eternal Reflection ♪
♪ People thinking MC is shorthand for misconception ♪
♪ I meditate, set it straight ♪
♪ Came to the conclusion that most of these cats is featherweight ♪
♪ Let me demonstrate Walking the streets is like battling ♪
♪ Be careful with your body ♪
♪ You know karate or think your soul is bulletproof like Sade ♪
♪ Stop acting like a bitch already, be a visionary ♪
♪ And maybe you can see your name in the column of obituary ♪
That's where it's all going down, baby.
Stage will be right there where you guys are standing.
I'm gonna be running up and down from here.
All this is gonna be people. I can see it now!
Like a vision. Don't look at me like I'm crazy. It's going down!
This is real.
I'm sorry for screaming like this.
(SINGING) ♪ One, two, three Mos Def and Talib Kweli ♪
♪ We came to rock it on to the tip-top Best alliance in ♪
♪ Sing it up! ♪
♪ Singing one, two, three It's kind of dangerous to be a MC ♪
♪ They shot 2Pac and Biggie God bless the day and this hip-hop ♪
Whose house is this anyway?
This your house?
You know, we're having a concert in front of your house Saturday. You excited?
Yes, and you're welcome to come and rest your loins at any point.
I can come rest my loins in the crib, you heard that?
With a glass of champagne.
Ladies and gentlemen,
today is their fortieth...
Sixth.
Forty-sixth wedding anniversary. Good God Almighty.
Thank you. Hold your applause to the end.
We took a trip on the Staten Island Ferry, a little ocean voyage.
Okay. On the Staten Island...
All right. To Staten Island.
And, as we walked in the streets of Staten Island,
what did we discover in the gutter, but an angel broken in seven pieces.
When we both discovered this,
I turned to him, who was not my husband at the time,
and I said, "It's an omen. It's a sign.
"I'm to marry you, of all people."
Really? And I did. I married him.
And Sunday is our 46th wedding anniversary.
I put that angel back together again.
But after I did, we found the original, of which there may be thousands of them.
The original's rather stiff. Mine is kind of graceful.
So, that's why we call this Broken Angel.
Because this building was wrecked and vandalized
and lying in the street.
And I'm putting it back together again, better than it was.
Because they bought it, it kind of had some sort of meaning.
But if I was a location scout,
and we needed a crack house, I might refer that place.
MILSAPP: Can I see the whole band for a moment, please?
BOY: Quiet. GIRL: Be quiet.
All right.
Upon a discussion I had with our president
and Mr. David Chappelle,
the performances on Saturday have been canceled.
Are you serious? I'm serious.
However, there has been a change in plans.
We will be traveling to New York.
♪(PERFORMING KING OF THE GAME)
CODY CHESNUTT: (SINGING) ♪ I've stood here in these streets of men ♪
♪ Dying a little ♪
♪ That I might comprehend ♪
♪ A concept like purpose or worry there ♪
♪ The earth is mine by divine prophecy I'm told ♪
♪ I am free if I'm meek ♪
Greetings. Cody Chesnutt, The Headphone Masterpiece.
By the grace of Almighty God, here for the celebration.
Miss, I'm having a Block Party on Saturday around the corner.
All you need to do is bring yourself.
Bring yourself! Bring yourself to the Block Party, won't you?
Attention, Huxtables.
There is a Block Party jump-off right around the corner.
Downing and Quincy. Downing and Quincy.
Bring Rudy, Theo, Denise...
On the actual block?
It's like a warehouse where they make chairs.
No human ass has touched these seats yet.
Some lucky person is gonna get a chair.
DAVE: There's like a nursery school.
There's this ill house called the Broken Angel house.
Then there's the Salvation Army.
These guys have been kind enough to loan us furniture for the party.
And now we're just kind of looking around at furniture,
so that we can be comfortable on the rooftop during the concert.
I'm also just taking some time
to look at all this good stuff that people just throw out.
If I went to a white person's house and saw this, I'd be furious.
Think I can play this, even though it says "Do not play"?
♪(PLAYING 'ROUND MIDNIGHT)
(SINGING) ♪ Midnight, 'round midnight ♪
QUESTLOVE: I think, right now, man, Dave has two songs in his repertoire.
He has Round About Midnight and Misty.
And he... Once he has...
♪(PLAYING MISTY ON ORGAN)
♪ (HUMMING)
Wait, get...
Go back to Round Midnight.
He always gets to the bridge
and then he does these real immaculate arpeggios,
which trips me out.
The fact that he's not a trained musician,
but he's dedicated his whole life to Round About Midnight.
BOTH: We're dating.
It's called... Courtship.
Christian courtship. That's what it's called.
We're dating. It's called dating.
We've been friends for how long? A year.
Best friends for a year.
A month. And a month.
And a day. And a day.
And a day, a day. It's a year, a month and a day.
So, how many hours and how many minutes and how many seconds?
Can I breathe your air? Breathe mine.
(GIRLS LAUGHING)
That was Round Midnight I was playing. That's a Thelonious Monk song.
One of my favorite musicians because his timing was so ill.
Every comedian is a stickler for timing.
And Thelonious Monk was off time, yet perfectly on time.
You should study it if you're an aspiring comedian
or an aspiring musician, you should study it.
Which brings me to my next point.
Comedians and musicians, we're like this.
Every comic wants to be a musician.
Every musician thinks they're funny.
It's a very strange relationship that we have.
Some musicians are funny, some comedians can play.
I'll give you an example. Mos Def, funny guy.
Jamie Foxx, good singer and piano player.
So you never know. You never know what kind of talents a person has.
I'm mediocre at both, but have managed to talk my way into a fortune.
Life is a funny, unpredictable thing.
DAVE: So, you do the drums, right?
And then do like the straight... Like, if I say,
"I saw this lady who was so fat." You'd be like, "Really, Dave?"
Like, "How fat was..."
You do the straight man and then I'll do... All right, you ready?
But this is how it works.
That you gotta stop when I say stop. It's gotta be, like, on a dime.
Okay.
And then keep going again. Stop, keep going again.
All right. All right, so we'll try it out.
But when we do it, we're gonna practice it in front of the audience.
This shit never fails. It's like a walking bassline,
and then like a swing beat, and then like whatever else...
MAN: This is sort of like making that noise.
All right. That's right. Okay, it should be like this.
Hey, Mos, what's happening?
Then you be like... Hey, what's happening, Dave?
Mos, I'm gonna tell you a little...
How many white people does it take to screw in a light bulb?
I don't know, Dave, how many?
None. 'Cause they'll get a nigga to do it for them.
Carry on.
Oh, that's right.
Just a little warm-up.
All right, all right.
MILSAPP: Okay, listen up.
Upon getting your keys and your luggage,
you can go to your room.
We are going to eat down here, I believe, in the dining room.
So once you put your luggage up, you can come back downstairs.
Glad we're here, though.
Time to relax, get some sleep before we go and kick it tomorrow or whatever.
♪(PERFORMING MOVE SOMETHIN')
♪ Bed-Stuy! ♪
TALIB KWELI: (RAPPING) ♪ Everybody ♪
♪ Come on, everybody ♪
♪ Get it up, get it up, what Everybody ♪
♪ Give it up, give it up, what ♪
♪ Get it up, get it up, what Everybody ♪
♪ Give it up, give it up, what ♪
♪ Get it up, get it up, what ♪
♪ Get it up, get it up ♪
♪ Hating melodrama ♪
♪ Fellas wanna hover in my cypher like a helicopter ♪
♪ Like it's a special honor ♪
♪ Stealth bomber, gem dropper make the ghetto holler intercontinental ♪
♪ Taking you high like skydivers when we spark like live wires ♪
♪ Original caveman, quest for my fire, ♪
♪ Express my desire to drop this new shit ♪
♪ These record executives keep telling me y'all stupid ♪
♪ What, are they what? ♪
♪ Shut the fuck up! ♪
♪ Revolutionaries, throw your guns up ♪
♪ Whether you a bougie broad who acting stuck up ♪
♪ Or some ignorant thug motherfucker shooting the club up ♪
♪ We make y'all feel this, break your spirit ♪
♪ If y'all fake that realness, Word, bringing it ♪
♪ Ringing it in from the new millennium to way after that ♪
♪ I call these cats Reynolds 'cause they plastic rap ♪
♪ Kill all the yapping, let's make it happen ♪
♪ You cats ain't real, you just a reenactment ♪
♪ Better yet, dramatization ♪
♪ Soon as the director say action you start faking ♪
DAVE: I like the element of surprise.
Take this concert for instance.
I would have loved it if nobody saw it coming.
Now it got leaked to the press, people have heard about it,
but they still don't know where it is.
So imagine. There's gonna be a group of people that see it here,
and then, people will hear about it, but they have no idea what it looks like.
CAMERAMAN: How'd you find out about this?
Internet.
1iota.com.
1iota.
Oh, through e-mail.
♪ Say it loud, say ♪ ♪ Move something ♪
♪ Brooklyn, say it loud, say ♪ ♪ Move something ♪
CAMERAMAN: Where you going? We made it.
Somewhere in Brooklyn. We don't know. We don't know.
Gonna have a good time today.
I don't know where I'm going.
I know that I'm going to some Block Party,
but I don't know who's performing or... I'm just here to have a good time.
We're going to Brooklyn. We're going to Bed-Stuy.
Bed-Stuy, Bed-Stuy.
Do or die, we're going to Bed-Stuy.
That's where we think we're going.
Just get on. Enjoy yourself. Have a good time. We love you.
MAN: There's no... Y'all got to squeeze, I'm sorry.
Put three people. People with small booties all sit together.
Big booty people, y'all got to share with a small booty.
Wow, how you gonna catch me while I'm in the middle of breakfast?
This is not a stereotype. We were hungry and Pathmark was out of steak.
MAN: You guys ready to get on the road?
ALL: Yeah!
DAVE: Thank you, thank you very much.
Have you tried the hot dogs? That's right.
(SINGING) ♪ That's right ♪
♪ We're gonna have a little party tonight ♪
♪ And some jazz comedy ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ That's right ♪
(SHOUTING)
We didn't get here until very late last evening.
And we've only had about four or five hours' sleep, most of us.
So we are a little tired, but we're trying to weather the storm
and enjoy ourselves in spite of.
Carry on!
Yeah! We're gonna bring the house down tomorrow.
(LAUGHING)
Oh, shit!
(SCATTING) ♪ Scooby-doo-wop Scooby-doo-wee ♪
We need to let them in. We gotta go.
Downing and Gates. We got to let them in.
We got a marching band on Downing and Gates...
Come on in.
Throw them up.
Give it up for none other than Kan-Easy,
AKA Kanye West.
Come on. Make some noise, Bed-Stuy.
Make some noise!
♪(PERFORMING JESUS WALKS)
(RAPPING) ♪ Y'all know what the Midwest is Young and restless ♪
♪ Where restless niggas might snatch your necklace ♪
♪ Next these niggas might jack your Lexus ♪
♪ Somebody tell these niggas who Kanye West is ♪
♪ I walk through the valley of the shadow of death ♪
♪ Top floor the view alone will leave you breathless ♪
♪ Try to catch it It's kind of hard ♪
♪ Getting choked by detectives Yeah, now check the method ♪
♪ They asking us questions Harass and arrest us ♪
♪ Saying, "We eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast" ♪
♪ Y'all eat pieces of shit? What's the basis? ♪
♪ We ain't going nowhere but got suits and cases ♪
♪ A trunk full of coke Rental car from Avis ♪
♪ My mama used to say only Jesus could save us ♪
♪ Well, Mama, I know I act a fool ♪
♪ But I'll be gone till November I got packs to move ♪
♪ I hope Jesus walks ♪
♪ God show me the way The devil's trying to break me down ♪
♪ Jesus walk with me ♪
♪ The only thing that I pray is that my feet don't fail me now ♪
♪ I want Jesus ♪
♪ And I don't think there is nothing I can do now to right my wrongs ♪
♪ To walk with me ♪
♪ I want to talk to God but I'm afraid ♪
♪ 'Cause we ain't spoke in so long ♪
♪ Jesus ♪
♪ God, show me the way The devil's trying to break me down ♪
♪ Walk with me ♪
♪ The only thing that I pray is that my feet don't fail me now ♪
(SINGING) ♪ All along my ♪
♪ pilgrim's journey ♪
♪ I want Jesus ♪
♪ to walk with me ♪
(RAPPING) ♪ To the hustlers, killers murderers, drug dealers ♪
♪ Even the strippers Jesus walks with them ♪
♪ To the victims of welfare For we living in hell here ♪
♪ Hell, yeah Jesus walks with them ♪
♪ Now hear ye, hear ye Want to see thee more clearly ♪
♪ I know he hear me When my feet get weary ♪
♪ 'Cause we're the almost nearly extinct ♪
♪ We rappers is role models We rap, we don't think ♪
♪ I ain't here to argue about his facial features ♪
♪ Or here to convert atheists into believers ♪
♪ I'm just trying to say the way school need teachers ♪
♪ The way Kathie Lee needed Regis That's the way I need Jesus ♪
♪ So here go my single, dawg Radio needs it ♪
♪ Nigga, you can rap about anything except for Jesus ♪
♪ That means guns, sex, lies, videotape ♪
♪ But if I talk about God my record won't get played ♪
♪ Well if this take away from my spins ♪
♪ Which will probably take away from my ends ♪
♪ Then I hope it take away from my sins ♪
♪ And bring the day that I'm dreaming about ♪
♪ Next time I'm in the club everybody screaming out ♪
♪ Jesus walks ♪
♪ God show me the way The devil's trying to break me down ♪
♪ Jesus walk with me ♪
♪ The only thing that I pray is that my feet don't fail me now ♪
♪ And I don't think there's nothing I can do now to right my wrongs ♪
♪ I want to talk to God but I'm afraid ♪
♪ 'Cause we ain't spoke in so long ♪
Man, that Kanye West.
Kanye West, who we came to see, he came out right away.
He came out, did his thing.
I liked that.
It's a party.
If it wasn't for the rain, it would have been really great. But it's still a party.
(IMITATING BEAT POET) "Rain, rain
"On my parade
"Five thousand black people chilling in the rain
"Nineteen white people peppered into the crowd
"Everybody's welcome
"Trying to find a Mexican
"Very hard to find a Mexican!
"Buenos días. I know you're out there. Buenos días.
"Qué?
"That's Spanish Lil Jon. Qué?
"Qué?
"Sí."
Thank you, bitches. Good night.
Now, I know you guys are thinking,
"Dave, where have you learned how to play the congos?"
Nobody taught me that shit! I'm black!
It's in my blood!
M-1: Throw up my gang sign.
It's bad. Well, no, really, it means something. It means ya basta.
Know what I'm saying? It's Mexican.
For all my compañeros and compañanas.
This means ya basta. Enough is enough.
DAVE: Is that some Mexican shit? Yeah.
So if I see some Mexicans and I throw this up...
And this means... Ya basta.
Ya basta. And they'll be like, "All right."
Oh, well, you know. I never really... Check with them first.
Yeah, I don't wanna... Don't have me doing this.
Don't just walk up to Mexicans and start doing this shit.
Enough is enough. Ya basta.
We had enough here. We're ready for better.
Any way.
Next time my wife is feeding me too much... "Would you like some more potatoes?"
Ya basta. I've had enough.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Put your fists up. My nigga.
♪(PERFORMING TURN OFF THE RADIO)
(RAPPING) ♪ Crank up your speakers ♪
♪ Your woofers and your tweeters ♪
♪ Turn up your receiver ♪
♪ Crank up your speaker ♪
♪ Your woofers and your tweeter ♪
♪ Turn up your receivers ♪
♪ We banging off the ♪
It's your boy stic.man, Dead Prez.
You know how we do it. Fuck the police.
You know what I mean. Raising the babies up soldier style.
Greetings.
This is M-Uno, M-1.
The other half of Dead Prez.
(RAPPING) ♪ We banging off the ♪
♪ Yo, come on ♪
♪ Your speakers Your woofers and your tweeters ♪
♪ Turn up your receiver ♪
♪ We banging off the meter ♪
♪ I refuse to be a stereotype in your box ♪
♪ Never wanna try to be something I'm not ♪
DAVE: I think, like, the more you say with it,
the less airplay you get.
You know, guys like Dead Prez, they say it all.
But you hardly ever hear them on the radio.
Because they say things like,
"The White House is the rock house.
"Uncle Sam is the motherfucking pusher man.
"What I gotta do to make you understand?"
You know.
They don't want to hear that on the radio.
"The White House is the rock house," and all these kinds of things.
But you hear it at the barber shop all the time.
(RAPPING) ♪ Say turn off the radio, Brooklyn ♪
♪ Turn off that bullshit ♪
♪ Say it Turn off the radio ♪
♪ Come on, come on ♪ ♪ Turn off that bullshit ♪
♪ What's on the radio Propaganda, mind control ♪
♪ And turning it on is like Putting on a blindfold ♪
♪ When you bring in the real You don't get rotation ♪
♪ Unless you take over the station ♪
♪ And, yeah, I know it's part of their plans ♪
♪ To make us think it's all about Party and dancing ♪
♪ And, yo, it might sound good when you spitting your rap ♪
♪ But in reality, don't nobody live like that ♪
♪ You wanna know what kind of nigga I am? ♪
♪ Let me tell you about the nigga I'm not ♪
♪ I don't fuck with the cops ♪
♪ Like it gotta be hot ♪
♪ I ain't gotta love it, even if they play it a lot ♪
♪ How many people they reach? How they use music to teach? ♪
♪ A radio program ain't a figure of speech ♪
♪ Don't sleep, 'cause you could be a radio freak ♪
♪ My nigga, turn off the radio Say it ♪
♪ Turn off that bullshit ♪
♪ Brooklyn, turn off the radio ♪ ♪ Come on, come on ♪
♪ Turn off that bullshit ♪
♪ Turn off the radio ♪
♪ Turn off that bullshit ♪
♪ Turn off the radio, say it ♪
♪ Turn off that bullshit ♪
♪ Crank up your speakers ♪
♪ Your woofers and your tweeters ♪
♪ Turn up your receiver ♪
♪ We banging for the people ♪
♪ Crank up your speakers ♪
♪ Your woofers and your tweeters ♪
♪ Turn up your receivers ♪
♪ We banging off the meter ♪
Or how about when they say,
"Who shot Biggie Smalls? If we don't get them, they gonna get us all."
"I'm up for running up on them crackers in their city hall."
You'll never hear that shit on the radio.
Never in a million years will you hear somebody say on the radio,
"I'm up for running up on some crackers in city hall."
And
people have stopped asking who shot Biggie Smalls.
But if you in show business and black, you'll wonder about that every day.
'Cause they might get you, too.
Biggie Smalls was in this daycare center.
Miss Jenkins, Miss Green,
Miss Pennick was their teachers.
And they're still here. They've been here for the past 30 years.
Man. So the next Biggie Smalls might be here now.
You don't even know. He may be.
That's it. This is what I just finished telling you.
All right. All right. Okay.
So out of here, you will get the next
star. Maybe... Maybe Biggie Smalls.
...another Biggie Smalls.
This the old daycare center right here, man.
DAVE: You were in here, too?
No, I didn't go here, though my little nephew used to go here.
I used to always come here to pick up my nephew.
One of my niggas from Junior MAFIA, his mom used to work in here.
Word? You know, just all around the way, man.
All down here.
So the whole Junior MAFIA's from around this way?
Yeah. Yeah, everybody. Kim, everybody.
Yeah, Kim used to live...
She lived on the other St. James.
That's two blocks down this way on Lafayette.
Jay-Z, he from Marcy projects.
That ain't but about two, three blocks on that side.
Junior MAFIA, Big, he's two blocks back down this way, you know what I'm saying?
So, I mean, you know,
we kind of put it down ourselves.
You influenced the whole world.
Yeah, yeah. For sure, for sure.
It's just like it's a 'hood thing, man. Like we ain't got shit to do out here.
That's all you got to do, is music, man.
That was something that kept a lot of us niggas out of trouble.
Kept motherfuckers off the corner.
Would have been police out there fucking with you.
You go in the crib, you listen to some music.
That's the only thing that kind of cleared the nigga head.
And the money never came between you?
No, never that. Never that.
'Cause we all grew up together.
At the end of the day, I ain't gotta make another record no more,
but those will always be my niggas, 'cause I grew up with them.
It was way bigger than hip-hop.
Kind of like, that was our work.
Those were my niggas right there. I grew up with them
since we was like this, so nothing would ever come between us.
You know what I'm saying?
Me, on the other hand, I don't see none of my old friends.
Them motherfuckers is crazy.
And if you watching this, I mean that shit.
If you know this here, say it.
♪(PERFORMING IT'S BIGGER THAN HIP HOP)
(RAPPING) ♪ It's bigger than hip-hop Hip-hop, hip-hop ♪
♪ It's bigger than ♪ ♪ Say it ♪
♪ What it bigger than? ♪ ♪ Say it ♪
♪ What it bigger than? ♪
♪ One thing about music When it hit, you feel no pain ♪
♪ White folks say it controls your brain ♪
♪ I know better than that That's game, and we ready for that ♪
♪ Two soldiers head of the pack Matter of fact, who got the gat? ♪
♪ And where my army at? ♪
♪ Rather attack and not react ♪
♪ Back the beats, it don't reflect on how many records get sold ♪
♪ On sex, drugs, and rock and roll ♪
♪ Whether your project gets put on hold ♪
♪ In the real world We just people with ideas ♪
♪ They just like me and you When the smoke and camera disappear ♪
♪ In the real world It's bigger than all these fake-ass records ♪
♪ When poor folks got the millions and my sisters get respect ♪
♪ If you check, one, two My word of advice to you is just relax ♪
♪ Just do what you got to do If that don't work then here's the facts ♪
♪ If you a fighter, rider, biter, flame-igniter, crowd-exciter ♪
♪ Or you wanna just get high, then just say it ♪
♪ But then if you a liar, liar, pants on fire Wolf- crier, agent with a wire ♪
♪ I'm gonna know it when I play it ♪ ♪ Say it ♪
♪ What it bigger than? ♪
♪ It's bigger than hip-hop Hip-hop, hip-hop ♪
♪ Who shot 2Pac? If we don't get them, they gonna get us all ♪
♪ I'm down for running up on them crackers In the city hall ♪
♪ We ride for y'all All my dawgs, stay real ♪
♪ Nigga, don't think your record deal ♪
♪ Gonna feed your seeds and pay your bills ♪
♪ Because they're not ♪
♪ MCs get a little bit of love And think they hot ♪
♪ Talking about how much money they got ♪
♪ Nigga, all y'all records sound the same ♪
♪ I sick of that fake thug, R&B, rap scenario All day on the radio ♪
♪ Same scenes in the video ♪
♪ Monotonous material Y'all don't hear me, though ♪
♪ These record labels sling our tapes like dope ♪
♪ You can be next in line and signed ♪
♪ and still be writing rhymes and broke ♪
♪ You rather have a Lexus or justice? A dream or some substance? ♪
♪ A Beemer, a necklace or freedom? ♪
♪ See, a nigga like me don't player-hate I just stay awake ♪
♪ This is real hip-hop, and it don't stop ♪
♪ Till we get them crackers off our block ♪
♪ They call it hip-hop Hip-hop, hip-hop ♪
♪ It's bigger than ♪
♪ What? ♪
♪ What it bigger than? ♪
♪ Hip-hop, hip-hop ♪ ♪ What it bigger than? ♪
♪ It bigger than ♪
♪ hip-hop, hip-hop ♪
♪ D.P.'s got that crazy shit we keep it crunked up ♪
♪ Come on, blaze this shit ♪
♪ D.P.'s got that crazy shit We keep it crunked up ♪
Brooklyn, we love you.
Thank y'all.
Free Aaron Patterson.
DAVE: Look at that. Look at that. All right, all right.
Ready? This is for Dead Prez right here.
This is especially for Dead Prez.
Pow!
The most revolutionary shoe known to man. Ya basta!
Who knew that? Ya basta. Ya basta.
Enough is enough, motherfuckers.
You need to get us in a skit, Dave.
You know what I'm saying? We can do this.
I'll dance all day.
How many people in the audience can MC?
Nine hundred MCs.
Mr. T.
Bring up Mr. T.
I wanna battle you.
(IMITATING MR. T) I pity you, fool.
I pity the fool that tries to battle Dave Chappelle.
Where's your time machine parked?
He got a Mohawk, man.
Come on, man, you weigh more than me. God damn!
I pity the fool!
Drink the milk, B.A.
Here's the kicker.
I'm not giving you a mike. Good luck!
You know, I'm from DC, where y'all are from.
You from DC? For real?
You know, we rough it off down there.
He said he's roughing off.
Does that mean that I should wash my hands?
He's roughing off!
Vaseline!
See, roughing off is when we take the mike.
All right, hold on. All right! Take it easy!
You know I got security, nigga. I'll get you yoked.
I will get you...
I'm worth too much money now, motherfucker.
There's snipers on the roof, all kinds of shit!
That's right, Mr. T. I pity the fool!
I pity the fool that fuck with me.
What's up, BK?
Yo. It's like this.
This my homie here, he's from DC, right?
(RAPPING) ♪ Yo, son. What's up with that bald head? ♪
♪ I think you got to get something new or you'll be dead ♪
♪ Yo, Dave, I ain't gonna do you like that ♪
♪ 'Cause I'm gonna come to you real fat with a bat ♪
♪ Yo, I'm rapping like this 'cause I don't really freestyle ♪
♪ I'm rapping like this 'cause I've traveled many miles ♪
♪ "Please to meet you," I holler "I'll see you at the gate" ♪
♪ After that, yeah That shit's gonna be late ♪
Time out, everybody.
First of all, don't ever boo a rapper on this stage.
The way that he rhymed "gate" with "late" is genius!
And if you can't see that, there's something wrong with you!
Anybody can rhyme like that.
You got nice shoes.
Nigga's got blues.
New York City.
Something about big titties. You could just do that all day.
Bring back on that beat!
Uh!
Time out, time out, time out!
Why everybody got to go "uh" before they freestyle? Uh!
Uh!
All right, go ahead. Bring that beat back. Bring that beat back!
I didn't forget about you!
(RAPPING) ♪ It's time to go to school ♪
♪ Like Mr. T said, "I pity the fool!" ♪
♪ That ain't platinum it's not even silver ♪
♪ It's just a piece of shit I told you that shit don't rhyme ♪
What? What?
Look at that! Huh?
♪ You said "Free Tibet" Ain't no niggas in Tibet! ♪
It's probably a free t-shirt!
My flow is too ill.
Damn, I thought that was a real person.
That's a puppet. God damn!
This puppet had me fooled.
I was like, he's gonna get in trouble smoking all this weed out here.
Guy got his hand up a Jamaican midget's ass.
Doing all...
I didn't know it was a puppet!
All right. Oh yeah, give it up for my man, Mr. T.
His cereal is in stores.
(SINGING) ♪ Mr. T! ♪
Can I get somebody to beatbox for me?
I'll beatbox. How do you want your beat? All right.
♪(BEATBOXING)
(RAPPING) ♪ Many women tell me my style is so different ♪
♪ It is kind of good but let's be specific ♪
♪ I'm not the type to be rushing ♪
♪ I'm not the type of guy who asks a whole lot of questions ♪
♪ Like where you going, where you been and can we ♪
♪ have sex all the time? That's not important to D ♪
♪ I only date girls who have men or relations ♪
♪ So to be with me is like a mini vacation ♪
♪ So I don't let no girl spend my money like she crazy ♪
♪ Half on drinks on the room and the baby ♪
♪ I don't argue, I control myself ♪
♪ 'Cause I don't have to be loud or physical to be felt ♪
♪ 'Cause after it's all over we realize it was nothing ♪
♪ I walk away and later return and still be... ♪
♪ You never have to worry that I lie ♪
♪ 'Cause I don't have to ♪
♪ 'Cause I'm the nigga on the side ♪
That's right.
All right, I'll see you Saturday, man. All right!
Saturday.
2:00.
Be there or be square, as they say.
She knew what I was going for. You heard that, buddy?
Quincy and Downing Street.
WOMAN: How do you spell Downing?
Downing? I don't know, I went to public school.
D-O-W-N-N-I-G?
When you said you was doing it over there, I was like, "Fuck."
DAVE: You grew up over there?
My whole childhood...
Hey, that's crazy. ...was in the Stuy.
So it's a trip. The Stuy is still, like,
the Stuy.
You know what I'm saying?
This shit has been like that
forever.
It's actually better now than it has been. In certain areas, anyway.
DAVE: Some of it look like
when The Cosby Show comes back from commercial break.
And some of it look like
when Good Times came back from the commercial break.
But it could be
in the same block.
MOS DEF: Like, yeah, you could be in one block,
and then you'd turn the corner and you'd be like, "Oh, shit."
Tyrone in school?
Folks, right now I'm sitting in the office of none other than Luz Grice.
She is the director
of the daycare center
whose roof we'll be shooting on Saturday.
I just wanted to say thank you, first of all, for letting us shoot here.
Thank you.
And thank you for introducing me to all the kids today.
You're quite welcome.
It's a mixed area.
Bed-Stuy, it's black,
Hispanic...
There are a few Caucasians coming in.
You know, that's what I like about Bed-Stuy. You say it's a mixed area.
Blacks and Hispanics.
Blacks, Hispanics, and a few Caucasians
coming into the neighborhood.
Do you got a limo?
Do I have a limo? Today I have a limo.
(CHILDREN CHEERING)
Thank you. Thank you. Can we ride in it?
If you guys could ride in my limousine, right,
where would you want to go?
No, wait a minute! Wait a minute!
Let's go to Alabama.
You wanna go to Alabama?
We get to see the roof?
Now we going to the roof. To the roof?
Yes. The roof.
I hope you can climb stairs.
Right
over the ledge
is the actual Block Party/concert.
All right, to my right is Tyrone. One of the fastest kids on the East Coast.
I'm gonna give you a head start, that's how confident I am.
You ready? Yeah.
Set?
I didn't say go.
I didn't say go, Tyrone.
Come on, now, all right?
Now this time I mean it. Are you ready?
Set.
I'm gonna give you a head start.
Go.
Just gonna let him run real quick.
Oh, he is fast!
Is the jump-off jumping off?
Who wants to go next? Ready?
Yeah, I'm ready.
All right, come on, y'all. Let's keep the show going.
DAVE: All right, everybody.
I don't know what to say.
Ya'll just gonna have to go crazy now.
Just make some noise.
Hey! I smell reefer!
I'm calling the police!
All right, everybody. Make some noise.
Show your love.
Erykah Badu.
♪(PERFORMING BACK IN THE DAY)
(SINGING) ♪ Back in the day now ♪
♪ Back in the day when things were cool ♪
♪ Hey ♪
♪ All we needed was bop-bop bop-bop, bop-ba-dop ♪
♪ Hey ♪
♪ Bop-bop, bop-bop, bop-ba-dop ♪
Wait.
♪ Well, well, well Sing ♪
♪ Back in the day when things were cool ♪
♪ Back in the day ♪
♪ All we needed was ♪ ♪ Bop-bop, bop-bop, bop-ba-dop ♪
♪ Hey ♪
♪ Oh, well, well, well ♪
♪ Look, gotta say ♪
♪ Soul flower take me flying with you ♪
♪ Hey, child ♪
♪ Just give me that bop-bop, bop-bop, bop-ba-dop ♪
Let me just say, just because you guys are younger than me,
don't think for a second I'm gonna take it easy on you.
I play to win. Yeah, you can't win.
I'm putting some money on the table.
I'm just kidding. Gambling is wrong, kids.
James, watch this.
♪(SINGING)
We gonna go back, all right?
Say good morning.
KIDS: Good morning!
Good morning, kids.
Say, "Good morning, Mr. Chappelle."
Good morning, Mr. Chappelle.
Thanks. Can you say, "Good morning, Mr. Black Bush?"
KIDS: Good morning, Mr. Black Bush.
I love kids. Thank you.
♪ The laughing, the singing The jamming, the talking ♪
♪ And pumping the trunk With the windows rolled up ♪
♪ Puff ♪
♪ Hours ago ♪
♪ Then we could ride around the park till it's after dark ♪
♪ And when we get home hope the dog don't bark ♪
♪ Puff ♪
DAVE: It's always more interesting to look at the person behind the image.
Everyone's got a difference between their personal life and their public life.
You kind of have to. Not every part of you can be for sale, right?
But this is something where I just wanted to get a feeling of,
like, that third dimension.
Something just a little bit beyond that superficial image.
Just meet the people beyond the gold or whatever it is
that their image is.
That, you know,
you hear someone like Erykah Badu's music and you get the idea she's so serious,
but she's a hilarious person. You'd never know this.
So hopefully we hang out here for 12 hours together,
we perform together, or we talk together,
maybe we get to see a little bit more about what we're all about.
DAVE: Hey, look at Erykah!
JILL SCOTT: Go ahead, girl.
I really love that woman.
We all have our own thing. That's the magic.
That everybody comes with their own sense of strength and their own queendom.
Mine could never compare to hers, and hers could never compare to mine.
♪(PERFORMING LOVE OF MY LIFE)
(SINGING) ♪ Love of my life ♪
♪ You are my friend ♪
♪ Love of my life ♪
♪ I can depend ♪
♪ Love of my life ♪
♪ Without you, baby ♪
♪ Feels like a simple true love, yeah ♪
♪ But the shit didn't clear ♪
(RAPPING) ♪ Y'all know how I met her ♪
♪ We broke up and got back together ♪
♪ To get her back I had to sweat her ♪
♪ Thought she'd roll with bad boys forever ♪
♪ In many ways them boys made her better ♪
♪ To grow I had to let her ♪ ♪ Let her ♪
♪ She needed cheddar and I understood that ♪
♪ Looking at cheese that don't make her a 'hood rat ♪
♪ In fact she's a queen to me Her light beams on me ♪
♪ I love it when she sings to me It's like ♪
(SINGING) ♪ Ooh, you know you rock my world ♪
♪ And you be boy ♪
CROWD: ♪ And I'll be girl ♪
♪ And it don't stop ♪
♪ Until the break of dawn ♪
♪ Sing it, y'all, come on ♪
♪ It don't, it don't It don't, it don't ♪
She jumped off into the crowd's arms.
That was exciting.
(RAPPING) ♪ Yes, yes, y'all And you don't stop ♪
♪ We like to rock to the beat And you don't stop ♪
♪ Kool Herc in the house And you don't stop ♪
JILL SCOTT: That chick right there has definitely led the way
for me and a lot of other sisters.
You know, I appreciate it.
MICHEL GONDRY: Are you nervous you're gonna perform after her?
I'm trying to get your feelings out.
Have you ever seen me perform?
I am the lady, Jill Scott.
I am a poet and a singer
and a lot of other things.
And this is my pimple, Herbert.
He arrived today and he decided to stay.
So we'll see his performance tomorrow.
They're fixing me.
Now I can't see him.
He said, "Can I see your pimple?" No.
♪(PERFORMING THE WAY)
(SINGING) ♪ Woke up this morning ♪
♪ With a smile on my face ♪
♪ Jumped out of bed ♪
♪ Took a shower ♪
♪ And I cleaned up my place ♪
♪ Made me some breakfast ♪
♪ I had some toast and two scrambled eggs ♪
♪ Grabbed my keys Grabbed my purse ♪
♪ Grabbed my jacket Off to work ♪
♪ Beaming all the way ♪
♪ You love me, baby ♪
♪ Is it the way ♪
♪ You love me, baby ♪
I know.
Jill Scott. I love her.
I've seen Mos Def.
Oh, my gosh, I'm so excited!
Oh, it's wonderful.
It's great being out here in New York for my first time.
I feel kind of like I'm at home. Yeah.
Seeing all these people out here with locks, it's comfortable.
You know, it's nice, though.
See, you can't come to Brooklyn without coming to the rooftop.
This is New York when you're on the rooftop.
Every time you show a movie, it always show somebody on the rooftop.
This is it.
So we here doing it.
On a rooftop.
The barbeque... You should see the lovely women.
QUESTLOVE: All of us have... What we have in common
is that our audience doesn't look like us.
And it's the same for him.
Because of whatever vehicle that he's working at the time,
it attracts a certain demographic.
And I guess around the time when the thing that was out for him
was, you know, like people knowing about Half Baked.
And it was like post-9/11.
So, pretty much like...
The audience was full of, like,
these wild frat boys, like, you know, like,
that just wanted him to do his character.
'Cause he was telling stories, they would always interrupt his narrative.
But tell them what I said,
that's when the sniper was out, what did I say?
I said the sniper was black. Oh. We, we...
Yeah... Did I not say that?
Yeah. He predicted that the DC Sniper...
Was black. ...was black.
'Cause he was taking weekends off.
What kind of white sniper's gonna do some shit like that?
A white sniper's up early, killing.
♪(PERFORMING BOOM)
(RAPPING) ♪ Party people gather round ♪
♪ What we have here is a brand new sound ♪
♪ Reach for my waist Y'all hit the ground ♪
♪ You better duck when I start spitting the rounds ♪
♪ It goes, boom, boom, boom ♪
♪ Yeah, that's what's happening in the parking lot ♪
♪ Check it out, y'all ♪
♪ That's what's happening on stage ♪
♪ Hold your flix, I'm not for the photo ops ♪
♪ It's Black, code name Yaphet Kotto ock ♪
What's good? Black Thought from the Roots crew, holding it down.
Frank Knuckles of the Roots. One love.
I'm Kamal from the Roots and I'm an alcoholic.
Ahmir Thompson. I'm the official photographer of this event.
My name is Kirk, AKA Captain Kirk.
AKA Roscoe, AKA Tracy Chapman.
I play guitar with the Roots crew.
What's happening? Martin Luther, Rebel Soul Music.
(RAPPING) ♪ Party people... ♪
This is H-U-B, Hub, Leonard Hubbard on the bass, representing the Roots Crew
and keeping black music alive.
BIG DADDY KANE: What's up? Big Daddy Kane. Just here to show love, you know.
I'm glad to be a part of this, you know.
Big ups to the Roots. Big up to Dave, for, you know, showing a brother love.
(RAPPING) ♪ The man at hand that rule the school ♪
♪ And teach and reach the blind and find a way from A to Z ♪
♪ And be the most to boast I'm loud and proud ♪
♪ The game to reign You remain guilty ♪
♪ The heat is on so feel the fire come off the empire ♪
♪ all the more higher level of depth one step beyond dope ♪
♪ To suckers all smoke and hope to cope with notes ♪
♪ 'Cause I could never let them on top of me ♪
♪ I play them out like a game of Monopoly ♪
♪ Let it speed around the board like an astro ♪
♪ And send them to jail for trying to pass go ♪
♪ Shaking them up, breaking them up, taking no stuff ♪
♪ But it still ain't loud enough So Questlove let the fire grow ♪
♪ Everybody in the house say, "Ho!" ♪
♪ Party people gather round What we have here is a brand new sound ♪
♪ Reach for my waist y'all hit the ground ♪
♪ You better duck when I start spitting the rounds ♪
♪ and going, "Boom, boom, boom, boom" ♪
♪ That's what's happening in the parking lot ♪
♪ Y'all are not ready for it ♪
Yo, check it.
♪ I'm live, design a finer rhyme that's right on time ♪
♪ One step beyond and not behind the line ♪
♪ That separates thought from divine ♪
♪ You can take it as a caution or a warning sign ♪
♪ Antonyms, words, I'm blending them ♪
♪ Homonyms, synonyms good like M&Ms ♪
♪ With Polo, and while I'm slicing ♪
♪ I turn a mike's last name into Tyson ♪
♪ My brain like a factory constantly creating ♪
♪ Materials stitch by stitch for decoration ♪
♪ My lyrics are fabric, beat is a lining ♪
♪ My passion of rhyming is fashion designing ♪
♪ Now it gets ordered 'cause people wanna sport it, you bought it ♪
♪ If you didn't then you couldn't afford it ♪
♪ Poetry full of surprises It's like a game show ♪
♪ And my brain go... I do my thing, yo ♪
♪ Party people gather round What we have here is a brand new sound ♪
♪ Reach for my waist Y'all hitting the ground ♪
♪ You better duck when I start spitting the rounds ♪
♪ I go, "Boom, boom, boom" ♪
♪ What's happening in the parking lot ♪
♪ Check it out, y'all ♪
♪ That's what's happening on stage ♪
(WHOOPING)
Yes, they deserved to die, and I hope they burn in hell!
All right, band, you ready? Yes!
Hit me, hit me. Hit me two times.
♪(BAND RESPONDING)
That's not how James Brown did it.
His shits was crisp, decisive.
I said, "Hit me." Y'all was like...
(MOCKING BAND)
I got to get that James Brown shit. Hit me two times.
♪(BAND RESPONDING) That's better, motherfuckers. Three times.
That's right. Two from both nuts.
♪(BAND RESPONDING)
That's right.
Ain't nothing like a James Brown hit to set the mood. Hit me.
♪(BAND RESPONDING) See? Hit me again.
That's right. Hit me.
♪(BAND RESPONDING) See?
If you could do that in real life, you'd be powerful.
If I could walk into the meeting,
"I want more money, motherfuckers." Hit me.
♪(BAND RESPONDING)
(CROWD LAUGHING)
Just might get it.
"Excuse me, baby, would you like to dance?"
"I ain't dancing with you." "Well, fuck you, bitch. Hit me."
♪(BAND RESPONDING)
(CROWD CHEERING)
Hit me again.
♪(BAND RESPONDING)
All right, just checking to make sure you... Hit me.
♪(BAND RESPONDING) Watching, that's all. Hit me.
(SHOUTING)
♪(BAND RESPONDING) Hit me!
They're good. What can I say? They're professionals.
♪(BAND RESPONDING) Hit me!
♪(BAND RESPONDING) See, I can't shake them... Hit me! Shit.
Life is deep. You know, the other day... Hit me!
Damn! These motherfuckers are good. You see what I'm saying?
I'm telling you, the crowd's not gonna know what hit them.
You see, what I'm saying is that the crowd's not gonna...
See, y'all motherfuckers don't even know what hit you.
MOS DEF: All you got is the mother jokes. You in Bed-Stuy. Got the mother jokes.
There you go. There you go.
All right. Your fucking... Your short-ass mother, motherfucker.
I seen your mother's picture. You could see her feet on the driver's license picture.
How about that? Hit me.
Boom, in your face, motherfuckers, 'cause I got a band, too.
I got a band, too.
Oh, yeah. Then we'll tear them up.
We'll tear them up.
You see, your mother's got an eye here, here, here and here.
When someone knock on the door, she looks in the peephole and say,
"Who is it?" Hit me!
That's right, your ugly-ass mother.
I'll be going on like this all day long.
That's right.
Your mother got three titties. One for milk, one for water and other one's out of order.
Hit me.
You see, it's not even that funny, but with the hit,
it just pushes it over the top.
Nobody has three titties. That's ridiculous.
One more hit.
Two times.
Three times.
BLACK THOUGHT: I think we're gonna have some fun with this one right here.
♪(PERFORMING YOU GOT ME)
(SINGING) ♪ When I use my mind I win the race ♪
♪ I am the moon and the rising sun ♪
♪ My new shit has just begun ♪
♪ I can take you higher ♪
♪ I can take you low ♪
♪ If you were worried about where ♪
♪ I been or who I saw ♪
♪ Or what club I went to with my homies ♪
♪ Baby, don't worry ♪
Yeah.
♪ Don't worry, don't worry ♪
♪ You know ♪
(RAPPING) ♪ That snake could be that chick and that rat could be that cool cat ♪
♪ That's whispering "She trying to play you for a fool, Black" ♪
♪ If something's on your chest then let it be known ♪
♪ See I'm not every five minutes all on the phone ♪
♪ And on the topic of trust It's just a matter of fact ♪
♪ That people be biting that shit trying to fracture what's intact ♪
♪ And they'll forever be ♪
♪ I ain't on some "Oh, I'm a celebrity" ♪
♪ I deal with the real And if it's artificial, let it be ♪
♪ I seen people caught in love like whirlwinds ♪
♪ Listening to their squabbles and fucking their girlfriends ♪
♪ That's exactly the spot they whole world ends ♪
♪ Lies come in, that's where the drama begins ♪
(SINGING) ♪ If you were worried about where I went or who I saw or ♪
♪ What club I went to with my homies, baby ♪
♪ Yeah. ♪
♪ Shout out, y'all ♪
♪ If you were worried about where ♪
♪ I went or who I saw or ♪ ♪ I went or who I saw or ♪
♪ What club I went to with my homies Baby, don't worry ♪
♪ If you were worried ♪
♪ About where I been ♪
♪ Baby, don't worry, don't worry ♪
♪ I take you everywhere ♪
♪ You know it yet ♪
♪ When I am faithful to you all ♪
♪ If you were worried about where ♪ ♪ Don't worry ♪
♪ I went or who I saw ♪ ♪ About where I been ♪
♪ What club I went to with my homies ♪
♪ Baby, don't worry You know that you got me ♪
♪ If you were worried about where I been or who I saw ♪
♪ You know got me ♪ ♪ What club I went to with my homies ♪
♪ Baby, don't worry ♪ ♪ You know that you got me ♪
♪ Don't worry about me ♪
Say what?
BLACK THOUGHT: Roots crew up in the place, y'all.
(SINGING) ♪ Be-bop, be-dop, yeah ♪
Brooklyn!
Wah-do-dem, give it just a little bit.
Go, come on.
Jill Scott, Erykah Badu.
The legendary Roots crew from Philly, ladies and gentlemen.
Brooklyn!
The party ain't over.
The party is not over.
QUESTLOVE: The Roots used to hold jam sessions
at this club called Wetlands in New York City every Sunday night.
So, a lot of the times, we were... The Roots were the house band.
And Jill would get up and do something.
Then Talib would be there, he'd do something.
Then Common would be there and he'd do something.
And Erykah would be there and do something.
And Mos would get up, the same thing, you know.
So, it's not even surprising
that these are the particular artists that are chosen.
You know, like, all of us were interacting with each other,
even before we all had record contracts.
(SINGING) ♪ Take my paw, Jill ♪ (SINGING) ♪ Write this down ♪
♪ No ♪ ♪ I'm not gonna say it right now ♪
♪ Tomorrow may never come ♪
(SINGING) ♪ For you or me, life is not promised ♪
♪ Tomorrow may never show up ♪
♪ For you or me, this life is not promised ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
♪(PERFORMING UMI SAYS)
♪ I ain't no perfect man I'm trying to do the best that I can ♪
♪ with what it is I have ♪
(VOICEOVER) My name is Dante.
Some people call me Mos Def. Some people call me other things.
(SINGING) ♪ With this mike in my hand ♪
♪ Even though it's feeding back and shit I'm still gonna come legit ♪
♪ Put my heart and soul into it, y'all ♪
♪ Bed-Stuy, do you feel me? ♪
♪ From where I am to wherever you are ♪
♪ I mean it, I mean it, I mean it ♪
♪ You better hold this very moment very close to you ♪
♪ 8:00 in the p.m., September 18, 2004, happy birthday ♪
♪ So close to you ♪
♪ Don't be afraid ♪
♪ Brooklyn, let it shine, sing ♪
♪ My Umi said shine your light on the world ♪
♪ What'd she say? ♪
CROWD: ♪ Shine your light on the world ♪
♪ That's what she said, my Umi said shine your light on the world ♪
♪ What'd she say? ♪ ♪ Shine your light for the world to see ♪
♪ Break it down ♪
♪ I put my heart and soul into this show ♪
♪ Brooklyn, do you feel me? ♪
♪ Sometimes I don't want to be bothered ♪
♪ Sometimes I just want a quiet life ♪
♪ Me and my babies Me and my lady ♪
♪ Sometimes I don't want to get into no war ♪
♪ Sometimes I don't wanna be a soldier ♪
♪ Sometimes I just wanna be Dante ♪
♪ But Umi said shine your light on the world ♪
♪ Shine your light for the world to see ♪
♪ My Umi said shine your light on the world ♪
♪ Shine it right on the world ♪
♪ I want my people to be free ♪
That's Fred Hampton Jr. That's Fred Hampton.
Fred Hampton Jr.? What's up, baby?
Fred Hampton Jr., the gentleman that was on camera
not long ago
is a good friend of mine, comrade, and he's an excellent gentleman.
He's the son of Fred Hampton,
who was a young 18-, 19-year-old Black Panther in Chicago,
working with people in the communities, in the streets
and the police came and killed him in his bed
with his woman,
and his newborn... His yet-to-be-born son in his woman's belly.
Which is Chairman Fred over here.
Free all political prisoners. Don't edit that.
Don't cut that. Make sure you put that on there.
Free all political prisoners.
Make sure that on there. Don't edit. Don't cut it.
In the raw, no mix, no segue.
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal, Sundiata Acoli and all political prisoners.
Free the New York Three. Don't edit that. Make sure they go there. Uncut.
Tell it, Fred Hampton.
Right on. Right on. Heads up, eyes open and fists clenched.
Heads up, eyes open, fists clenched.
Look here, right on. Say, "Power to the people."
MOS DEF: Power to the people.
Right on. We sense a lot of talk going around about terrorism.
We say black people are the O.V.s, the original victims of terrorism.
We say political prisoners are victims of terrorism.
We say our position is "Free them all."
We say, those soldiers in Attica, free them all.
What's the call? Free them all.
Mumia Abu-Jamal. Free them all.
Sundiata Acoli. Free them all.
Ruchell Cinque Magee! Free them all.
The New York Three. Free them all.
Man, we say, free all political prisoners and prisoners of war.
Power to the people. Free them all.
(SINGING) ♪ To be free, to be free To be free, to be free ♪
♪ To be free ♪
♪ Break it down ♪
♪ To be free, to be free ♪
All right, listen.
We're going to settle this racial shit right now.
We're playing these white people for our freedom.
"Can Dave Chappelle ball?"
No, I can't ball, motherfucker. What do you mean, can I ball?
Y'all missed it.
You was reloading the camera, I was all the way on the other court.
Tell them what I did. They'll never believe me.
All right , here I am. Okay, look. This is me.
I'm all the way back, I dribble, get my confidence, aim, fire.
TALIB KWELI: ♪ What's up? ♪
Oh, shit!
♪(PERFORMING GET BY)
(RAPPING) ♪ We go through episodes like Attack of the Clones ♪
♪ Work till we break our back and you hear the crack of the bone ♪
♪ To get by, just to get by Just to get by, just to get by ♪
♪ We asking why some people got to live in a trailer ♪
♪ 'Cause like a sailor I paint a picture with the pen like Norman ♪
♪ Mi abuela raised three daughters all by herself, with no help ♪
♪ I think about her struggle and I find the strength in myself ♪
♪ These words melt in my mouth They hot like the jail cell in the South ♪
♪ Before my nigga Core ♪ ♪ Bailed me out ♪
♪ To get by, just to get by Just to get by, just to get by ♪
♪ We do or die like Bed-Stuy through the red sky ♪
♪ Out the window of the red eye ♪
♪ Let the lead fly on some G Rap shit ♪
♪ This morning I woke up ♪
♪ Feeling brand new and I jumped up ♪
♪ Feeling my highs, and my lows ♪
♪ In my soul, and my goals ♪
♪ And tried to stop smoking and stop drinking ♪
♪ And I've been thinking I've got my reasons ♪
♪ Just to get by, just to get by Just to get by, just to get by ♪
♪ Just to get by, just to get by ♪
♪ Tell them, Kweli ♪
♪ We keep it gangster, say "for shizzle," "for sheezy" and "staying crunk" ♪
♪ It's easy to pull a breezy, smoke trees, and we stay drunk ♪
♪ Yo, our activism attacking the system, ♪
♪ the blacks and Latins in prison ♪
♪ Numbers have risen They reach us like inner vision ♪
♪ Shit and all they got is rapping to listen to ♪
♪ Let them know we missing you Love is unconditional ♪
♪ Even when the condition is critical When the living is miserable ♪
♪ Your position is pivotal, I ain't bullshitting you ♪
♪ Now, why would I lie? ♪
♪ Try to get by, just to get by ♪
♪ We can't fly See, the TV got us reaching for stars ♪
♪ Not the ones between Venus and Mars, ♪
♪ the ones that be reading for parts ♪
♪ People get breast enhancements and penis enlargements ♪
♪ Saturday sinners Sunday morning at the feet of the Father ♪
♪ They need something to rely on We get high on all types of drug ♪
♪ All you really need is love to get by ♪
♪ Just to get by, just to get by Just to get by, just to get by ♪
♪ Like John Lennon "Imagine all the people" ♪
♪ Watch me rock like Paul McCartney ♪
♪ from now until the last Beatle drop ♪
♪ This morning I woke up ♪
♪ Feeling brand new and jumped up ♪
♪ Feeling my highs and my lows ♪
♪ In my soul and my goals ♪
♪ Just to stop smoking, stop drinking ♪
♪ But I've been thinking I've got my reasons ♪
♪ Just to get by, just to get by Just to get by, just to get by ♪
One more time!
♪ Some people cry Some people try ♪
♪ Just to get by, for a piece of the pie ♪
♪ We love to eat and get high ♪
♪ We deceive and we lie, and we keeping it fly ♪
♪ When people decide to keep a disguise ♪
♪ You can't see them We see the evil inside ♪
♪ The best people you find ♪
♪ Strong or feeble in mind I stay reading the signs ♪
♪ Yo, yo, yo, yo, I get by ♪
♪ Just to get by ♪
I love y'all, Brooklyn. I love y'all. Word up.
Talib Kweli, Brooklyn, New York City.
MOS DEF: Black Star Embassy is in the building.
Brooklyn, do you feel good tonight?
I know I do.
MICHEL GONDRY: What do you think of rock music and hip-hop?
Well, personally, I am for classical music.
I play the piano. I want to play.
And I wish to marry, when I die, Sergei Rachmaninoff.
I am terribly in love with him.
Thank you. Over my dead body.
Well, it would have to be, wouldn't it?
I guess so, Arthur. That's very normal.
You know, I don't like rap music.
Because rap music composes a lot of foul language,
and I don't think it's proper for children.
I don't even think it's proper for adults either
to be using that type of language.
Hey, Mos. Hey, Dave.
You know, I was in the public restroom the other day... It's a long story.
This guy was peeing in the urinal next to me,
I didn't look or nothing, but I couldn't help but notice.
His dick was so small...
How small was it, Dave?
He peed on his balls.
All day, babe. We could do this all day long.
All day long.
All right. One more.
This is as dirty as it's gonna get. All the kids, plug your ears.
Ready? Here we go.
Hey, Mos. Hey, Dave.
Did I ever tell you the one about the industrious prostitute?
No, I don't believe you did.
Well, it's a funny story.
She actually had a vagina surgically implanted in her hip.
Oh, my God. Yeah.
So she could make some money on the side.
Oh, it goes on like this for days and days and days.
We just tell straight jokes. That's it, we'll kill them.
All right, everybody, listen up.
Listen up, there's been some technical difficulties.
Listen, I'm gonna tell you what happened.
As you all know,
we were expecting to have Lauryn Hill close the show.
Unfortunately,
Columbia Records would not clear any of her songs.
Lucky for us,
Lauryn Hill came up with an alternative solution.
Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for a miracle.
The Fugees.
(RAPPING) ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ Black Star Jack Bush ♪
♪ Put your hands up, get your hands up ♪
♪ One, two, three, put your hands up ♪
♪ Get your hands up, get your hands up ♪
♪ Get your hands up ♪
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.
♪(PERFORMING NAPPY HEADS)
(SINGING) ♪ Yo, Mona Lisa ♪
♪ Can I get a date on Friday And if you're busy ♪
♪ I wouldn't mind taking Saturday ♪
♪ Round up the posse Fugee comin' around the way ♪
♪ Nappy heads in the zone And we ain't going home ♪
Put your hands in the air right now.
I've been waiting for this shit!
(RAPPING) ♪ Yo! A cheeba cheeba, y'all Well I'm a Libra, y'all ♪
♪ Yes, yes, y'all, and it don't stop ♪
♪ A cheeba cheeba y'all, well I'm a Libra y'all ♪
♪ Yes, yes, y'all, let's ♪ ♪ Yo ♪
♪ You wanna battle swing I bring commanding men like I was king ♪
♪ In all your dreams I write the horror flick of Stephen King ♪
♪ Cling to false also those papers say ock ♪
♪ I got tired of the fat lady So I sing to my own opera ♪
♪ Ba-lang-balang-balang -to-de-man-de-rock 'cause I love thee ♪
♪ If you live by the sword you will be die by the gun ♪
♪ 'Cause all guys tell lies and poor girls commit sin ♪
♪ I was ordered the code red but now I'm chillin' with A Few Good Men ♪
♪ Assassination on the kid from the capital ♪
♪ I never played a soap opera Now I'm in General Hospital ♪
♪ Condition critical Spirit overrules the physical ♪
♪ So if I die, catch me at the funeral ♪
♪ I'll fly away, oh glory With a mike in my hand ♪
♪ To a land where only And the angels write raps on holy paper ♪
♪ I said I'm lookin' for Jesus He said take the escalator ♪
♪ One flight up is guaranteed ♪ ♪ I'll be there ♪
♪ My sister'd be there I want to see everybody like this ♪
LAURYN HILL: ♪ Yo, Mona Lisa ♪
Stop, Brooklyn!
Yo!
WYCLEF: Ladies and gentlemen, Lauryn Hill!
(RAPPING) ♪ Yo, I don't puff blunts so I always got my breath ♪
♪ Never had to battle with a bulletproof vest ♪
♪ They call me cock-weasel but I still cave a chest ♪
♪ I don't wear Jheri curls 'cause I'm not from the West ♪
♪ No disrespect to the West, true indeed ♪
♪ I rock it to the East, the East is the seed, yo ♪
♪ To see that them days back Yo, sheepskins and Hot Tracks ♪
♪ Peace to Mr. Magic Things are getting tragic ♪
♪ Now we on some new stuff ♪
♪ Ku Klux, whatcha gonna do ♪
♪ Kids are actin' oh ♪
Yeah, put your hands up. Lauryn Hill's in the building.
♪ Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey ♪
Praswell, where you at? Come on.
(RAPPING) ♪ Hey, yo, a battle is a battle but a battle's not a battle ♪
♪ If it's... If your snake doesn't rattle ♪
♪ 'Cause my style, it's old as a reptile ♪
♪ As new as a new Nile As new as a new child ♪
♪ Come follow me to the land of Abraham ♪
♪ This land's your land, this land's my land ♪
♪ The blacker the black man The better the next man ♪
♪ Yo, some nappy heads need to check they necks for red ♪
PRAS: Brother, let me ask you something.
When you got the word
that the Fugees is coming back together to...
DAVE: I didn't believe it.
I didn't believe it 'cause... You know, what happened is, I got a call.
Yo, I said, "Fugee what?"
I said, "Who is this?"
Then I got a call from Clef.
And you know,
I still don't know the science on it.
I mean, you know, both of us, speaking for both of us,
yo, it's like, when we see Lauryn, you know what I'm saying?
It's like, we just, like, speechless, you know what I mean?
Yeah. 'Cause she was singing
Killing Me Softly last night.
She was like... We was just like,
"God damn, she's a beast."
Like, I'm a fan. I mean, yeah, you know, me and Clef went through our little bullshit.
Well, people go through that. You know what I'm saying?
But I think, like they say, to err is human, but to forgive is divine.
You know what I'm saying? So...
We just came together.
'Cause I'm a fan of both Clef and Lauryn.
Even though I'm a part of the group, I'm a fan of them,
and when she started singing Killing Me Softly,
I almost wanted to cry.
♪(PERFORMING KILLING ME SOFTLY WITH HIS SONG)
(SINGING) ♪ Strumming my pain with his fingers ♪
♪ Singing my life ♪
♪ With his words ♪
♪ Killing me softly with his song ♪
♪ Killing me softly ♪
♪ with his song ♪
♪ Telling my whole life ♪
♪ with his words ♪
♪ Killing me softly ♪
WOMAN: Lauryn!
♪ ...with his song ♪
♪ I heard he sang a good song, yes ♪
♪ And I heard that he had a style ♪
♪ And so I came to see him ♪
♪ And listen for a while ♪
♪ And there he was ♪
♪ This young boy ♪
♪ singing ♪
♪ straight and strong ♪
♪ Strumming my pain with his fingers ♪
♪ Singing my life with his words ♪
♪ He was killing me softly with his song ♪
♪ Killing me softly ♪
♪ with his song ♪
♪ Telling my whole life ♪
♪ with his words ♪
♪ Killing me softly ♪
♪ with his song ♪
♪ Yo! ♪
♪ What, what? ♪
♪ I heard he had a style ♪
♪ Come on ♪
♪ And so I came to see him ♪
♪ And listen for a while ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ And there he was, this young boy ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ A stranger to my eyes ♪ ♪ Check it ♪
♪ Strumming my pain with his fingers ♪
♪ One time ♪
♪ Singing my life with his words ♪
♪ Two time ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ Killing me softly with his song ♪
♪ Killing me softly ♪
♪ with his song ♪
♪ Telling my whole life ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ with his words ♪
♪ Killing me softly ♪ ♪ Yeah, yo ♪
♪ Softly with his song ♪
PRAS: ♪ Yo, L-Boogie, take it to the bridge ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ Sing it Oh, yeah ♪
Where y'all been?
What'd you... You said, where I've been?
You see, that's where I've been.
See, that's where I've been.
Yeah. You see where I've been?
Yeah, the first day that we rehearsed, it was...
You know, it was familiar.
You could feel why... You know.
Why we had made music together in the first place.
'Cause there was a certain synergy at the time.
You know, I was... I came from the straight-up suburbs,
you know, of South Orange, New Jersey. You know, I went to,
you know, a school that was probably like 75 percent...
PRAS: White. ...white, middle-class, Jewish, you know.
And from,
you know, hardworking parents. And I went to school
and met Pras first, who had known my brother.
And he introduced me to Wyclef.
I remember the first studio sessions.
I guess Pras was paying for some place, this other studio at East Orange.
And I walked in,
and we were recording the song, and then Wyclef shows up.
And that was like, you know, much earlier times.
So he had on this big, velvet crown, you know.
This is around the time... Remember when everything was Batman?
Big Batman buttons. Y'all didn't do that down south?
Okay, well, a few people did that. Okay.
But he had on these patent leather boots
with these big
police badge things on the boots,
with his pants tucked in, with a velvet hat.
And he came in and he started...
He started doing like, some real like Jamaican-type patois.
So for like the first five years that I knew them,
I had no idea they were Haitian.
You know, I thought t hey were Jamaican. 'Cause they just, you know...
You know, they talk like that.
What would you do if you was president?
If I was president, I would stop the war.
I would provide, like, a whole lot more people
with job opportunities.
I would give everybody in this band that need it scholarships.
I would... Amen.
All right.
BOY: Right there! Scholarships!
Yo, what would you do if you was president, thug?
I'd give, like, everybody, like, more scholarships
that who needed them.
She said scholarships already, man.
Don't be biting what she said. Financial aid. For who needs it.
What was that word, "financial aid"? Yeah.
'Cause my dude Matlock had to go back,
and I wish he was still here.
WYCLEF: That's what it is. So we're gonna do this song right here.
♪(PERFORMING PRESIDENT)
(SINGING) ♪ If I was president ♪
♪ I'd get elected on Friday ♪
♪ Assassinated on Saturday ♪
♪ Buried on Sunday ♪
♪ Then go back to work on Monday ♪
♪ If I was president ♪
♪ If I was president Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ Instead of spending billions on the war ♪
♪ We can use that money ♪
♪ So we can feed the poor ♪
♪ 'Cause I know someone in Flatbush ♪
♪ When it rains, that's when they shower ♪
♪ Screaming "fight the power" ♪
♪ That's when the vulture devours ♪
♪ If I was president ♪
♪ I'd get elected on Friday ♪
♪ Assassinated on Saturday ♪
♪ Buried on Sunday ♪
♪ Then go back to work on Monday ♪
♪ If I was president ♪
Boom!
It's good to see all these black people in college. You know what I'm saying?
And listen, man, I'm gonna tell y'all like this.
Don't blame the white man for nothing. Get yours, you understand?
I came to this country, I ain't know how to speak English.
I made something of myself. I went to the library.
English is like my third language. I just learned how to speak English.
So the thing about all of that, "Yo, the white man responsible for that"...
White man ain't responsible for shit.
They got libraries in the 'hood.
And if they don't got libraries, tell your mayor,
your governor, whoever, in your county,
to put some motherfucking libraries in the 'hood.
I know what the camera's saying. I shouldn't be cursing to you kids,
but this shit is all over the Internet anyway.
DAVE: Holy shit!
Excuse my language.
Man, listen.
There's nothing we can't do.
Let's all go from here, man, and try to do some good.
God bless you all. Thank you for letting me come here.
Thank you, all the artists, for being here.
We shook up the world.
We shook up the world!
Good night. God bless you.
You know what? I'm gonna tell you right now, I'll never forget this.
This is the best single day of my career.
I'm proud. I'm so happy. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing it with me, ma'am.
Hey, my pleasure.
Thank you for letting us be here.
My pleasure.
Come back. Oh, I'll be back, Luz.
You haven't seen the last of me.
I don't want to see...
(LAUGHING EVILLY)
♪(PERFORMING PARTING WAYS)
(SINGING) ♪ Though we are parting ways, remember this ♪
♪ We shall come around ♪
♪ To touch eyes again ♪
♪ Love is the foundation ♪
♪ The purpose be to recycle life ♪
♪ The promise shall bring us to one ♪
♪ beating heart in the end ♪
Everybody was so down-to-earth, and just hung out
and gave us their time. We had a good time.
Say something to my mom, real quick.
Mama. Hold on one second. Your son's smoking crack.
Put that pipe down. What are you doing?
And it doesn't matter who you are, what you are,
what you've come from, you can do what you want.
'Cause all of those people out there, they're celebrities, they're in high places,
but they're regular, just like me.
They was happy to see me doing my work
like I'm happy to see them doing theirs.
You see an opportunity, just seize it.
Like Eminem say, you only got one time.
Don't miss your opportunity.
We're going on another long trip, another long voyage.
Hope y'all end up riding with us.
Look like it's going to be a little drier today, though.
CODY CHESNUTT: (SINGING) ♪ Talking about love ♪
♪ God-given love, God-given love ♪
DAVE: I also have a number that's a blues number.
Would you like to hear it?
You just play some, like...
Yeah, some Muddy Waters. Yeah, just like that.
♪(PLAYING BLUES RIFF)
All right, but here's the fun part of the bit,
is everybody can sing a verse.
(SINGING) ♪ I woke up this mornin' ♪
♪ About quarter of four ♪
♪ Went back to sleep ♪
♪ Then I woke up at 8:00 ♪
♪ Went back to sleep again ♪
♪ Then I woke up at 2:00 ♪
♪ 'Cause I'm a comedian ♪
♪ And I ain't got shit to do ♪
♪ Oh, yeah, baby ♪
♪ And then it goes down. ♪
♪ I've got them comedy blues ♪
Come on. Give me some of those horns, man.
♪ I just hang out all day, baby ♪
♪ 'Cause I ain't got shit else to do ♪
Right, now listen.
What kind of blues musician would I be
if I didn't talk shit over the music for you?
And then I just tell a whole story.
(SINGING) ♪ My baby left me ♪
♪ My car broke down ♪
♪ I lost $20 ♪
♪ and it can't be found ♪
♪ I got issues ♪
♪ That's right, I'm mad as shit ♪
♪ That's right, I got more problems than I can count ♪
♪ That's why I say, "Fuck it" ♪
♪ That's right ♪
♪(IT'S BIGGER THAN HIP HOP PLAYING)
(RAPPING) ♪ One two, one two ♪
♪ Get crunk, what it is ♪
♪ Brooklyn ♪
♪ If you know this shit, say it ♪
♪ It's bigger than ♪
♪ Huh? What? Say it ♪
♪ Hip-hop, hip ♪
♪ It's bigger than ♪
♪ Say it, say it ♪ ♪ What it bigger than? ♪
♪ Look, look, look ♪
♪ One thing about music, when it hit you feel no pain ♪
♪ White folk say it controls your brain ♪
♪ I know better than that ♪
♪ That's game and we ready for that ♪
♪ Two soldiers head of the pack ♪
♪ Matter of fact, who got the gat ♪
♪ And where my army at ♪
♪ Rather attack and not react ♪
♪ Got the beat, it don't reflect on how many records get sold ♪
♪ Want sex, drugs, and rock and roll ♪
♪ Whether your project gets put on hold ♪
♪ In the real world, we just people with ideas ♪
♪ They just like me and you when the smoke and camera disappear ♪
♪ Out in the real world, it's bigger than all these fake-ass records ♪
♪ When poor folks got the millions and my sisters get respect ♪
♪ If you check, one two My word of advice to you is just relax ♪
♪ Just do what you got to do ♪
♪ If that don't work then check the facts ♪
♪ If you're a fighter, writer, biter, flame-igniter, crowd-exciter ♪
♪ Or you wanna just get high, then just say it ♪
♪ But then if you a liar, liar, pants on fire ♪
♪ wolf-crier, agent with a wire ♪
♪ I'm gonna know it when I see it ♪ ♪ We ready, say it ♪
♪ Say it, say it ♪ ♪ Hip-hop, hip ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ What it bigger than? ♪
♪ It's bigger than hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop ♪
♪ Bigger than ♪
♪ Who shot 2Pac? If we don't get them, they gonna get us all ♪
♪ I'm down for running up on them crackers in the city hall ♪
♪ We rhyme for y'all, all my dawgs, stay real ♪
♪ Nigga, don't think your record deal ♪
♪ gonna feed your seeds and pay your bills ♪
♪ Because they're not ♪
♪ MCs get a little bit of love and think they're hot ♪
♪ Talking about how much money they got ♪
♪ Nigga, all your records sound the same ♪
♪ I'm sick of that fake thug, R&B rap scenario ♪
♪ All day on the radio ♪
♪ Same scenes in the video ♪
♪ Monotonous material ♪
♪ Y'all don't hear me, though ♪
♪ You record labels sling our tapes like dope ♪
♪ You could be next in line and signed ♪
♪ and still be writing rhymes and broke ♪
♪ You rather have a Lexus or justice? ♪
♪ A dream or some substance? ♪
♪ A Beemer, a necklace or freedom? ♪
♪ See, a nigga like me don't player-hate ♪
♪ I just stay awake ♪
♪ This real hip-hop and it don't stop ♪
♪ Till we get them crackers off our block ♪
♪ They call it hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop ♪
♪ It's bigger than ♪
♪ What it bigger than? What it bigger than? ♪
♪ It's bigger than hip-hop ♪
♪ What it bigger than? What it bigger than? ♪
♪ It's bigger than hip-hop ♪
♪ Hip-hop, hip-hop ♪
♪ D.P.'s got that crazy shit ♪
♪ We keep it crunked up ♪
♪ John Blaze and shit ♪
♪ D.P.'s got that crazy shit ♪
♪ We keep it crunked up ♪
♪ John Blaze and shit ♪
♪ My nigga, D.P.'s got that crazy shit ♪
♪ We keep it crunked up ♪
♪ John Blaze and shit ♪
♪ What? ♪
♪ D.P.'s got that crazy shit ♪
♪ We keep it crunked up ♪
♪ One more time ♪
♪ D.P.'s got that crazy shit ♪
♪ We keep it crunked up ♪
♪(UPSTARTS IN A BLOWOUT PLAYING)
CODY CHESNUTT: (SINGING) ♪ Young ones ♪
♪ I'm waiting in line ♪
♪ Someone is trying to find ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ Young upstarts are gonna get in free ♪
♪ Just to see how good it sounds ♪
♪ Out under the clouds ♪
♪ Out in the streets ♪
♪ They're willing to run to share their belief ♪
♪ Because we've come too far ♪
♪ to blow out now ♪
♪ Wake up, folks ♪
♪ No one tomorrow is gonna be found ♪
♪ Nowhere, y'all looking away from the crowd ♪
♪ 'Cause love is in our hearts ♪ Yeah.
♪ And it's in our shoes ♪
♪ Don't you talk like me Don't you fake my sound ♪
♪ Get up off the ground Get up on your feet ♪
♪ Because we're the ones ♪
♪ you've been looking to see ♪
♪ And we've come too far ♪
♪ to blow out now ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪