Yeah, I’m Rick James! Show me your laughter

By ADAM RAUF

“Yeah-yuh! I’m Rick James, bitch.”

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the man himself, Dave… “Yeah-yuh! I’m Rick James, bitch.”

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the man himself, Dave Chappelle, the mastermind behind “Chappelle’s Show,” is taking his comedy on the road to annoy, get under people’s skin and cause as many people to roll on the floor laughing as he can. And what would be better than seeing his scathing, make-fun-of-everyone-and-everything humor live?

I can’t think of life getting any better than that. How could it? Chappelle is a master of movie comedies, television and live stand-up.

Chappelle’s skits on his show are filled with plenty of pop culture references, and he deconstructs all types of boundaries with sketches like “The First Annual Race Draft,” “I Know Black People,” “When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong,” as well as “Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories.”

With the release of his show’s first season on DVD, Chappelle still hasn’t shown signs of slowing down. His sketches from this season have been memorable and extremely funny to watch. It’s hard to imagine, but people have described his regular stand-up without the gimmicks as even funnier. But then again, it’s Dave Chappelle, so it must be amazing.

A recent episode of “Chappelle’s Show” featured him showing his worst skits. The weird part was that even with his least favorite selections and skits gone wrong, they were still absolutely hilarious. There is quite possibly no way he can ever do wrong, and that’s what keeps the fans coming back for more of this outrageously funny man.

Advertisements for Chappelle feature him taking letters from fans and haters of his show and openly mocking them. One letter was from a white male complaining that white people in general were being discriminated against. Dave responded by saying that he feels that white people are shown in positive light too much on cable television, so he attempts to “balance” the whole thing out. Dave holds nothing as sacred, and chooses to make fun of others in good fun. He even makes fun of himself to show how good of a sport he is.

He’s made fun of everything from Lil’ Jon to Prince, Rick James, Nostradamus, and many more. Chappelle uses his comedy to bring people together, and audiences fall over laughing from his amazing work. If you’ve ever seen or heard Chappelle do regular stand-up, then you’ll understand that this man is a genius. He leaves no stone unturned, busting out songs and poetry and even props on stage.

All of this says nothing of his work in the movies in movies like “Screwed” and the unbelievably funny “Half Baked.”

With all of his experience and skill, Chappelle is, without a doubt, a god among comedians, using his talent and skill to create hilarious skits on “The Chappelle Show,” memorable films and unbelievable live performances.

And guess what? His tour brings him to Pittsburgh! That’s right, the man himself will be at the Pittsburgh Improv this weekend doing his best to offend as many people as possible, as he usually does.

But I hope you all have your tickets — the shows are sold out! Good luck to all you scalpers and eBay fiends; this should be a remarkable show. If you have tickets to this show, I envy you greatly.

Dave Chappelle will appear before three sold-out crowds at the Pittsburgh Improv this weekend. For more information — or to see if, maybe, some tickets have become available — call (412) 462-5233.