The Role Dave Chappelles Roots Play in His Stand Up Career

Before he was a stand-up comedian, Dave  Chappelle led a life very different from the one you might imagine he led. His crude humor and his hilarious nature, not to mention a number of the jokes he tells in his routines and comedy sketches, often gives people who don’t know much about his history the opinion that his childhood was a far stretch from a good one. Of course, anyone who knows anything about the comedian knows this is not the case. However, Chappelle’s career is one that he almost gave up thanks to the fame and the spotlight.

There is always a misconception that comedians, rappers and other famous faces – with the exception of celebutantes – lived a hard life. They were the children of poor parents, split homes and dire circumstances, and that’s where they get their material, their drive and their ambition – and that’s why they love the fame and the excess that comes with being rich and famous. This is one of the most ridiculous misconceptions around, especially in the case of Dave Chappelle, who was raised in an upper middle class family whose situation was anything but dire. The only category he falls into is that his parents did divorce.

Chappelle’s parents both worked as college professors, his father also as a statistician and his mother as a minister. His childhood was far from lackluster in anyway, and his comedy is not derived from his experiences on the streets. In fact, he tends to go a bit against the grain here, almost giving up his career a decade ago when the fame became too much for him. His upbringing likely played a part in that. He grew up in a certain manner, used to certain things in life and not used to other things. In fact, when he began his stand-up career as a teen, he was too young to go into clubs and bars to perform, so his mother would accompany him so he could get his career started. While he’s never fully addressed the reason behind his nearly 8-year departure from comedy, it’s believed he stepped back from the fame because of the attention and the focus on his life.

His childhood was one in which he was taught well, and he was given a good example of manners and etiquette, and Chappelle doesn’t do well with the negativity that surrounds fame. He’s since made his return to the spotlight, but so far only in stand-up instances. No more television shows, no more interviews and no more spotlight. He’s done exactly what most everyone in the business wishes they could do at the height of their success; he’s gone back to his roots.

Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images

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