After disappearing, Chappelle turned up for an interview with TIME Johannesburg bureau chief Simon Robinson on May 13 in an effort to put rumors to rest. Chappelle said he was in South Africa to find “a quiet place” for a while. “Let me tell you the things I can do here which I can’t at home: think, eat, sleep, laugh. I’m an introspective dude. I enjoy my own thoughts sometimes. And I’ve been doing a lot of thinking here.
“There were things that overwhelmed me. But not in the way that people are saying. I haven’t spent any of the money. All that stuff about partying and taking crack is not true. Why do I live on a farm in Ohio? To support my partying lifestyle?”
“If you don’t have the right people around you and you’re moving at a million miles an hour you can lose yourself. Everyone around me says, ‘You’re a genius!’ ‘You’re great!’ ‘That’s your voice!’ But I’m not sure that they’re right.”
“You got to be careful of the company you keep. It’s hard to know how much to say. One of the things that happens when people make the leap from a certain amount of money to tens of millions of dollars is that the people around you dramatically change.”
“During my ascent, I’ve seen other people go through that wall to become really big. They always said that fame didn’t change them but that it changes the people around them. You always hear that but you never really understand it. But now that I’m there that makes a lot of sense and I’m learning what that means. You have to have people around you that you can trust and aren’t just out for a meal ticket.”
“I want to make sure I’m dancing and not shuffling. What ever decisions I make right now I’m going to have live with. Your soul is priceless … I want to make sure whatever I do has spirit.”
Good to hear! I was quietly mourning this guy for a few weeks, just assuming the worst. The best ones often die young, but it seems like Dave has it together. Can’t wait for season 3!
There comes a time when each of us needs s break from the hustle and bustle. Fame has a price !
Dave Chapelle’s comment about dancing and not shuffling made me recall a poem by Rumi:
Dance when you’re broken open.
Dance when you’ve torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance when you’re perfectly free.
Struck, the dancer hears a tambourine inside her,
like a wave that crests into foam at the very top,
Begins.
Maybe you don’t hear that tambourine,
or the tree leaves clapping time.
Close the ears on your head,
that listen mostly to lies and cynical jokes.
There are other things to see, and hear.
Music. Dance.
A brilliant city inside your soul!
–Rumi
Peace,
Chris
Awesome poem Chris – poignant. Get to that place inside yourself where these abilities come to life, and when you can’t get there – turn down the noise.
Reading this poem and thinking on it some…it’s no wonder Chapelle lives out in the sticks. If he lived year round in LA or NYC, the noise would overwhelm him as it does most young people with tallent like his.
I have a lot of respect for the guy. He’s the ‘anti-hype’…I’ve got an article almost ready to post that deals with hype. It’s nice to see someone who’s got it figured out well enough to not blow it right away.
He’s set quite a high bar for himself. That’s a hell of a thing to live up to…those first two seasons.
Good to hear that Dave still has his wits about him….whew! When I herd that he was hospitalized I, like everyone else assumed the worst. Sounds like we should be watching season 3 soon! Good luck Dave. Can’t wait until you come back!
Poor Dave Chappelle. He does need a rest in lovely South Africa.