“I Wrote This Song A Long Time Ago”
The show: Chappelle’s Show
Dave Chappelle seemingly came out of nowhere in the early ’00s with his comedy sketch show that debuted on Comedy Central. The humor is topical and gritty, but it fins common ground with its satire of contemporary culture. He just made folks laugh, both at themselves and at the world around them.
Chappelle hit some personal snags after the second season aired, and he left the show to do some soul searching and introspection. Two years after the last episode of the second season aired, Comedy Central aired a collection of forgotten or unaired clips that was more of a mismash of things that didn’t make the cut for the first two seasons. Former series regulars Charlie Murphy and Donnell Rawlins host the show, in lieu of Chappelle himself, and that casts a weird light on the whole matter. But, rest assured, it’s still pretty darn funny.
Best of the best: “I Wrote This Song A Long Time Ago” (Season 3, episode 1)
This song premiered in a skit with a very simple premise, but it was perfectly executed. Relying on the knowledge that Tupac Shakur released as many (if not more) albums after his death than he was alive, it pokes fun at the absurdity of that notion. The song comes on, and it begins as a generic club tune, but it quickly gets extremely specific as it names events that would have happened long after his death.
Best lyric(s):
“I wrote this song a long time ago
A real long time ago
Way before Slim Shady was in demand
Way before we dropped baloney on Afghanistan
I wrote this song in ’94”