Chappelle was on Def Comedy Jam back in the day. Black people knew of Chappelle before the show. And whites weren't fukkin with Chappelle show until that that Rick James shyt. They only fukked with the truly silly shyt like Rick James and the Lil Jon shyt anyways. And most whites still didn't even get the racial social commentary type of stuff.
That's what I mean. Chappelle was around for a LONG time, and no one really noticed him until Killing Them Softly and then Chappelle Show shortly after. It's no coincidence when he incorporated black lifestyle in his comedy he got the cosign and then blew up into the mainstream.