Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, Chance the Rapper and More Help Dave Chappelle Make the Gem City Shine

The superstar comedian’s all-star “block party” was to give back to the Dayton community in the wake of a recent mass shooting

By Mike Breen on Mon, Aug 26, 2019 at 12:52 pm

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Dave Chappelle on stage at Gem City Shine

Comedian Dave Chappelle — who lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio — brought star power to Dayton for Sunday’s Gem City Shine, a gesture of healing for the city, which was the site of a mass shooting earlier this month that left nine people dead. It's estimated that more than 20,000 people showed up for the event, which came a day after Chappelle's 46th birthday. Mayor Nan Whaley declared Sunday "Dave Chappelle Day" in Dayton.

“Dayton, Ohio — no matter what’s going on, no matter how tough times get, we hold our heads high,” Chappelle told the huge crowd gathered in the Oregon District, where the shooting took place. “And we’re not just doing this for our city. We’re doing this for every victim from every mass shooting in our country.”

The lineup for the concert was never officially announced ahead of the event, but rumors were floated on social media all weekend. Kanye West was not one of those acts initially rumored to appear, but that changed on Friday when he was spotted at a Beavercreek Cheesecake Factory with his family. Though not appearing as a part of the main concert's lineup, West hosted one of his Sunday Service ceremonies at RiverScape MetroPark the morning of the big show.

Some of the other rumored guests like Lady Gaga and Barack Obama didn't show, but Gem City Shine still had a lineup worthy of a pricey music festival. The event featured appearances by Talib Kweli, Thundercat, Teyana Taylor, Chance the Rapper (who was introduced by Jon Stewart) and headliner Stevie Wonder.

Chappelle told CNN he wanted to put on the concert for the city not only because of the shooting but also in light of the recent turmoil caused by a KKK rally and a tornado earlier this year.

"Locally there's a determination to not let that define us," he said. "Every once in a while it's good for neighbors to reaffirm to one another (that) we're neighbors. And these neighbors have been wonderful neighbors for me."

"Good people gotta be louder than bad people," he added.