Here’s How A Tribe Called Quest Convinced Dave Chappelle to Host ‘Saturday Night Live’

Dave Chappelle is easily one of the hip-hop world's most loved comedic talents and ahead of the premiere of his two upcoming Netflix specials, Dave proved so once again.

The D.C.-hailing comic sat down with CBS News to talk about his time spent away from the spotlight and decision to host an episode of Saturday Night Live this past December. Chappelle reveals in the interview that although he was reluctant to commit to the gig, it was his friends A Tribe Called Quest who convinced him to do SNL right at the last minute. In what Dave calls "a perfect storm of circumstances," ATCQ's Q-Tip persuaded him to due it out of respect for the late great Phife Dawg.

"The decisive factor had a lot to do with A Tribe Called Quest," explains Chappelle in the clip below. "There was a week a few weeks prior where we were all together and it was a sad occasion. It was Phife Dawg's funeral. Phife had passed, we all went to the Apollo for Phife's funeral and the next day, we went to Q-Tip's house to pay respects. And it was a really warm night. Jack White was there, the RZA from Wu-Tang, D'Angelo, it was a real eclectic room... and late in the night, after the funeral, Tip played some of the album and it was real moving hearing Phife's voice. It was a powerful night."

Dave goes on to mention that Talib Kweli gave him an early review of Tribe's We Got It From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service and that Talib's moving endorsement really stuck with him.

"When Q-Tip decided to do the show, he said he wanted me to host," remembers Dave. "We had talked about it before but he was very emphatic. He was like, 'Dave, this is the last Tribe album ever,' and that was really the tipping point."

Chappelle has always been a friend to hip-hop. From his time on Comedy Central helming The Chappelle Show to hosting a public block party with performances from The Fugees and Mos Def to most recently cosigning new acts like Chance The Rapper, Dave has always been down for the culture. Check out some of his best hip-hop moments to refresh your memory. ATCQ's single "We The People" even serves as the soundtrack to Chappelle's new Netflix trailers.

Chappelle's two specials Dave Chappelle: The Age of Spin and Dave Chappelle: Deep in the Heart of Texas will be released on Tuesday (March 21) exclusively on Netflix. Check out Chappelle's one-on-one with CBS' Gayle King below.

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