Dave Chappelle is getting blamed for halting Dylan Dilinjah's career after he made fun of the rapper's Making The Band 2 appearance during an episode of Chapelle's Show.
On the latest episode of We Are Flatbush, Dilinjah reflected on how much that infamous skit affected his music career. The skit came in season two of Chappelle's Show and had the comedian play Diddy and Dylan while making fun of their mannerisms.
According to Dilinjah, he was able to see some success from the joke, such as launching a craft beer and a radio show, but he explained he had no choice but to do that given how popular the skit was. Prior to the success, though, things fell apart for Dylan as the skit made its rounds, and people in the music industry didn't take him as seriously as before.
"Any time I send my music to DJs, they say, 'oh, that's the n***a that Dave Chappelle made fun of, nah, I'm good on that,'" Dylan said around the 4:45 mark of the video below. "Not only that, but now, every promoter says, 'nah, we're not booking him.' So now I have a newborn, and the fridge is empty in 2005, and no one is calling me. Everyone is laughing."
He added, "I'm legend now! But [back then] I'm fucked up for what you just did. And you're not answering the phone. At that time, no one picking up they phone. Not one label; and at that time, you had to sign to a record label. And I called all of them direct. And they said, 'I can't help you.' That joke gone, boy. That joke took over. That joke burned [my career]."
Dilinjah sang a different tune during an interview with Uproxx in 2014, where he insinuated that opportunities came his way following the skit that's considered one of Chapelle's best.
"You take a joke and everyone's cracking on you," he said. "But the next question is, 'What is he up to? What kind of music does he have? Can we book him?'"
Dilinjah and Chapelle actually met in 2017 at a House of Vans event in New York City, where they embraced one another, and the rapper acknowledged he became famous because of the skit.
