Dave Chapelle is one of the most controversial comedians but is also a big family man with three kids, including Ibrahim Chapelle. Dave’s son has grown into a handsome young man and is reportedly a big fan of stand-up comedy, including his father’s work. Dave shares Ibrahim and his siblings with his wife, Elaine Erfe Chapelle.
The pair have done a great job keeping their family life away from the public, which is probably for the best, given how easily Dave seems to inspire dislike among some people who attend his shows.
The comedian has been under fire from minority groups, especially the LGBTQIA+ community, for some of his allegedly “insensitive” jokes about them in the past. Dave is unapologetic and has plowed on in his career, determined to walk his talk.
The Story Behind Ibrahim Chapelle’s Unique Moniker
Ibrahim Chapelle was born in 2003. Dave’s kids have unique names, and the inspiration behind them is pretty simple, he practices the Muslim faith.
He converted to Islam in 1991, so when his kids were born, he named them according to his faith. Ibrahim’s name roughly translates as Abraham in the Arabic tongue. Abraham is recognized as the father of Ismail and Isaac and one of the Quran’s most respected prophets.
In Hebrew, the moniker means “father of many.” Ibrahim’s grandparents, William David Chappelle III and Yvonne Seona, were university professors. His great-great-grandfather, the first William D. Chappelle, was born into slavery in 1857 and became a Methodist Bishop and later the president of Allen University.
As such, their family is very education-oriented. Ibrahim was educated in a private school in what Dave once called “an experiment.” His brother, Sulayman, attends a public school.
Ibrahim Chapelle Loves Comedy Too
While Dave and his wife Elaine keep their private life low-key, the comedian has been known to mention his family in his jokes. One time, Ibrahim was the focus of one of his skits, and it led to the reveal of how much he likes comedy.
In the skit, Dave said that his middle son, who was then 12, came to him and demanded $250 for two tickets to Kevin Hart’s show. He wanted to watch it with Dave, hence the second ticket.
Dave agreed reluctantly and joked about how irritated he was as he sat through the show because Hart was brilliant. Ibrahim thought so, too, because he laughed throughout the show, stroking Dave’s Jealousy.
He said, “My son was slapping his knee. ‘Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Uh … I do this too.'”
After the show, Ibrahim begged the disgruntled funnyman to go backstage so he could meet Hart. Dave agreed once more, and they met Hart, who was very gracious. He even invited Dave and his son to dinner, after which he gifted Ibrahim a souvenir sweatshirt and told him to use it when Dave gave him a hard time.
Who Are Ibrahim Chapelle’s Siblings?
Ibrahim Chapelle is Dave’s middle child. The first child Dave welcomed with Elaine was Sulayman, born in 2001.
Sulayman is older now, and Dave has slowly realized that he and his son share many similarities — especially regarding their hobbies. During his 2019 Netflix stand-up special, “Dave Chappelle: Equanimity & The Bird Revelation,” he jokingly rehashed when he discovered Sulayman uses marijuana.
He said: “I went into my older son’s room … and I found these notebooks, and I started going through the notebooks,” he said. “There was all this wonderful poetry in it … Then I looked through his drawers, opened his middle drawer, and found his rolling paper. I looked down at the papers and said, ‘Oh, that’s where the poetry’s coming from.'”
He added after, “I mean, I smoke weed. But I mourned my son’s innocence.”
Dave’s third child is named Sanaa, his only daughter. She was born in 2009 and has shown interest in acting. When she was 9, she made her acting debut alongside her father in the 2018 film A Star is Born.
Fatherhood Changed Dave Chapelle’s Life
Dave Chapelle has been very candid about how fatherhood changed his life. According to him, “everything changed” after the kids. He said it made him take his job more seriously and gave him more depth as a “dude.”
Dave Chapelle has said that Ibrahim and Sulayman aren’t interested in being comedians even though Ibrahim enjoys comedy. However, he believes his daughter may have the spark. She enjoys accompanying him and Elaine to public events, but her brothers avoid them.
Dave remains active as a comedian despite all the heat he has received in the past. He may have almost as many haters as Bill Burr, but he never lets that get him down and is proud of who he is. There is no doubt his kids are too.