The armed man who Dave Chappelle attacked on stage In Los Angeles, he “wanted to be a rapper” with a temper known for wreaking havoc on his apartment complex, former neighbors said.
Isaiah Lee, 23, has been arrested after hitting Chappelle while carrying a stranger Knife that looks like a pistol The attack was videotaped at the Hollywood Bowl Tuesday night.
Former neighbor Russell Taylor remembered Lee as someone who could “go with a word”.
Whatever Chappelle was saying and not feeling, it wouldn’t be surprising to me that he’d go, ‘Hey, I’ll run and fix it! ‘” said Taylor, who lived in Redondo Beach, Calif. The apartment is next door to the apartment where Lee stayed.
“Do you know the slap heard around the world? This is the kind of guy who would take action if you did something he didn’t like.”
Lee lived with his brother and his brother’s girlfriend on and off for about two years, but the landlord said that only the brother’s girlfriend was renting and that Lee did not pay the rent.
Taylor remembered the two brothers because of the explosive feuds with each other and neighbors that rocked the normally quiet street. Taylor alleged that the police visited the compound several times based on calls related to the group, and he said he personally witnessed the police handcuffing Lee on more than one occasion.
“They were screaming and yelling in the street almost every weekend,” Taylor said.
They always came back an hour later at the police station or the next day. It got worse here – threatening each other with knives.”
The brothers often talked about being from New York, with Taylor claiming that Lee meant it was bragging to say “New Yorkers take no crap from anyone.”
The owner of the building where Lee was staying described him as a “very troubled person” who came from a very difficult upbringing.
“One minute he will be happy, then the next minute his mood will change dramatically,” said the owner, who asked to be referred to by his nickname “Bobby.”
Lee was never seen working, and Bobby said Lee’s older brother, Aaron, was fired about eight months ago for breaking a door in the apartment.
“I’m just glad they didn’t burn down my house,” Bobby said of the two brothers. Rap music by Isiah Lee under the name NoName_Trapper He has a verified Spotify account and a song called “Dave Chappell” but Bobby called the two rap brothers whose music was “horrible”.
“They’re criminals,” Bobby said. “It’s a symbol of how bad things can get in this case.”
