If you do something right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all. That is the greater brilliance of Dave Chappelle. He is a differentiated comic whose introspection and thoughtfulness open the door to a deeper meaning of comedy, if the viewer choses to engage it. With his incredible comedic range, from jokes about the vulgar to deep thoughts about the meaning of race relations and marriage in America, Chappelle can attract anyone with his magnetic and intimate style.

There are few 21st century pop culture figures as intriguing as Dave Chappelle. Of course you could take his act at face value, but I found that the more you try to dig in and understand who he really is you are left more questions than when you started. His mysterious persona is intertwined with his genius because as a viewer you are unable to tell who the real Chappelle is.

Two new hour long specials The Age of Spin and Deep in the Heart of Texas launched on March 21 on Netflix, as the crowning achievement of his return to stand-up comedy that began in 2013. His timing could not have been any better. He is the comedian that America needs right now. He hit the pinnacle of his career with The Chappelle Show during the George W. Bush administration and the controversies surrounding the Iraq war. He left his show during the now infamous third season, walking away from an enormous contract and one of the most successful television comedies of all time. During the election and administration of Barack Obama, he let others including Key and Peele tell the story, he even jokes about this during his Netflix special saying “I had to watch Key and Peele do my show for the last five years.”

Then he returns to the national stage in November 2016 right after the presidential election with an appearance on Saturday Night Live. He gives a poignant monologue discussing the recently concluded vote. He recounts a recent visit to the White House and talks about how he feels hopeful for the future of the country. The country, and my generation which so greatly venerates Chappelle needed to hear that. This was Chappelle at his best, and he does this constantly in both Spin and Texas, he manages to paint the picture without being preachy. If he were a regular comic he would’ve tore into Donald Trump.

Chappelle is different.

He doesn’t fit into the stereotypes that most of us have of African-American comedians. It starts with the fact he grew up with two highly educated parents, both with PHDs. His mother, Yvonne Reed Chappelle Seon, is an academic who pioneered one of the first African American Studies PHD programs in the country. Yet even with highly educated parents, Chappelle says he didn’t like school. He says he was treated differently because he has the darkest complexion of his family. He was the first of his family not to go to college. He seems uncomfortable with institutions, he feels uncomfortable being defined by other people. His escape is the stage.

He finds intimacy with the audience. His two specials are incredibly intimate, you feel a deep connection with Dave. It feels less like an act, are more like a group of friends just relaxing on the weekend retelling funny stories and anecdotes and pausing to ponder their greater meaning. This is best exemplified when he asks the audience for a cigarette like a friend would do outside a bar, he then proceeds to smoke it on stage, a harrowing act for some in this day and age. Another tactic that creates intimacy is how he laughs at his own jokes, dropping the microphone and allowing it to hit his leg. He seems to be honestly enjoying himself, and creating a friendship with the audience. His stories in these two specials are just real enough to touch but they are also absurd enough to be funny. At the end the viewer is left unsure if any of what he just heard was true. At the end of two hours you can’t tell if Chappelle is arrogant or humble. You can’t tell if he’s a good husband or not. You’re not sure if he respects women, the transgendered, or gay people.

The audience shown in the specials is just as confused as I am. One of my favorite things to do during these specials was to look at his diverse audience in the first few rows and notice which group was squirming in their seat during a specific set. Over the course of two hours Chappelle manages to make everyone feel uncomfortable at some point, because he is there to challenge everyone. At one point a member of the crowd will be laughing their head off, while later on they are looking down and shaking their head. This is a sign of his greatness, he can make everyone laugh but also challenge everyone with things that they might disagree with. Yet they keep coming back. He even toys with the viewer by calling his special The Age of Spin in which he explicitly states that you can’t believe anything you hear anymore. Talk about meta.

He is honest and bold. I understand why many of a more progressive nature will find the things he says offensive and controversial. He is most certainly not politically correct in his discussions of transgendered celebrities, the gay movement, and even African-Americans. Thing is though, you can’t call him unreasonable. He mixes in his thoughtful measured tone in between his jokes. He is patient and sets up his jokes, which makes his specials funnier the longer you watch him. Sometimes it’s so well hidden you will miss them if you’re not paying attention. Chappelle has his own opinions, for better or for worse. He crosses the line and challenges the viewer to think.

Chappelle also represents a different set of mores, which is why I admire him so much. When he walked away from his show after signing a $50 million deal with Comedy Central, people called him crazy and spread rumors that he was smoking crack. Chappelle says that his father once told him to “Name your price in the beginning” of his career, and if the cost ever got too high to find something else to do. That does not sound like a regular celebrity intent on climbing the fame ladder. Chappelle cares deeply about his craft and creating a work of art, indistinguishable from reality. People called him crazy and strange to dismiss him because they didn’t understand what he was doing. To a materialist it seems strange to leave Hollywood and buy a farm in Yellow Springs, Ohio. To a hyper-connected society it’s strange that his seeks solitude to order to clear his mind.

The fact that Netflix was willing to pay him a reportedly $60 million for three specials is a sign that he is in high demand, because he engages in comedy on a wholly different level. People are yearning for his honesty and also for a guide as people attempt to rationalize the difficult national moment we are living.

Chappelle said that “Every black American is bilingual.” He demonstrates that well in these specials by exploring a range of difficult subjects in language only he can master. I don’t personally agree with everything he says, and feel that some of his jokes are insensitive. He stands up for himself, he befuddles his audience and that is why he is great.