Chancellor Johnathan Bennett, also known as Chance the Rapper, is a 24-year-old who is taking over the rap industry one song at a time.
Chance was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 16, 1993. His father, Ken Williams Bennett, was an aide to former President Barack Obama, who was a senator at the time. Chance recalled the time he met Obama and told him he was a rapper. His father had hoped Chance would one day hold office.
The thing that makes Chance so unique is the fact that he does not sell his music. He has only streamed on Apple Music and SoundCloud, and makes his money off of touring and merchandise. He also has a sponsorship deal with KitKat. He has gone on record to say that he will never sign with a record label due to their ability to tamper with his music.
Chance’s first mixtape was called “10 day” and was made when he was suspended from school. The album was released on April 13, 2012. It was wildly successful, with over 330,000 downloads.
Chance went on to make a second mixtape called “Acid Rap,” which was released on April 30, 2013 and has been downloaded over one million times. After the album’s success, he went on the Social Experiment Tour from October 2015 until December of that year.
Chance’s best year was 2016 when he released his third mixtape “Coloring Book,” which dropped in May. It streamed live on Apple Music and debuted at number eight on Billboard 200. Chance’s album had many hits such as “No problem,” “Same Drugs” and “All We Got.”
The same year that “Coloring Book” came out, he went on to perform a tribute to Muhammad Ali at the ESPYS on July 13.
In 2016, he met and performed for then President Barack Obama. He made other appearances in 2016, such as performances on “Ellen,” “The Tonight Show” and “The Late Late Show.” The next year, Chance won three Grammys – one for best rap album for “Coloring Book,” which made it the first streaming-only album to win the award, Best New Artist, and Best Rap Performance.
Sophomore Barrett Linke says, “I’m happy Chance is finally getting recognition for the great music he puts out.”
Chance has also been very active in his Chicago community. After a meeting with Governor Bruce Rainer that he said did not go the way he had hoped, Chance decided to donate one million dollars to the Chicago Public Schools, which was later matched by the Chicago Bulls.
Freshman Pratham Kumar, said “It’s great to see him doing great things in his community.”
Chance has also been a vocal supporter of stopping gun violence in Chicago. He was interviewed with Bulls star Jimmy Butler where they both said that the community needs to stop the murders. He was backed by Kanye West, who Chance considers his inspiration for getting into rap.
What do you think Chance will do next?
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