Often within the mainstream media, you can catch several artists such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, and even Rihanna to play a vital role within our society.
They influence the way we speak, what we listen to, and how we view the world through their music.
However, there is only one item, which these artists and many other artists have in common, and that is that they are signed under a label.
Chance The Rapper has however defined what it means to be an artist not signed to an label.
Chancellor Bennett also know as Chance The Rapper, was born April 16th in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up within a political based family, his parents expected him to one-day hold office, or to make change within the political realm. In Chance’s first year of high school, he began forming hip-hop groups with friends to get others within their school to hear their rapping talents.
Kanye West’s album The College Dropout served as a major influence for Chance to keep pursuing his musical career. However, within his senior year of high school he was suspended for ten days for possessing drugs on school property. During his suspension he created his first mix tape named 10 Day in honor of his ten-day school suspension. Soon after, Chance began to make appearances on many other popular artist’s songs at the time, such as Childish Gambino’s track They Don’t Like Me, and they soon began touring the United States together. A year later, Chance The Rapper released his most recognized mix tape, named Acid Rap, which resulted from him experimenting with different psychedelic drugs, and the emotions that he would experience within his acid trips. Acid Rap has since been downloaded over one million times, and the mix tape soon reached the Billboard Top 100 at number sixty-three, which was a huge accomplishment for a independent artist, and it was also listed as one of the fifty best albums within the year of 2013. Soon after, Chance partnered with trumpeter Donny Trumpet, and the group The Social Experiment, and began their nationwide tour.
This past summer, Chance The Rapper also partnered with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for voting rights, and has set up voters registration booths at all of his concert stops on his Coloring Book Tour. Not only does Chance give back physically, but he also gives back spiritually within his music. In most of his songs he makes spiritual references about God, and having a relationship with God. Many times within his performances and interviews he will openly proclaim his faith, and give an encouragement to his crowd.
With all of these accomplishments, you can see why everyone LOVES Chance the Rapper. His newest Grammy wins, just seal the deal as to why he is one of my biggest inspirations! Chance if you are reading this, continue to inspire the people around you, and stay true to who you are. You encourage me to be who I am in every aspect of my life!
– Signed, A Girl who LOVES Lil Chano from 79th