Chance The Rapper

Imagine it’s the summer of 2012.  You just exited The Pageant, one of the premier music halls where many artists come to perform in St. Louis, Missouri.  While you’re exiting The Pageant, you run into the opening act of the performer you just saw, Childish Gambino.  The man is standing there with his DJ passing out demo CDs from his most recent mixtape, 10 Day.  Many people huddle around him in hopes of getting an autograph or maybe a picture but at the same time, many are just walking past him to get to their cars, not even attempting to glance at the rapper.  The rapper’s name is Chancellor Bennett AKA Chance The Rapper, a Chicago native who spent the summer of 2012 touring alongside Childish Gambino by being the opening act for his shows.  At that time, Chance was a relatively unknown artist.  Sure the Chicago music scene had known about him for a minute now, but he was nowhere recognizable as an artist.  He had a distinct sound that combined a nasally childlike voice when he performed with lush, psychedelic production that you could compare to a Kid Cudi that just hadn’t come out of his shell yet.  But that was then, lets talk about now. 

Fast forward a year and a half later and Chance The Rapper has become the poster child for hard work and success.  He started off being featured on projects with Action Bronson, Childish Gambino, Hoodie Allen, James Blake, and Joey Bada$$, all of which are successful up and coming artists in their own rights, to now being featured on a track with Justin Bieber.  He then followed his mixtape, 10 day, with Acid Rap.  The project was critically acclaimed across the board by myself and professional music critics.  The free mixtape which was released by Chance became so popular that it was even sold on the black market making it on to Billboard’s Top 200 list.  Following the wild success of Acid Rap, Chance went on tour with Kendrick Lamar, Earl Sweatshirt, Mac Miller, Eminem, and Macklemore before embarking on his own tour complete with a live band, his own merchandise, and even an appearance by Madonna. These types of accomplishments are things that usually take up an entire career of hard work and dedication, something that Mr. Bennett was able to accomplish within one year.  2013 has seen many exiting new stars such as Haim, Lorde, Disclosure and more, but Chance The Rapper has exceeded all expectations and has become a thrill to watch grow.  Here’s to a great 2014 Chance.