Chance the Rapper: A Musical Man Made in Chicago

Chance the Rapper (born Chancellor Bennett) has proven to be one of the greatest rap musicians of all time in my opinion. Yes, a bold statement, and not an unbiased one at that, but also not one that is unfounded. Chance the Rapper was born in the Chatham neighborhood of Chicago’s Southside. With parents in politics, and influences of Michael Jackson, Sam Cooke, Billie Holiday, and several other kings and queens of the music industry being played in his home on a daily basis, he brings a style to Chicago that no one else could. His music infuses the most prominent herbs and spices of Chicago styles of music with R&B and Rap with ease. Even the framework of his albums tell a story and show his development in a tangible way. Being a high schooler and releasing his hit mixtape 10 Day, (favorite song, Hey Ma) referring to his 10 day suspension from school, he tells a story which is not unrelatable to much of Chicago, especially at that age. Chance had a passion for music that panned out in a way that was not without strife and struggle, but in true Chicago fashion, he persevered.

When he dropped his next mixtape Acid Rap, (favorite song, Everybody’s Something) the cards were on the table. No other city but Chicago would have snatched that hand up and progressed it to the top lists in music billboards. He had influences and features from tons of other Chicago artists including Noname, Vic Mensa, Saba, Action Bronson, and plenty of others (artist highlights to come). From the beginning, Chance found himself embedded in the musical culture of Chicago. He went on to feature in many other artists’ projects, as well as creating more of his own sound. He found a brilliant mixture of vibes within his mixtapes. There was not one singular tone throughout the tapes. He found diversity in his sound, and created a journey for the listeners which allowed them to turn up to parts of his album, and cry for others. Chance understood the Chicago experience and turned it into music with his lyrics and sound. 

He then released his debut album Coloring Book (favorite song, Summer Friends) and changed his path forever. This album created a rift amongst many of his fans because of the decently heavy religious references. At this point Chance had a daughter that he was incredibly amorous of in a public way, though he didn’t allow the press to get a picture of her face until she was a year and a half old. His first daughter, Kensli, changed a lot about his social media presence, his work ethic, and of course his sound. If you ask me, there could not have been a better addition to his musical journey. Coloring Book is an album that defined the entire year of 2016 for many people, myself included. It also included influence and features from many Chicago artists such as Kanye West, Jamila Woods, and even The Chicago Children’s Choir. While the album did feature a lot of religious aspects, I wouldn’t say the album was taken over by that influence. The sound of it was full of love and passion that translated through the musicality of the album and the release of it. Chance truly sharpened his understanding of the Chicago sound with that album, and gave the people not what they wanted, but exactly what they needed. 

People tend to get very touchy when it comes to artist development. They think that each album that they release needs to be the same sound and pulse as their previously released albums. I believe that kind of thinking is the death of music. Music is a creature that is alive, and if it is not growing and changing then it will remain stagnant which, like a human pulse, leads to death. The problem is, sometimes there are hits that come out of that growth, and sometimes there are trips. I would say that his next album Big Day (favorite song Hot Shower) was an example of more of a trip than a hit. As a diehard fan of Chance, it was hard to listen to this 22 song album and feel Chance’s sound in it. It felt a bit off-base in terms of what the purpose and intention was behind the album. By the time he released this album, he was married to the mother of his daughter, and announced another daughter on the way. It was almost as if his life got so good that he lost the grit that we all craved from his sound. Though he had some big name features on the album such as Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, and John Legend, it seemed that Chance had strayed from the path in a way that didn’t build on his artistic foundation but almost started from scratch. 

Since the release of that album in 2019, Chance has put out many different singles in the meantime. Many of them are hits, many of them are trips, but the most recent releases he’s put out have shown me that he may be finding his way back to his sound. This past June he released a song called Highs and Lows feat. Joey Bada$$ which is some of the purest Chance the Rapper sound that I’ve heard in quite a while. It seems that he is finding his way back to his original intentionality in his art, and there’s nothing better than seeing the growth of an artist in such a positive way. With his most recent song releases being even more successful and widely known than his last album, I have no doubt he’ll find his way back to his Chicago-influenced artistry. The entire city of Chicago awaits his next release with fingers crossed for another album. I know I will be immediately tuning in for his next project, and am steeped in anticipation for more of that gorgeous Chicago sound.