Chance The Rapper is your favorite hip hop artist, you just don’t know it yet.
Chicago has given us legends in all fields of music, including R. Kelly, Kanye West, Common, and Frankie Knuckles. A 90’s baby from the windy city, Chancelor may be the perfect product of his environment. You can catch Chance hanging out with Drill Sargent King Louie, making songs with EDM giant Skrillex, or even rooming with London’s James Blake. But were it not for Jones College Prep High School in Chicago, we may have never gotten a chance to discover the acid rapper.
Chance’s first mixtape, 10 Days, stemmed from a 10 day suspension he received in 2011 from the aforementioned high school. Soon after releasing the first song from this project, Complex Magazine labeled the young emcee as one of “10 New Chicago Rappers to Watch For”. Not only was Chance receiving attention from the hip hop world, he also got a feature on Forbes Magazine’s “Cheap Tunes” column. All this hype allowed Chance to developed connections with independent artists such as Childish Gambino, who gave Chance the opportunity to be the opening act of his 2012 tour.
As his name continued to grow, Chance The Rapper released his second body of work, Acid Rap, on April of 2013. With features from Twista, BJ the Chicago Kid, Ab-Soul, and others, this mixtape met all the expectations of fans and music critics alike. Recognition came in the form of a nomination for “Best Mixtape” at the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards, as well as his video for “Everybody’s Something” winning “Best Video” at the 2014 MTVU Woodie Awards.
After just two full-length projects, Chance has been able to headline his own tour, be featured in marketing efforts for MySpace and Dockers, perform at festivals like Lollapalooza, and be recognized at various award shows. If anything, we should all just appreciate how far he has come in such a short period of time. The young man’s hustle is unsurpassed: even while recovering from an illness that saw him miss part of Coachella earlier this month, and just a few days away from headlining JMBLYA, Chance somehow found the time to release new music. And that’s exactly what fans have come to expect from the Chicago tripster. Maybe a “Thank You” letter to his old high school is in order…
Listen to and watch some of Chance The Rapper’s award-winning material below before you head out to see him shut down JMBLYA this weekend. It’ll be worth your time.
05/02 – Dallas – Mainstreet Garden Park – SOLD OUT
