Chancellor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, activist, actor, and philanthropist.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Chance the Rapper released his debut mixtape 10 Day in 2012. He began to gain mainstream recognition in 2013 after releasing his second mixtape, Acid Rap, which gained acclaim. He then released his third mixtape, Coloring Book, in 2016, which garnered further critical acclaim and attention. It earned him three Grammy Awards, including the award for Best Rap Album; upon winning, it became the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy Award, and peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200. His debut studio album The Big Day was released on July 26, 2019.
Alongside his solo career, Chance the Rapper is a member of the Chicago collective Savemoney, and is the vocalist for the band the Social Experiment; they released the album Surf in May 2015, led by trumpeter Nico Segal. He is also involved in social activism in the Chicago community where he resides.
Accolades:
At the end of 2016, Coloring Book appeared on a number of critics’ lists ranking the year’s top albums. According to Metacritic, it was the seventh most prominently ranked record of 2016. Christgau ranked it as the ninth best album of the year in his ballot for The Village Voice’s annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. The album won Best Rap Album at the 2017 Grammy Awards. It was the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy.
Music career – 2011–2012: Career beginnings and 10 Day:
At Jones College Prep High School, some of his teachers ridiculed his aspirations to become a musician. In early 2011 during his senior year, following a 10-day suspension for marijuana possession on campus, Bennett recorded his first full-length project, a mixtape entitled 10 Day (also known as #10Day). In December 2011, he released a song titled “Windows”, and publicly announced his 10 Day project. In February 2012, Bennett was highlighted as one of Complex magazine’s “10 New Chicago Rappers to Watch Out For”. Bennett says he spent “about eight months recording, writing, and making connections off of the hunger to put out something”. Bennett released the mixtape on April 3, 2012, and it has since been downloaded over 500,000 times via mixtape-sharing site DatPiff. The mixtape was well-received locally and helped Bennett make connections with producers such as Chuck Inglish, Kenny Jame$ and Blended Babies. The mixtape also grabbed the attention of Forbes magazine, which featured it in the publication’s Cheap Tunes column.
Music and lyrics:
Chance the Rapper told Complex that Coloring Book would be a superior record to Surf, the 2015 album that he had released with his group Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment. As with his other mixtapes, 10 Day and Acid Rap, the cover artwork was painted by Chicago-based artist Brandon Breaux, who depicted Chance holding his baby daughter (below the frame) in order to capture the expression on his face. According to Financial Times music critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, Coloring Book is an upbeat gospel rap album whose themes of spiritual fulfillment and worldly accomplishment are explored in music “that places gospel choirs and jazzy horns in a modern setting of Auto-Tuned hooks and crisp beats”. Rolling Stone’s Christopher R. Weingarten wrote that the gospel choirs were the foundation of the mixtape’s music, functioning in the same way disco interpolations had on the earliest rap records, James Brown rhythms had for Public Enemy, and soul samples had for Kanye West. Chance discussed Coloring Book’s theme of Christian faith in an interview with Zane Lowe. “I never really set out to make anything that could pretend to be new gospel or pretend to be the gospel”, he said. “It’s just music from me as a Christian man because I think before I was making music as a Christian child. And in both cases I have imperfections, but there was a declaration that can be made through going all the [stuff] I’ve been through the last few years.” Lowe himself believed the mixtape showcased how “faith in music and faith in God go hand-in-hand a lot of times”.
Fashion:
Bennett’s fashion style is a large part of his public image, and he has taken interest in the industry. Bennett has designed hats for the Chicago White Sox. The Hollywood Reporter has said that Bennett is “redefining fashion” with his style of generally wearing overalls and contesting traditional hip-hop fashion norms. Bennett wore a suit that was meant to imitate Michael Jackson at the 2017 BET Awards. Bennett was seen wearing Thom Browne clothing at the 2017 Grammys. Bennett has been known to wear a signature hat with the number three on it. “I’ve rationalized it to myself that it stands for the third mixtape, the Holy Trinity, and the three-pronged family of myself, my daughter, and my girl,” Bennett said in an interview in regards to the meaning of the number three.
Tracklist:
A1 All We Got 3:23
A2 No Problem 5:05
A3 Summer Friends 4:50
A4 D.R.A.M. Sings Special 1:41
B1 Blessings 3:41
B2 Same Drugs 4:17
B3 Mixtape 4:52
C1 Angels 3:26
C2 Juke Jam 3:39
C3 All Night 2:21
C4 How Great 5:37
D1 Smoke Break 3:46
D2 Finish Line / Drown 6:46
D3 Blessings (Reprise) 3:50
