Chance the Rapper is among the high-profiled icons and significant figures of the rap music culture of today’s generation. Born on April 16, 1993, as Chancelor Johnathan Bennet, his music career hit the roof and began to receive mainstream recognition in 2013 after his Acid Rap mixtape. His most revered album, Coloring Book, which was released in 2016, earned him acclaimed awards, including three Grammy Awards and a BET humanitarian award, to mention just a few. Because his rap music has brought him acclaimed music accolades and awards, Chance the Rapper’s music evolution, through his kindness, has motivated him to participate in social activism and impart immense positive influence on the lives of the vulnerable people in the community.
In 2015, Chance launched the Warmest Winter campaign, raising more than $100,000 to distribute coats to Chicago’s homeless, and teamed up with the Chicago Public Library to organize 15 free open-mic events for new artists.” (“Chance the Rapper,” Contemporary Black Biography). The amount raised enabled these upcoming artists to perform at an accessible cost.
Chance is a celebrated figure in his native hometown of Chicago for his benevolent acts and has worked to improve the fortunes and opportunities of young people (CBS News). Bennett generously gives back to his community due to his success as a rapper. In particular, he tends to give back to the communities where he emerged due to the harrowing academic experiences that students of today’s generation share (“Chance the Rapper,” Contemporary Black Biography).
With his Coloring Book album, Chance’s loyal followers, who are numerous on the Internet, are looking up at him as he walks the thin line between secular and religious. Coloring Book is not a thorough gospel album. However, its multicultural awareness and artistic guidance are undoubtedly worthy of praise. Chance’s powerful statements about transition and compassion are inspiring: “I think our duty as American citizens is to be involved and engaged in anything that affects us.” As an artist, I must use my platform, and as a father, brother, and black man, I must be as socially aware and present as possible.” (Robinson). Such utterances encourage those around to be more interpersonally constantly alert to issues in contemporary society.
Chance endeavors to motivate and inspire others to do the correct thing. His community outreach and hard work through devotion remain to significantly better the lives of others, especially the helpless ones. Chance found greatness on his own, and in doing so, he effectively became a hometown hero.
According to Abduqarrib’s christened ‘golden year’ topic in They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us, he compares Chance’s music to the church and how his heartwarming album ‘The Coloring Book’ was a blessing to the people. Abduqarrib goes beyond to say that Chance’s album ‘Coloring Book’ had such a significant impact on people in 2016 that it enabled the people to get through the election, the Pulse nightclub shooting, and other sad occasions that had previously occurred two years ago. However, that was not the end of his album, and it turned to something that “……is both hollow and touchable, partly because it cannot be described besides visualized and experienced.” (8). Chance’s story also speaks to how his music is viewed by those who eagerly listen to it. Abdurraqib describes Chance’s ascension to celebrity as “…the Midwest kid made good…Chicago is in the middle of the countrywide discussion, occupying space in interesting and unsettling instances. Its name is uttered by politicians who consider any place where black people live to be a conflict zone.” (9). Abduqarrib and other writers consider Chance the Rapper to have come a long way and has conveyed happiness to many individuals through his music and fittingly using his prominence.
The bad reputation of rap music has received over the past decades has not been worthwhile. The public viewed rap music from a racial perspective. Thanks to Chance the Rapper’s music influence, that stereotype inception of rap music as violent and anti-feminist has changed with time (Rap & Race, 607). Chance the Rapper has used his music by conveying a message about delicate social concerns that other individuals were frightened to talk about and even overlooked.
Through his music and effect, Chance brought awareness regarding the education system in his hometown of Chicago.
Works Cited
CBS News. “Chance the Rapper’s Rise to Stardom and How He’s Bringing His Success Back Home.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 7 Feb. 2018, www.cbsnews.com/news/chance-the-rapper-social-works-chicago-rise-to-stardom/.
“Chance the Rapper.” Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 142, Gale, 2017. Biography In Context,https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1606008065/GPS?u=powa9245&sid=GPS&xid=8343a93d. Accessed March 23, 2022.
Sullivan, Rachel E. “Rap and Race: It’s Got a Nice Beat, but What about the Message?” Journal of Black Studies, vol. 33, no. 5, 2003, pp. 605–622. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3180978.
“Chance the Rapper: Hometown Hero.” UWIRE Text, April 4. 2017, p. 1. Academic OneFile, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A488497472/GPS?u=powa9245&sid=GPS&xid=5ac001c2. Accessed March 23, 2022.
Robinson, Lisa. “Why Chance the Rapper Makes Music for Free (and How He Actually Makes Money).” The Hive, Vanity Fair, February 8 2017, www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/02/why-chance-the-rapper-music-is-free-and-how-he-makes-money.
Willis-Abdurraqib, Hanif. They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us. Two Dollar Radio, 2017.
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