Lately, one name in hip-hop has been garnering the attention of many with his gospel-inspired rap mixtape, Coloring Book. Chance the Rapper is a Chicago native rapper who has spent the last couple of years building a platform to talk about his experience living in the Windy City. Chance was born April 16, 1993, under the name Chancelor Bennett, to a school teacher mother and Ken Bennett, who aided former mayor Harold Washington and Barack Obama during his run for president.

It was in high school where Chance took an interest in starting a career in rap alongside an up-and-coming artist, Vic Mensa, who founded the hip hop collective known as SaveMoney, and Donnie Trumpet. However, it was until his senior year, where a ten-day suspension ultimately led to the formation of his debut mixtape titled 10 Day.

It was not until his sophomore effort in 2013, Acid Rap when he gained critical acclaim for his distinct sound and depiction of life in Chicago. His music gained many other artists’ attention, who he would later collaborate besides.

After its release, numerous record labels started to approach the young Chancellor with offers difficult to refuse. While any up-and-coming artist would choose to sign to a record label, Chance declined all offers. Many saw this as a risky move, but the young artist saw past the money and focused on his creative freedom. Although it seemed like a small sacrifice to pay in exchange for more money, signing a contract was seen as signing away your rights and a loss of creative control.

In recent years, he dropped a collaborative project with longtime friend Donnie Trumpet titled SURF for free. The album consisted of many surprise appearances from mainstream artists and made enough of an impact for Chance to become the first independent artist to perform on SNL. Two months later, he made a surprise appearance to perform a new track from Kanye West’s album The Life of Pablo. Afterward, Kanye announced that he would help the development of Chance’s third mixtape.

The project made history since Coloring Book became the first streaming exclusive to chart on the Billboard 200. It debuted at No. 8 with 38,000 equivalent units through Apple Music. It also became the first streaming exclusive nominated in this year’s 59th Annual Grammy Awards. Chance left with three Grammy awards that night, winning Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Album.

Soon after, Chance announced that he was going to conduct a meeting with Governor Bruce Rauner to discuss the CPS budget cuts. Chance is no stranger in advocating for changes in the city. He has done so through public open mic events held at Harold Washington Library.

The meeting resulted in a public displeasure. Chance stated that he got “a lot of vague answers”. Three days later, he held a conference at Westcott Elementary School where he mentioned: “I met with Bruce Rauner to urge him to do his job and to honor his original commitment to provide 215 million dollars to CPS, so our kids can finish the year strong.” He offered criticism towards the unfair state funding of public education. Chance explained that there has been “increasing funding for every teacher except in Chicago by 243 million.” As a result, Chance donated one million dollars to support arts and enrichment programs. Every $10,000 will go to a different school.

“Our kids should not be held hostage because of political positioning.” Chance challenges major corporations by donating and taking action since Illinois ranks last when it comes to funding public education. He ended the event saying, “Gov. Rauner, do your job!” As of now, everyone wonders which school will be next to receive $10,000. However, the real concern is when the government will step up.

Chance the Rapper is continuing to promote change within the city through his music. Be on the lookout, and take your chance with this rapper.

– Alex Ortega