"Kanye's best
prodigy, he ain't sign me, but he's proud of me. I got some ideas you gotta
see"
(Bare with the
background information I'm about to give.)
Chancellor Bennett aka Chance The Rapper; Chicago's very own golden child of 23 years, has shifted the paradigm in more ways than one and took the entire hip-hop culture by storm. Stemming from a 10 day suspension back in 2011, Chance took the punishment as an opportunity to get a head start on his rapping career. What Chance didn't know back then is how far his stepping stone would take him. His debut mixtape 10 Day was an instant hit, but like every other modern musician, one hit is not enough to solidify yourself as a success.
Back in April of 2013, Chance released
his second mixtape titled, "Acid Rap". Acid Rap received critical
acclaim and had fans and critics asking for more. The wondrous results begged the question; which label will Chance
sign to? What labels didn't know, is how important being an independent artist
meant to Chance. Surely, labels thought he would cave in to the lucrative
deals, the star power and connections, all in exchange for his name on a roster
and creative control. However, as promising as it sounded…Chance The Rapper is
an independent artist, forever and always.
Being an independent artist is the most
important thing about his persona, asides from his infectious optimism, goofy
word play and rhyme scheme, his joyful, energetic dances, Chance is much more
than a regular average joe rapper trying to get a deal. Chance is someone who
HAS a deal in his back pocket, it's just a call away…but he refuses give up
creative freedom and let his artistry fall in the hands of executives with a
business model for an album release, he's turning his back on every artist's
dream; being virtually wanted by all, but refusing to compromise his character.
Although he admits to almost signing with Sony back in 2014, Chance's father
reminded him of how far he's come and where's he wants to go, and ultimately
refused to sign the paper in front of the same people who gave it to him.
Fast forward three years later, from
performing sold out shows, both in the states and overseas, to having one of
his bandmates (Donnie Trumpet) produce a critically acclaimed and long awaited
album, "Surf", Chancellor Bennett was a sure thing. A lot can happen
in three years, but one question remained. When is Chance The Rapper dropping a
new project? Surely, the answer is entirely up to artist, seeming how's
independent, but it's amazing how many times Chance has put his fans on their
toes when he would endlessly hint at shows and on social media that it was
incredibly close.
2016 started off with a bang following
the debut and somewhat messy, release of Kanye West's seventh studio album,
"The Life Of Pablo". Chance is a featured artist on the very first
song, "Ultralight Beams". The verse was everything you expected, the
gospel influence Chance showcases on his two albums, the witty and shifty
wordplay, and most of all the rawness and rarity of honesty he's always given his fans since day
one. What makes this a notable verse, asides from arguably being the best verse
on an entire album, his this particular lyric; "He said let's do a good
ass job with Chance 3, I hear you gotta sell it to snatch the Grammy. Let's make
it so free and the bar so hard that there one gosh darn part, you can't
tweet!" This line was echoed across the genre for two reasons; 1) Chance
gave another hint about Chance three, but includes a subtle nod to Kanye West
in reference to his original idea of a fourth album "Good Ass Job"
which was ultimately scrapped due to his mother's passing. 2) He just promoted
the idea of a mixtape (which are pretty much albums released for free, normally
consist of throwaway songs that did not make the final album) being eligible to
win a Grammy award.
Why am I focusing on the background of
an artist? Reason is because Chance is becoming a household name to others
outside of the genre. More importantly, Chance went somewhere other artists
hadn't gone before. In the wake of officially announcing his album, Chance put
up a set of 10 posters for sale at $20. When ordered, the posters came with
instructions of putting the posters up where ever the buyer wants to, take a
picture, send it to Chance on social media with the hashtag,
"#Chance3". Based on the intake of pictures he would receive, that
would determine how soon Chance 3 was to dropping. This is where things get
even better.
If you're not familiar with rules of
being eligible for a Grammy nomination; the album has to be released
commercially. Which pretty much means, that the album has to put for sale at
one point or another. Well, little did people know, Chance 3; ultimately named
Coloring Book, was released as a two week exclusive through apple music. Now
even though the project is free, fans would have to already be paying for an
Apple Music membership, or wait the two weeks before it's released on all other
platforms. Since people would have to pay to be able to listen to the album, it
became eligible for a Grammy nomination through a loophole, however at first
the eligibility was denied. But after a few revisions of what should be
considered eligible in a day and age were physical copies are becoming obsolete
to streaming. Chance The Rapper's third mixtape; Coloring Book not only changed
how albums are going to be released, but changed the Grammy's, and solidified
himself in hip-hop history.
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