Chance the Rapper
| Chance the Rapper | |
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Chance the Rapper performing live in November 2013
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Chancelor Johnathan Bennett |
| Also known as | Chano |
| Born |
April 16, 1993 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 2011–present |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | chanceraps |
Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist from the West Chatham neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. In 2013, he began to gain recognition following the release of his second mixtape, Acid Rap. Apart from his solo career, he is also a member of the Chicago collective Save Money (along with frequent collaborator Vic Mensa), and has worked as the lead vocalist for the band The Social Experiment. They released the widely lauded album Surf in May 2015.
In May 2016, Bennett released his third mixtape Coloring Book to further critical acclaim. It earned him three Grammy awards, including for Best Rap Album. Coloring Book was the first streaming-only album to ever receive and win a Grammy nomination.
Chance the Rapper grew up in the middle-class neighborhood of West Chatham on Chicago's South Side. His younger brother, Taylor Bennett, is also a Chicago rapper. His father, Ken Williams-Bennett, was an aide to former Chicago mayor Harold Washington and worked for then-Senator Barack Obama. Williams-Bennett, who is now a deputy chief of staff to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, dreamed that his son might one day hold office. In his freshman year at Jones College Prep High School, Chance formed the hip-hop duo Instrumentality with a friend. Many of Chance's earliest performances took place at the YOUmedia Lyricist Loft at Harold Washington Library in Chicago. He mentioned in an interview that fellow Chicago native Kanye West's 2004 debut album The College Dropout was the first hip-hop album that he ever purchased and listened to, previously being into soul and jazz.
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