"Call me Chancellor The Rapper, please say 'The Rapper'..."
When I speak on some of my all-time favorite music artists, those individuals who make up my top five, I will never not include Chance The Rapper. With his release of his third mixtape, "Coloring Book," Chance solidified his place in the music world and proved his eclectic, genre-bending style of music is here to stay.
Today, I would say that I am most definitely a super fan of Chance The Rapper. I can listen to and enjoy pretty much every single thing he produces, whether it be a collaborative effort with him and his favorite Donnie Trumpet or just him and a nice beat. A great portion of these songs can be found on Chance's first official mixtape "10 Day." I would say that Chance is unquestionably not a one-hit-wonder type of artist.
The story of how I became a fan is actually quite funny. I have not always been an advocate of Chance The Rapper's style of hip-hop music; I happened upon him by accident. It was my freshman year of college, and one of my friends would not stop playing certain songs from "Acid Rap," Chance's second official mixtape. At the time, I really had no idea what I was hearing because the music was so different from anything I had ever heard before; then "Good Ass Intro" came on and I've literally been a fan ever since. Immediately after I heard the intro to "Acid Rap," I knew I had to purchase all the albums Chance had put out. When I began asking my friend how do I get all his music, how much do the albums cost, etc., I was quickly informed that Chance The Rapper releases all of his music for free and they are not albums, but mixtapes. I had no idea. Becoming a Chance The Rapper fan has made me through out any preconceived notions I had about music and mixtapes in general.
I am also a huge Chance The Rapper fan because Chance breaks the mold of the typical 20-something hip-hop artist by collaborating with everyone he wants and doesn't care. From "Ultralight Beam" with Kirk Franklin and Kanye West to Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment with "Sunday Candy," Chance is a musical genius and a force to be reckoned with.
As an independent artist, all of Chance's music can be found online for free. With the quality of his content, you would think that Chance would charge tremendously—as he should—but that's just not who he is.
If you've never truly given Chance The Rapper a chance or if you've heard one or two songs but didn't really "like them," I challenge you to give his mixtapes a solid listen one more time, and I guarantee he'll make a fan out of you. I've hyperlinked all of his mixtapes and a couple of his most noteworthy songs so give it a listen. What do you have to lose?
