‘I never wanted to sell my music,” says Chance the Rapper, “because I thought putting a price on it put a limit on it and inhibited me from making a connection.” Chance (whose real name is Chancellor Johnathan Bennett) has been nominated for seven Grammys this year for Coloring Book—the first album to top the Billboard chart solely from streaming. Here, the politically active, 23-year-old Chicago native talks with Lisa Robinson about politics, rap, and free music.
LISA ROBINSON: You campaigned for Hillary Clinton and you helped get out the vote in Illinois. Do you think performers have an obligation to be politically involved?
CHANCE THE RAPPER: I think our duty as American citizens is to be involved and engaged in anything that affects us. As an artist, I have to use my platform, and as a dad, a brother, and a black man, I have to be as socially woke and present as possible. I don’t feel great about [the results of the election], but in all honesty, I wasn’t that surprised that Trump won. I’m not a pessimist . . . but I’m always woke and waiting to find something fishy going on so I can let motherfuckers know.
L.R.: You rap but you sing too—how would you describe yourself?
CHANCE: I love to sing, but I always considered myself first and foremost a rapper, and I put it in my name on purpose. Rap music is a combination of many different arts to make something new. There’s always been a stigma that its existence would be short and only appeal to a certain group—but it’s the biggest music in the world.
L.R.: Are you still living in Chicago?
CHANCE: In 2014, after my Acid Rap mixtape, I moved to L.A. for six months, but I couldn’t really do it—I moved right back. I’ve lived here my whole life; Chicago is a beautiful city—the architecture, the food, everything in the city is awesome.
L.R.: Your father, Ken Williams-Bennett, ran early Senate campaigns for Barack Obama and was a head of personnel in President Obama’s first term in the White House. Is he proud of your success?
CHANCE: My dad is probably the most proud person when it comes to me, and we have a great relationship. If people have a compliment about my character, they usually say they can tell I was raised right, and that’s the truth.
L.R.: How did you turn a school suspension into a successful mixtape?
CHANCE: All through high school I made mixtapes, passed them out for free, and performed in open-mike and talent shows. I showed up . . . but I didn’t really care about school. In my senior year I managed to not get suspended until midway through the school year, when a police officer found me smoking weed in an alley. I got suspended, I made the 10 Day mixtape . . . it was the first time I called myself Chance the Rapper, and it created a buzz for me in Chicago like I’d never seen.
L.R.: How and why do you still give your music away for free? And how do you make money?
CHANCE: After I made my second mixtape and gave it away online, my plan was to sign with a label and figure out my music from there. But after meeting with the three major labels, I realized my strength was being able to offer my best work to people without any limit on it. My first two projects are on places where you can get music for free. With Coloring Book, Apple had it on their streaming service exclusively for two weeks for free—and then it was available on all the places my earlier work is still available on. I make money from touring and selling merchandise, and I honestly believe if you put effort into something and you execute properly, you don’t necessarily have to go through the traditional ways.
L.R.: How do you feel about the Grammys?
CHANCE: I feel like God puts everything in place.
