Chance The Rapper

**Chancelor Johnathan Bennett** (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as **Chance the Rapper**, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape *10 Day* in 2012. He began to gain mainstream recognition in 2013 after releasing his second mixtape, *Acid Rap*. He then released his third mixtape, *Coloring Book* in 2016, which garnered further critical acclaim and attention. It earned him three Grammy Awards, including the award for Best Rap Album; upon winning, it became the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy Award, and peaked at number eight on the *Billboard* 200. His debut studio album *The Big Day* was released in 2019.

In addition to his solo career, Bennett is a member of the Chicago collective Savemoney, and is the vocalist for the band the Social Experiment. They released the album *Surf* in 2015, led by trumpeter Nico Segal. He is also involved in social activism in the Chicago area where he lives.

### Early Life

Chancelor Bennett was born in Chicago. His father, Ken Williams-Bennett, was an aide to the late Chicago mayor Harold Washington and then-Senator Barack Obama. His mother, Lisa Bennett, worked for the Illinois Attorney General. Bennett grew up in the middle-class neighborhood of West Chatham on Chicago's South Side. When Bennett was sixteen, his father began to work in the Department of Labor during President Barack Obama's first term. Bennett personally met President Obama in his youth and discussed his aspirations to be a rapper, to which Obama responded with "word". Bennett was originally going to move to Washington, D.C., following Obama's win in the 2008 presidential election, though those plans eventually fell through. Bennett attended Jones College Prep High School where he was a member of the Jewish Student Union.

Bennett's interest in music began with Michael Jackson, who he exclusively listened to on cassettes until the fifth grade. Growing up, Bennett's parents were constantly playing music, including Billie Holiday, Sam Cooke and other artists in the jazz and gospel genres. Bennett began listening to hip-hop after hearing "Through the Wire" by Kanye West on the radio while walking through Hyde Park, Chicago. After finding out the song was on West's debut album *The College Dropout*, Bennett purchased the album, making it the first hip-hop album that Bennett listened to. Bennett considers West a huge influence on him and has said that he was inspired to begin rapping by West. Bennett and West met each other in August 2014 at Bonnaroo Music Festival.

Bennett began rapping in the sixth grade when his cousin let him start using his studio. In his freshman year at Jones College Prep High School, Bennett formed the hip-hop duo Instrumentality alongside a friend. Many of Chance's earliest performances took place at the YOUmedia Lyricist Loft at Harold Washington Library in Chicago. After placing second in a local songwriting contest, Bennett met then-Chicago Mayor, Richard M. Daley who enjoyed his music. Bennett spent most of his junior year and a small amount of his senior year writing a draft for his debut project, *10 Day*, which was later released after Bennett was suspended for ten days after being caught smoking cannabis.