Phil Mushnick has lost his mind.
This week, I was going to write a piece about Kobe Bryant’s triumphant farewell. It was a truly spectacular event that made even the biggest Kobe hater happy to see this great man and player end his career on a high note.
In it, Phil Mushnick of the New York Post speaks on Chance The Rapper- a Chicago artist who achieved critical and popular acclaim and has teamed as an ambassador for the Chicago White Sox. He claims that Chance (who’s real name is Chancellor Bennett)’s music is “Standard dehumanizing gangsta rap,” Where “young black men are N—-s.” Mushnick says of Bennett, “he’s especially fond of dope and regards young women as a sub-species in over-and-out service to his immediate libidinous whims, especially oral sex.”
Mushnick bases all of these (false) assumptions upon a single song that Chance released on his Acid Rap mixtape (which is a concept album, not that Mushnick would have any idea what that means.) The song, which was released three years ago, is entitled “Smoke Again” is admittedly a raunchy, rambunctious song about being on the road and leaving women nightly.
However, artists grow and people change with age. Chance, who just recently turned 22 years old, recently witnessed the birth of his first daughter with his long-time girlfriend. Somehow, Munchkin finds a way to vilify this momentous occasion as well by saying that Chance had the baby out of wedlock.
While chance's music has always had an uplifting, free spirited message he has recently been releasing music that has been even more uplifting and happy. Sometimes even bordering on Gospel with songs such as Sunday Candy and Somewhere in Paradise. His newest single, Angels (who's music video just recently was released), has a line that speaks upon Chance's feelings towards the city and his new fatherhood. On the song he raps, I got my city doing front flips
When every father, mayor, rapper jump ship
I guess that's why they call it where I stay
Clean up the streets, so my daughter can have somewhere to play.”
And Chancellor practices what he preaches. He is doing all he can to make Chicago, his hometown and birthplace of his child, a better all around place to live.
Here's just a short list of his philanthropic activities:
- He started a Twitter campaign to stop gun violence in Chicago over Memorial Day in 2014 which led to 42 hours without a gun related death in the city.
- He also raised $100,000 for the Get Schooled project for Chicago Area Schools (this was in conjunction with his brother Taylor and radio and TV personality, Sway)
- In 2014 he was awarded Chicago's Outstanding Youth Award
- He began a bi-monthly “Open Mike” night where high school artists could hone their craft, in addition to donating recording technology to schools and libraries. The admission to this Open Mike night is simply a school I.D. Past attendees of these events have been Chicago greats like Vic Mensa, Kanye West, and Scottie Pippen.
- Chance’s most recent and ambitious charitable effort is certainly the Warmest Winter/ Empowerment movement. For this movement Chance is asking for donations (as well as donating himself) for 1,000 coats which double as sleeping bags for homeless men and women in Chicago. Additionally, homeless people will be the ones hired to make these coats and thus creating jobs in Chicago where the movement hopes that they will be able to permanently put a factory in to make these coats.
In addition to all of this, Chance is also an independent artist not signed to any major label which allows him to do many interesting things with his brand, and money. Chance is one of the few popular artists today who releases all of his music for free. He is also the first ever independent artist to ever perform on Saturday Night Live.
So, I must ask how this very opinionated article that spins a highly charitable, upstanding man into a “gun-toting Gangster” get published? Mind you, Mushnick is the same man you laid the claim the the Brooklyn Nets should rename themselves the New York Ni****s after Jay Z unveiled the team's new black and white color scheme.
Finally, in his article Mr. Mushnick asks if the ownership of the White Sox or ESPN analyst would recite Chance The Rapper's lyrics in public? I ask him the same, why would you not recite something along the lines of “I've been praying for you for the whole week, you're my Sunday Candy.”
