This past Sunday was “music’s biggest night” and one of the shining stars included Chicago’s own Chance the Rapper. He made history for being the first streaming-only artist to be nominated. Not only that but he was also nominated seven times, placing him in the ranks with artists like Beyonce, Kanye West, Drake, and Rihanna.
Before the show even aired he had already snatched the Grammy for “Best Rap Performance” with his song “No Problem”. During the televised portion of the show he won for “Best New Artist” and “Best Rap Album.” A black hip hop artist hasn’t won “Best New Artist” since Lauryn Hill, so this was an important win. Last year rapper Fetty Wap wasn’t even nominated in the category despite his major success that year, so it’s refreshing to see the recording academy make an adjustment. For the “Best Rap Album” category, he was up against artists like ScHoolboy Q, DJ Khaled, De La Soul, Drake, and Kanye West. In all, he was awarded 3 Grammys for the night.
His performance put the cherry on top of the special night. He performed a mashup of “How Great” and “All We Got”. In the presentation of his verses in both songs there seemed to be an extra element of passion and energy. A pleasant surprise was went Tamela Mann and Kirk Franklin popped up and took the performance to another level. For those four and a half minutes, I forgot I was watching the Grammys, and was given a little piece of a Sunday morning church service.
I sit here smiling as I write this because Chance is one of those artists that you know it will only be a matter of time before everyone knows his name. His talent, creativity, and ingenuity are groundbreaking and inspiring. To watch someone’s career develop into something bigger than even the artist himself is truly energizing. Chance the Rapper has done the one thing that many musicians around the world aspire to which is make music their own way, release it for free, and still be recognized for it on a major platform.
I’ll go ahead and say what people will be saying ten years from now. Thank you Chance the Rapper for your contribution to music, your innovation, and inspiration.
