In today's music industry, it's difficult to find many artists that can prove they're really something special. Many feel like they have to break a law or date the "hottest" artist in order to keep them on the top. While this might make them popular for a brief time, it doesn't necessarily gain them a stable fan base. Rap sensation "Chance the Rapper" is a prime example of an artist who's really something special and has used his story and fan base to grow in his craft along with changing the lives of hundreds of his supporters. And it has all lead up to this moment. The moment this past week, when the news broke that Chance has been nominated for a history-making seven Grammy's at this year's ceremony.
Being an African-American male growing up in Chicago, there was undeniably some stigma surrounding Chance when he first started out. Many said he couldn't do it. To this day, he has not once been signed to a recording contract. But Chance has proved them wrong, reaching audiences all over the world through his music and community service with the youth in some of the roughest neighborhoods of Chicago. Making appearances at multiple music festivals around the world and releasing 2 highly successful mix tapes, Chance has had a lot going for him. Collaborating with one of his biggest mentors, Kanye West, really jumpstarted his career. In 2013, he began touring with his band "The Social Experiment" and became a type of social figure, telling his story and speaking about gun violence and racial justice at stops like Harvard and The White House. A third mix tape is on the way, which fans like me are nothing less than thrilled about.
The hope is that Chance will continue to grow his dreams by winning a few if not all of the Grammy's he has been nominated for. If he does, he will one of the only artists to ever win a Grammy without a recording contract, an incredible feat. Someday we could be calling him the next Bill Gates or even Kanye. Time will tell what will happen at this year's ceremony or how successful he will become, but we're all expecting astonishing things nonetheless.
