Chance The Rapper Played The Chicago Theatre Friday. Here's How He Got There.
By Austin Brown in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 8, 2016 8:22PM
Chance the Rapper
Chancelor Bennett, a.k.a. Chance The Rapper, will headline Power 92's 15th anniversary concert Friday night. He'll be playing at the historic, century-old Chicago Theatre—quite a feat for someone who recorded his first tape in a studio at Harold Washington Public Library. In tribute to his rise, Chicagoist has put together a timeline of Chance's solo career, from his high school days to tonight's performance.
Early 2011: Chancelor Bennett is suspended for 10 days from school for on-campus marijuana possession. Over the next year, he uses the incident as inspiration for his first full-length solo mixtape, 10 Day.
December 7, 2011: The first single from 10 Day, "Windows," is released, and the project is officially announced.
February 2012: Chance is named one of Complex's "10 New Chicago Rappers to Watch Out For.”"
April 3, 2012: 10 Day is released for free on DatPiff, a top source for hip-hop mixtapes and unofficial rap releases. It lands on Forbes’s “Cheap Tunes” column. (Currently, the mixtape has been downloaded more than 400,000 times off of DatPiff.)
April 29, 2013: Chance appears on the cover of RedEye, flashing a peace sign, on the eve of the release of Acid Rap, his second mixtape.
April 30, 2013: Chance releases Acid Rap for free on DatPiff. It goes on to be one of the site’s most popular mixtapes; currently, it’s been downloaded more than a million times. Rap critics and indie critics alike fall head over heels for the tape.
December 6, 2013: Chance appears on rising star Childish Gambino’s Because the Internet, with a feature spot on the song “The Worst Guys.” (Comedy fans know Childish Gambino as stand-up comedian Donald Glover and Troy on Community.)
December 2013: As the end of 2013 approaches, Acid Rap makes numerous “Best Of” lists, including those of Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Complex, and Stereogum.
December 23, 2013: Justin Bieber releases his sophomore album, Journals, and Chance appears on one track, “Confident.” The song receives little-to-no critical acclaim, but does help continue bringing Chance into the mainstream.
May 2014: XXL releases their Freshman 2014 cover, starring the rappers they view as the year's up-and-comers: Chance (wearing overalls, sans shirt) alongside rapper Vic Mensa (who, like Chance, is a member of Chicago’s tight-knit SaveMoney rap collective) and rising Chicago drill rapper Lil Durk. Prior to this cover, only one Chicago rapper, Lupe Fiasco, had ever been placed on an XXL Freshman cover.
November 9, 2014: Chance receives the “Outstanding Youth of the Year” award from Mayor Rahm Emanuel. At the time, Chance says that it is “the most important award I will ever win,” which now seems somewhat unlikely.
March 6, 2015: Chance is featured on Madonna’s Rebel Heart album, with a verse on the song “Iconic.”
May 28, 2015: Donnie Trumpet, a jazz performer and another member of Chance’s SaveMoney crew, releases the nationally-acclaimed album Surf for free on iTunes, with Chance as primary vocalist. For Chance, it's an unofficial graduation from the mixtape realm into that of official albums.
July 19, 2015: Chance headlines Pitchfork Music Festival. He is the first unsigned artist to do so.
Also July 19, 2015: Chance takes the time while in Chicago to make a mixtape with Lil B, which they call the Free Based Freestyles Mixtape and release (you guessed it) for free.
October 21, 2015: Electronic producers Snakehips release “All My Friends,” a track featuring verses from both rising R&B star Tinashe and Chance. The track becomes a Top 10 hit in the UK, and racks up more than 100 million plays on Spotify.
October 26, 2015: Chance releases “Angels,” a track featuring West Side rapper Saba, to considerable hype and acclaim.
December 12, 2015: Chance becomes the first unsigned artist to play Saturday Night Live, debuting new track “Somewhere In Paradise” with fellow Chicagoan Jeremih and performing “Sunday Candy,” a beloved single from Surf.
February 2016: Kanye West reveals Chance’s involvement with his latest album with the livestream of “Ultra Light Beam.” Chance has a central verse in the song, even after Kanye’s repeated fiddling with the album post-release date. Chance also later mentions on Twitter that he was primarily responsible for getting much-feted track “Waves” onto the album, after outcry that it was originally left off.
March 31, 2016: Chance announces that his next mixtape will be released “this month” while performing at a surprise show in New York.
April 6, 2016: Chance debuts a new White Sox ad and new ballcaps he designed for the team. He's also scheduled to throw the first pitch at the White Sox's home opening at Cellular Field.
April 7, 2016: Chance releases the music video for his song “Angels,” featuring Saba. In the clip, Chance flies like a superhero and rides on top of an El car.
April 8, 2016: Chance performs tonight at the Power 92 showcase at the Chicago Theatre, along with other Chicago rising stars BJ The Chicago Kid, Dreezy and a “special guest” we at Chicagoist have done some recent speculating about.