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.

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.

In 2011 during his school year, following a 10-day suspension for marijuana possession on campus, Bennett recorded his first full-length project in a span of 8 months, a mixtape entitled 10 Day (also known as #10Day).

In December 2011, he released a song titled "Windows", and publicly announced his 10 Day project.

Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape 10 Day in 2012.

In February 2012, Bennett was highlighted as one of Complex magazine's "10 New Chicago Rappers to Watch Out For".

Bennett says he spent "about eight months recording, writing, and making connections off of the hunger to put out something".

Bennett released the mixtape on April 3, 2012, and it has since been downloaded over 500,000 times via mixtape-sharing site DatPiff.

The mixtape was well-received locally and helped Bennett make connections with producers such as Chuck Inglish, Kenny Jame$ and Blended Babies.

The mixtape also grabbed the attention of Forbes magazine, which featured it in the publication's Cheap Tunes column.

In July 2012, Bennett appeared on American rapper Childish Gambino's sixth mixtape, Royalty, on the track "They Don't Like Me".

Gambino would go on to ask Bennett to join on his first concert tour of North America as his opening act.

He gained mainstream recognition in 2013 following the release of his second mixtape, Acid Rap.

On April 30, 2013, Bennett released his second mixtape, Acid Rap, on DatPiff.

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.

At Jones College Prep High School, some of his teachers ridiculed his aspirations to become a musician.

The band released their album Surf in 2015.

Bennett has since been prolific in social activism and philanthropic endeavors in his hometown.

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".

His third mixtape, Coloring Book (2016), was released to further critical acclaim and commercial success as it peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200.

The mixtape also earned a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, while a song off the album "No Problem" (featuring 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne) won Best Rap Performance; it became the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy Award.

Bennett himself was also awarded Best New Artist the same night.

His debut studio album, The Big Day was released in 2019 to continued commercial success and moderate critical reception.

In addition to his solo career, Bennett is a member of the Chicago-based collective Savemoney, and is the vocalist for the band the Social Experiment, led by trumpeter Nico Segal.