Not that the hottest young indie rapper in the land needs any validation from a middle-aged mainstream rock star, but what Eddie Vedder said about Chance the Rapper last month spoke volumes about the far-reaching good vibes the Chicago star is giving off.
“If somehow Chance the Rapper ever sees or hears this, I just want to tell him my daughter, Olivia, loves you,” Vedder said at the podium as his band, Pearl Jam, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “I also, Chance, want to thank you for all the great work you’re doing in Chicago. That’s the kind of music activism that gives us all hope.”
Probably more than President Barack Obama’s prior praise of the real-life Chancelor Bennett, Vedder’s comments show how respected and prevalent the 24-year-old rapper has become in Middle America. That was proved locally in February, when tickets for his concert Friday at Xcel Energy Center went on sale and sold out in a matter of hours. So did most of the other shows on his first-ever arena tour, which began two weeks ago.
Those impressive ticket sales came as a surprise to many. Chance’s ascent has gone somewhat unnoticed in mainstream circles because most of his success as a recording artist has been through streaming, not album sales.
In fact, Chance — who also headlines Day 2 of the Eaux Claires Music Festival on June 16 — only just landed his first No. 1 in Billboard this past week, and it wasn’t even for his own song. It’s from his guest appearance alongside Justin Bieber and Lil Wayne on the DJ Khaled single “I’m the One” (a rather inane track that hardly does justice to his talent). He also prominently won three Grammy Awards in February, including best new artist, but he was arguably a glaring omission in the major categories.
Chart positions, album and ticket sales and Grammy Awards seem less significant, though, compared with the other ways Chance has gained widespread success. Here are seven reasons to take the kid as seriously as that guy from Pearl Jam does.
1. His hometown activism. After criticizing Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s fiscal approach to troubled Chicago public schools, Chance put his money where his mouth and tweets were and pledged $1 million from his summer tour to the city’s school system. Mic drop! He also urged other celebrities and civic leaders in the city to do likewise. Chance had already proved himself an influential activist in previous years with his #SaveChicago campaign to curb gun violence in the murder-plagued city. He also threw a benefit concert last year called Winter Warmer to provide jackets and sleeping bags to Chicago’s homeless.
2. The way he’s shaking up the music business. “Coloring Book,” Chance’s breakout “mixtape” from last year — he has yet to call any of his three full-length releases an “album” — was nonetheless classified as an album by Billboard, where it earned the distinction of being the first to enter the top 10 based only on streaming numbers. He has yet to sign with a record company, too, which is unheard of for an artist at his level. Sure, this all means he’s making relatively scant money off his recordings, but neither are most musicians these days. Touring is where artists earn most of their profits, and he’s clearly doing well on that front.
