Month: March 2018

For this final blog post, I just want to recap some of the talented artists we have examined over this past months. We started with the outstanding work of Kendrick Lamar, then transitioned to the bass heavy trio of Migos. After studying Young Thug’s unique style, we then examined Cardi B, the up and coming female rapper. We discussed if Future still has a bright future, and how Post Malone may become the most popular artist. Last week we discussed how Lil Uzi Vert has changed the rap game, and this week, we will talk about a rapper who has not only done that, but aims to change society as well. This week will be discovering more about Chance the Rapper, who is not just a great rapper, but a great man.

Chancelor Jonathan Bennett was born on April 16th, 1993 (exactly 6 years before I was born) in the south side of Chicago. He was brought up in a middle class setting, with his father, Ken Williams-Bennett, who worked for the Chicago mayor, and later for Barack Obama as a senator. As a kid, Chance rapped under the name Chano, rather than the name he raps under today. His brother, Taylor, also attempted to start a rap career, although obviously, he never experienced the same success.

Chance’s childhood was not always great though. In his senior year at high school, Chance was suspended for 10 days due to marijuana possession. Although this was a setback in his school career, it actually helped boost his rapping career. During this 10 day period, Chance worked on and released his first mixtape, properly named ’10 day.’ Even with this being his first work, it actually gained some attention, enough that he was featured in an article with Complex in February of 2012. The article, “10 Chicago rappers to watch out for,” discussed how “Chance has one of the more distinct flows and voices of any new artist in the game.” With all this hype around Chance, one should remember that this was after just one mixtape.

With this sudden relevance, he soon caught the attention of Donald Glover, or known as in the rap game, Childish Gambino. Chance contributed to Gambino’s song “They Don’t Like Me” in 2012. After this, Chance opened for Gambino’s next tour, while at the same time, Chance was working on his second mixtape, ‘Acid Rap.’ This was released on April 30, 2013, and was released as a free download. This allowed it to spread fast, and it drowned in praise. With all his talent, label records went after him hard. There was only one problem (contrary to his song), he would rather go label-less, not relying on anyone else. With this, his next two projects were also released for free to his fans, in whcih he also collaborated with J. Cole, Busta Rhymes, and the Social Experiment (a group of musicians).

These collaborations continued in 2016, when Chance sang with Kanye West on the latter’s album, ‘The Life of Pablo.’ This same year in May, he dropped his third free mixtape, “Coloring Book.” This album featured popular artists such as Kanye West, 2 Chainz, Lil Wayne, T-Pain and Justin Bieber. The most successful song was “No Problem,” which topped the R&B/Hip-Hop charts with the song featuring 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne.

At the same time while experiencing this great success, Chance was also worrying about his hometown. He attended the White House to meet with former President Barack Obama to discuss My Brother’s Keeper Challenge, creating equal opportunities for young people. In March 2017, he met with Chicago Governor Bruce Rauner to discuss more funding for public schools. After Rauner declined, Chance donated $1 million to the cause himself. He’s also been extremely pivotal in the #SaveChicago campaign, aiming to decrease violence in the city that has high murder rates. His philanthropic ways only increased after 2015 when he had his daughter Kensli, which made him want to have a safe surrounding for his daughter. Hopefully, his philanthropy will continue while his musical success also will thrive. I wish the best for one of the most inspirational people in the music industry.

Of all the rappers examined so far, Lil Uzi Vert may be the most polarizing rapper yet. Many people love him, but others can’t listen to him, due to his unique style and sound. Symere Woods, more commonly known as Lil Uzi Vert, was born and raised in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, PA.  Born in North Philly, he grew up in an area surrounded by crime, although he himself stayed out of this.

Although it seems like he has been around for while, Lil Uzi is actually only 23 years old, and was born on July 31st, 1994. Through his teens, Uzi listened to Marilyn Manson, and soon became a big fan of his work. Also listening to Kanye growing up, he contributes his style to these two, inspiring him to be the rapper he is today. It was not until high school though that Uzi realized that he wanted to become a rapper and started rapping, only after being persuaded by a friend. He should be thanking that friend every day because he has led him down the road to riches.

Lil Uzi Vert first turned some heads when being featured on local disk jockey DJ Diamond Kuts tracks. Through this small market, Uzi caught the attention of Don Cannon and others, who got him to sign with Generations Now and Atlantic Records. His first big hit was with fellow rappers Carnage, ASAP Ferg and Rich the Kid with the title, “WDYW.” It was originally a single he put out, but then quickly captured the attention of Carnage, who helped it gain even more attention.

After this success, he released his first commercial mixtape, ‘Luv is Rage’ in December of 2015. None of the songs were amazingly popular, but some gained a decent amount of exposure. He soon followed this with his next mixtape, ‘Lil Uzi Vert vs The World,’ which was released in early 2016. This gained the attention of many rap listeners. His most popular songs included “You Was Right,” “Money Longer,” and “P’s & Q’s.” The latter two cracked the Billboard Hot 100 and it really helped spread Lil Uzi’s name across the music industry.

His quick releases continued, debuting his fifth mixtape ‘Perfect Luv Tape’ in July of 2016. Not as successful as his previous mixtape, it still peaked at album #55, and continued his rise to being towards the top of the rap game. An essential point in his career was in December later that year, when he decided to collaborate with Migos. Under this collaboration they released the extremely successful single, “Bad and Boujee” which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January of 2017. It was the first time a song that featured Lil Uzi Vert has topped the charts. This fame put Uzi’s name in the minds of most people listening to rap today. Lil Uzi then blew away people with his next mixtape ‘Luv Is Rage 2,’ which was released in August of 2017. This included his most successful single song yet, “XO Tour Llif3,” which peaked at #1 on Billboard Hot 100, and stayed on the chart for an amazing 45 weeks. This was not his only successful song though. Other hits include “The Way Life Goes,” “Neon Guts,” “Sauce It Up,” “444+222,” and “Dark Queen.” To summarize, almost the whole album was responded to with positive reviews.

While it is true he experienced and will continue to experience success, Lil Uzi Vert certainly has a unique style. To many he is considered a “mumble rapper,” claiming that his lyrics aren’t clear and it doesn’t sound as though he is even singing. In some of his songs I would actually agree, but at the same time, in other songs he uses his voice in a way not many other rappers can. So while he has his haters, they are the minority, and his success will most likely continue into the future.