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Concert Mon Nov 25 2013
Chance the Rapper Brings Acid Rap to the Riv
Some albums arrive just when you need them most. Remember April? Summer was near, hip hop was still devoid of Yeezus, Random Access Memories loomed on the horizon, and Modern Vampires of the City was still six weeks out. Whither our summer jam album? And then along came Acid Rap, and young Chicago upstart Chance the Rapper saved us all in one fell swoop.
With a soul sound that heavily tips a hat to College Dropout and an attitude that can probably be attributed to the perma-smirk of someone only one year removed from teenagedom, Chance's croaky delivery on Acid Rap may take some getting used to, but it's one in a handful of the most genuinely charismatic debuts of a new rapper in years. Chancelor Bennett is only twenty, but his verses are nothing if not witty, wise, and, when appropriate, calculatedly youthful.
Currently on his Social Experiment tour, Chance ended up adding another Chicago show due to overwhelming hometown demand--hardly surprising, when you consider that Chance's Lollapalooza set this past summer accommodated perhaps 1/3 of the actual folks who showed up to his show.
Since Acid Rap dropped, Bennett has been on the cover of multiple major music magazines and reviewed by just about every esteemed music publication. Downloads of Acid Rap have caused multiple websites to crash, he's jumped on Lil Wayne and James Blake joints, and headlined his own North American tour. All the hype a rapper could ever want, and yet Chance remains unsigned by a label. And so goes the entrepreneurial spirit of the self-starting millennial set. Here's to hoping he keeps doing what he's doing.
Chance the Rapper performs at the Riviera Theatre, 4746 N. Racine, on Wednesday and Friday, at 7:30pm. Both shows are sold out.