How Chance The Rapper Became The Ultimate Independent Artist
Years ago when I was in high school, a friend of mine insisted that we listen to a new and exciting artist who went by the name of Chance the Rapper.
The year was 2013, and the music world was swooning over Childish Gambino, who had just released the avant-garde Because of the Internet. The year before, Frank Ocean had finally formally introduced himself to the world via his debut album Channel Orange, and Young Money Cash Money was still a family undivided.
My friend pressed play and on came the album Acid Rap. The speakers of his mom’s Toyota Prius crackled as the aux fed into the his iPhone 4. The song Good Ass Intro filled the void. At first, I was suspicious — even turned off by Chance the Rapper’s unorthodox voice. His subject matter was foreign to me — a high school junior in Connecticut, unfamiliar with the world of acid and the raps that came from it. Furthermore, I was quick to brush Chance off for the simple fact that his music wasn’t even on Apple Music or Spotify. Main…
