10 Things You Didn’t Know About Chance the Rapper

He is the pioneer of #SaveChicago Campaign and a member of the Chicago collective Save Money, Chance the Rapper was born as Chancelor Bennett on 16 April 1993 in Chicago, Illinois. He began to gain major recognition following the release of his second mixtape, Acid Rap. He also worked as the lead vocalist for the band The Social Experiment. There is no doubt that the 23-years-old American hip hop recording artist is definitely following after his father’s footsteps and is a name to be reckon with in the music industry.

Here are 10 things you didn’t know about Chance the Rapper:

1. Chance the Rapper was born as Chancelor Bennett on 16 April 1993 in Chicago, Illinois.

2. He attended the Jones College Prep High School and formed the hip hop duo instrumentality with a friend.

3. He grew up as the oldest brother in a middle class family and his younger brother Taylor Bennett is a Chicago rapper.

4. His father, Ken Williams-Bennett served as an aide to former Chicago mayor Harold Washington and worked for then-Senator Barack Obama.

5. He mentioned in an interview with XXL, that his musical influences are Kirk Franklin, Souls of Mischief, MC Hammer and James Brown to name a few.

6. In November 2014, he was named Chicago’s Outstanding Youth of the Year and received the award from Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

7. He has actively fought to combat gun violence in his hometown and in 2014, along with his father, promoted the “#SaveChicago” campaign.

8. In July 2015, he announced that he was expecting his first child with his girlfriend Kristen, who he began to date in 2013.

9. He met with President Obama at the White House on April 16, 2016, to discuss My Brother’s Keeper Challenge, an initiative of the United States Federal Government to promote intervention by civic leaders in the lives of young men of color to address their unique challenges and to promote racial justice.

10. On July 2016, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he performed a tribute for the late Muhammad Ali.