On Sunday night Chance the Rapper performed the third show of his first headlining tour, Social Experiment 2013. Chance the Rapper, born Chancellor Bennett, is a young Chicago native. His first album 10 Day was inspired by the 10 days he was suspended in his senior year of high school. He has rapidly garnered much attention and developed a surprising fandom considering that 10 Day was only recently released in April of 2012.
Both 10 Day and his sophomore album Acid Rap displayed the perfect combination of strong, bumping beats and lyrical genius. Chance sets himself apart from other artists of his generation by daring to rap about the realities of growing up in Chicago, a subject that often goes untouched.
Through his songs listeners from any region become aware of what it’s like to live surrounded by the violence of urban Chicago. Chance manages to find lyrical success without resorting to degrading women. His songs are about the tenderness of love, childhood and pure stream of conscious joy.
Many fans showed up hours in advance to ensure a good spot in the audience. The concert was in the Fillmore Silver Spring, a setting that appeared surprisingly small from the outside.
An hour before the doors opened, there was already an extended line of excited fans wrapped around multiple blocks.
One quick glance at the line could reveal the wide variety of people that Chance’s music attracted.
Tweenies and adults crammed into the small venue. People packed closely together like matches in a box forgoing all want for personal space in order to get as close to Chance as they could. The smell of smoke and beer contributed to the ambiance. Vibrant lights bounced off the walls and rap music permeated the room. It was a surreal experience to walk into.
The show started off with two DJs opening the show for an hour blasting upbeat music that set the scene for the concert. The audience’s blood started pumping, and the anticipation for Chance was overwhelming. An impatient crowd chanted his name, hoping that the strength of their yearning was conveyed through their voices. After an hour, their cries were heard.
Chance jumped on the stage in a blast of smoke to the glee of 2,000 screaming fans. Despite this being his first major tour, Chance performed like a veteran. His obvious passion was displayed in the lyrics that he delivered. The entire audience moved along to every word screaming out the lyrics that they had learned by heart. However, the most moving pieces happened when Chance rapped his more intimate songs, “Lost” and “That’s Love.”
“That’s Love” does not bother with overly complicated verses and metaphors. It simply expresses the true raw emotion of being in love. He lists a series of things that are great about life: like tripping, Letterman, rhymes and dollars. “What’s better than tripping is falling in love,” he crooned. However, love beats all of the things in those lists.
The most creative number was a mash-up of “Smoke Again” and “Juice.” The beats of the two different songs meshed together strikingly well for a melodious result. Chance contrasted his songs by giving a moving rendition of Coldplay’s “Fix You.” He made the well-known song his own by fitting his unique vocals to the lyrics.
Chance effectively used the whole stage to his advantage. The lights and smoke all added to the effect of the show. The projection lit up the whole wall behind him with psychedelic designs and video clips.
A good number of Hopkins students attended the Social Experiment Tour. Sophomore Daniel Ricardo had great things to say about the show afterwards.
“Chance had great control over the crowd, and his live lyrical delivery was truly an experience,” Ricardo said.
Chance presented great artistry and entertainment value in his first tour. This rapper is definitely the next big thing to look out for.
