CHANCE ON THE MIC
Chance the Rapper touches on music, Chicago, activism in MCA talk
“This has been a healing process for me,” Chance the Rapper said Monday night while wrapping up a sold- out conversation at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago as part of the MCA’s In Sight Out series.
Moderated by former Chicago Sun- Times journalist Adrienne Samuels Gibbs, it was rescheduled from a November date and covered the gamut of topics that have come to define the Chicago rapper, born Chancelor Bennett, from his music to acting, social activism and politics.
“Who would you endorse as a candidate?” one person asked regarding the gubernatorial race during the audience Q& A portion of the night.
“They need to schedule ameeting with me, tell me what you’re really about,” Bennett said. “I’m not trying to be a politician but I’ll stand with who that is and has that voice.”
Bennett was not as covert about his feelings for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, being among the committee to vote on the recent Chicago Public School closings, saying he felt “cheated, angry, vengeful” about the decision and the fact that no one is coming forward to talk about the “inequality and unfairness, the violations of the city and the f---- ed- up system.”
“I’M GONNA LIVE IN CHICAGO UNTIL THE DAY I DIE AND I’LL ALWAYS LOBBY FOR Y’ALL.” CHANCE THE RAPPER, talking to the crowd at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
“This is my entry to change it all,” he continued. “I’m gonna live in Chicago until the day I die, and I’ll always lobby for y’all.”
There were moments of levity in the conversation as well — Bennett accepting a save the date wedding invitation from a woman in the front row and seemingly offering another woman a job.
Bennett also discussed his home art collection, which includes a couple of Hebru Brantley paintings and an originalMichael Jackson drawing recently gifted to him by his longtime manager Pat Corcoran.
Much of the conversation focused on entertainment like his stint on “Saturday Night Live,” saying it was a personal dream of his since he first sawMCHammer on the program and discussed how he wrote several skits, two of which made it to air — the Steve Harvey “Family Feud” sketch and the “Batman Thanksgiving” sketch, though the latter was altered from his original vision. When Gibbs brought up the idea of Bennett starring in a reboot of “The Fresh Prince of Bel- Air,” he quickly turned that down but gave a definite “yes” to more acting, referencing the much anticipated horror movie “Slice,” which he admitted is done.
One of the most touching moments was when Bennett answered a question about an emotional video he posted when his three Grammys arrived in the mail, overcome holding the awards in one arm and his daughter in the other, which became a proverbial scale for what was more important in his life. He also assured the crowd before the night was over, “I’m not done rapping; that’s my favorite way to express myself.”