Milwaukee singer’s song gets Chance boost
Milwaukee native Grace Weber cowrote and provided vocals for “All We Got,” the stirring opening track on Chance The Rapper’s 2016 Grammywinning mixtape “Coloring Book.”
Now the hip-hop superstar is returning the favor.
The Chicago native makes a colorful appearance on Weber’s soulful and inspiring new single “Thru The Fire,” which came out Friday.
“Watching him in the control room craft the verse, it was a really amazing experience, a goosebumps moment,” said Weber, who’s now based in Los Angeles. “It was so cool seeing Chance put his all into this.”
It was a full-circle moment for Weber. A fan of Chance’s breakthrough mixtape “Acid Rap” and follow-up project “Surf,” an album with his creative team the Social Experiement, Weber was matched in a songwriting session in Los Angeles with the Social Experiment’s Nico Segal and Nate Fox in August 2015.
The following March, Weber was working with Segal and Fox in the recording studio when Chance stopped by and liked what he heard. It became the basis for “All We Got,” which would ultimately feature Kanye West and the Chicago Children’s Choir.
“When Chance asked for ‘All We Got’ he agreed to do a swap for that,” Weber said.
Segal and Fox agreed that “Thru the Fire” would be the perfect fit. Weber wrote the song in Wisconsin with Garren Sean Langford, a producer and songwriter on “Coloring Book,” whose arrangement reminded Weber of the gospel choir she grew up singing with in Milwaukee.
“That led me to feeling that this song was going to be about resilience,” Weber said. “This is the comeback song, about rising through the ashes. That dynamic and the energy, the positivity and the sonic elements, were all the the things that led us to feel like it was the song for Chance to hop on.”
But that wasn’t the extent of their working relationship. Weber also provided vocals and co-produced Francis and the Light’s “May I Have This Dance (Remix)” featuring Chance, and toured South America with him in 2018. She also made several songs with the Social Experiment crew, including previously released single “More Than Friends.”
“It’s been really cool to be a part of the Chicago crew,” Weber said. “They way they all support each other, it’s so cool to see. … Getting to work with (Chance) has been an honor.”
Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.
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