I talk a lot about social responsibility. There is a guy from Chicago who is taking it to a whole new level. Chancellor Bennett (Chance the Rapper) is a young guy from Chicago who is redefining the music business. He has released mix tapes for a couple of years, each one making him more popular. His latest product “Magnificent Coloring Book” has pushed him into superstardom. All of this is done without a label. He has surrounded himself with people who do all the work of the label, and he gets to keep all the money. He has played the White House, been on Saturday Night Live, and last summer put on a spectacular concert at US Cellular Field (home of the White Sox). If you look up his tour on Google there is a sold out button on almost every show.
Last week, Chance put his money where his mouth was, in a big way. Illinois is in a budget crisis, with politicians fighting about funding programs. After Chance won three Grammys last month, the Governor tweeted out congratulations. So Chance used that to set up a meeting with the Governor. The meeting didn’t go well, so the next day Chance called a press conference and announced that he was donating one million dollars to Chicago public schools for art programs. The next day he announced that he would match any money that corporations in Chicago donated. Although one million dollars is a drop in the bucket toward fixing the school system, it showed how politicians in Illinois are holding school kids hostage for their own political reasons.
Hats off to a guy who is trying to do something!!