The Story
Chancelor Johnathan Bennett was born on Chicago's South Side on April 16, 1993, and released his first mixtape, 10 Day, in 2012 — written during a ten-day high-school suspension. Its follow-up, 2013's Acid Rap, turned a local kid into a national phenomenon: a giddy, gospel-tinged collision of juke, soul and psychedelia that critics ranked among the year's best releases, all given away for free.
That refusal to sign remains the defining fact of his career. Coloring Book (2016), recorded after his scene-stealing turn on Kanye West's The Life of Pablo, became the first streaming-only release to win a Grammy — he took home three, including Best Rap Album — while Chance remained unsigned and kept his masters. The mixtape's mix of choirs, horns and open-hearted faith made it a landmark of 2010s hip-hop, and Pitchfork scored it a 9.1.
His official debut album, The Big Day (2019), a sprawling celebration of his marriage, drew a more divided reception, and Chance spent the following years on family, philanthropy — his SocialWorks nonprofit has funneled millions into Chicago public schools — and independent singles. In August 2025 he returned with STAR LINE, a dense, Pan-Africanist second album that arrived alongside a Soldier Field hometown show and the And We Back Tour across North America.
In 2026 he announced the Coloring Book Ten Year Anniversary Tour, a 30-plus-date North American run from August to October in which he performs the Grammy-winning mixtape in full — a victory lap for the project that proved an artist could reach the top of the industry without ever joining it.
