#TuneInTuesday: Chance Won the Grammys

By Courtney White

For some, Sunday may have just been a day to catch up on homework or watch the season premiere of The Walking Dead. For me and many others, it was a day to set aside all of my priorities and watch the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.

While I am usually displeased with the way that the Grammys have been in the past, this year I was really grateful for the performances, the speeches and the winners that were chosen, even though Beyoncé was snubbed for Album Of The Year and Rihanna was snubbed for Record Of The Year.

However, the person that I am immensely proud of is Chancellor Bennett, better known as Chance the Rapper. I have not been a fan of Chance the Rapper since “10 Day,” the rapper’s first mixtape, but I did hop on the bandwagon when he released “Acid Rap,” his second mixtape.

I have not always agreed with some of his musical choices, but I do agree with the way he is handling his career.

Chance is a 23-year-old independent artist who has not signed to any label and taken his career into his own hands. What he is doing is definitely working in his favor. Chance gained mainstream attention with the release of his third mixtape “Coloring Book” in May of 2016.

The cool thing about this mixtape is that it was free and the cool thing about Chance is that he has yet to release music that is not free. The way that Chance makes money is from merchandise and touring.

I was able to see chance in person at his Magnificent Coloring Book World Tour in Dallas in October of 2016. I also met him very briefly. I got to hug him and he said liked my shirt.

The tour was amazing and the crowd’s energy was endearing. That experience is something that I cannot describe.

Chance was nominated for seven Grammys and won three. He won Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance for “No Problem” (ft. 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne) and Best Rap Album for “Coloring Book.”

The award that I am most impressed by is Best Rap Album because the academy let an artist who has a phenomenal mixtape, not an album, win. Chance has just set the tone for future winners of this category and he has also given hope for those who have been overlooked.

During his acceptance speech for Best New Artist, he claimed the victory and continuously gave God the glory for his accomplishment. He said, “I know people think that independence means you do it by yourself. But independence means freedom.”

He performed his song “How Great” and “All We Got” with Grammy award winning Gospel artists Kirk Franklin and Tamela Mann, which I believe was one of the best performances of the night.

It is quite evident that I am partial to Chance the Rapper, but if you can see past that, you will see that the man is undeniably talented. I hope to see many more Grammy nominations and wins from him.

Chance announced his Spring 2017 tour on Twitter Tuesday. He will be stopping in Dallas May 5, Austin May 6, and Houston May 7.

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