Chance the Rapper in Paris
At the last minute, I had the good fortune to be granted a spot on the guest list for Chance the Rapper's November 21st performance at Le Zenith venue in Paris on the 21st of November thanks to the degree of separation of my close friend Jake, manager of the artist Sweater Beats, who had toured alongside Chance across several college campuses in the United States. The Monday night concert served as a welcome disruption to my academic routine.
Chance the Rapper in concert. Image Source: Chance the Rapper Instagram
Hailing from Chicago, Chance has been touring Europe promoting his recent mixtape, Coloring Book. Notably, Coloring Book made Chance the first artist to get on the Billboard 200 chart based on streaming alone. As an unsigned and independent musician, Chance is also a vocal activist for peace, responsible for an anti-gun-violence campaign, as well as campaigns to help the homeless and nurture creativity in underprivileged communities in his hometown of Chicago. Most recently, he took his audience after a show to an early voting center in order to see to it that they cast their votes.
Le Zenith is an enormous venue with a capacity of 6,200 people. Situated in the 19th arrondissement, it is reserved for high profile musicians. Coming onto the stage, Chance the Rapper playfully greeted his audience with the sound "woo woo" which appeared on the screens behind. The crowd enthusiastically parroted him before being guided by Chance and the screens to follow up with "mmmmmm mmmmmm" and then "got damm" This was a memorable and interactive approach to begin and at braced the audience for what is to come.
Image Credit: Chance the Rapper Facebook page
Chance addressed the crowd and commented on how musical events that bring people together are now more important than ever. Truly a larger than life figure, Chance shifted between performing, humbly announcing his love and appreciation for his followers, and making witty banter and profound social commentary. At one point, Chance voiced outright that America has always treated its black people badly, imploring solidarity through “the word, the gospel and the music.” Religious references and icons were scattered throughout the performance, with the screens behind him shifting into the form of stained glass windows. Comparable to a gospel choir, the audience put their hands in the air when prompted, sang along, and were enveloped by fog and rained on with confetti.
Chance's shows are often described as a religious experience, the niche combination of gospel and hip-hop makes the audience feel as if they are a part of something bigger than themselves. Pausing midway through a track he bellows that “the word is the gospel, and the gospel is music.” He closed the show with an extended version of his track Blessings. His followers chanted along with him, "when the praises go up, the blessings come down."
The set list of the performance can be found here.
