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Eventful year for Chance the Rapper recapped

Chance the Rapper, whose full name is Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, has had a fully loaded year. From becoming a father to winning three Grammys, Chance’s rise to stardom is a captivating story.

Chance started his rapping career as a high schooler in 2012, releasing his first mixtape “10 Day,” which was originally created while he was on a 10-day suspension from Jones College Prep. Since then, he has exponentially gained followers. This year he was nominated for seven total Grammys in his first year of attendance.

Becoming a Father

On Sept. 20, 2015, Chance’s life changed forever when he became a first-time father with his girlfriend of three years. Their daughter was kept out of any social media posts until December of 2016. His daughter has since then become an internet sensation, being featured in a series of Instagram videos with her dad.

When Chance sat down with Complex Magazines Noah Callahan-Bever they went into great detail surrounding fatherhood and the change in perspective that it comes with.

Chance talks about the newfound sense of love he now has: “There was never a point in my life where I could ever remember loving somebody as much or more than my mom until I met my daughter.”

Creating Coloring Book

Chance hit another big break when he released his third mixtape, titled “Coloring Book,” a reference to his recent transition to fatherhood. The mixtape had an impressive list of features, including big names like Kanye West and Lil Wayne.

The mixtape was received extremely well, so well in fact it took Chance to the Grammys for his first time.

Chance also spent a lot of time around his long time role model, Kanye West. Chance was credited of five of the 12 songs on Chance and nominated for a Grammy for

Winning the Grammys

Chance, a rapper from Chicago, who has never sold a single song, found himself with seven Grammy nominations this year. He was nominated for Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Album for three of his songs. Not only was Chance nominated, but he actually also won three Grammys; Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Album, making him the first artist to win a Grammy for a streaming-only album.

Giving Back to his City 

This announcement followed his meeting with Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner discussing education and other “important issues affecting” Chicago as well as the state of Illinois.

However, Governor Rauner recently refused to keep his promise of giving $215 million in funds to Chicago Public Schools, which lead to Chance taking matters into his own hands.

On March 2, Chance held a press conference at Westcott Elementary School, on the west side of Chicago, announcing that he was donating one million dollars to Chicago Public Schools.

Michelle Obama even tweeted out praise; “Thanks @chancetherapper for giving back to the Chicago community, which gave us so much. You are an example of the power of arts education.”

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