Chance the Rapper

Appearing on the scene in 2013 with the release of Acid Rap is Chance the Rapper, who was born Chancelor Bennett on April 16, 1993, in Chicago, Illinois. Though he was a fan of jazz and soul music as a child, the first hip-hop album he ever bought was Kanye West’s The College Dropout. While in his senior year at Jones College Prep School, he recorded the tracks for his debut mixtape 10 Day, and later released the single “Windows” in late 2011. 10 Day was finally released in April of 2012, which received recognition from Forbes magazine.

Chance The Rapper’s second mixtape, Acid Rap, was downloaded more than 500,000 times, and features guest vocals from Vic Mensa, Childish Gambino, Ab-Soul, Action Bronson, and others. At the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards, the mixtape was nominated for Best Mixtape of the year. He was later featured on the cover of XXL magazine as part of the Freshman Class of 2014.