Bonnaroo Band of the Day: Chance the Rapper

As we’ve been doing for the past several years now, we’re making it our mission to help you get acquainted with many of our favorites acts from from Bonnaroo‘s impressive 2017 lineup. As we dig through the entire schedule, we’ll highlight a spread of performers spanning across genres and stages, big and small, new and old, to bring you some of the most interesting, lesser-known, or most highly-reccomened among this year’s crop of artists. Though we’ll be jumping around, we’re loosely working our way through by day, and we’ll also be bringing you some special features and longer guides along the way, to help you plan your weekend before the fest. While these previews won’t span every performer, and might omit some more obvious must-see acts, we hope they’ll serve as a way to help you navigate Bonnaroo’s gargantuan lineup, and to make the most of your busy weekend on the farm!

Grab your tickets right here if you haven’t already, and keep reading to learn more about our Bonnaroo Band of the Day…

LEARN

One of the most successful independent hip hop artists of all time, young Chicago MC Chance the Rapper has ascended to the ranks of Bonnaroo headliner without the help of any conventional label involvement or even any representation, aside from a similarly DIY-geared manager. Though he only formally played Roo once before, in 2014, Chance, born Chancelor Bennett, has actually made numerous surprise appearances at the festival in the two years since, earning him the endearing moniker of “the mayor of Bonnaroo,” and making his topline billing all the more exciting.

Raised on jazz and soul, Bennett fell in love with hip hop after hearing Kanye West’s debut The College Dropout, and crafted his first mixtape, 10 Day, during a ten day suspension his senior year of high school in 2012. Met with early buzz, it was 2013 followup Acid Rap that really put Chance on the map, earning media praise and co-signs from the biggest names in rap, and bagging Bennett endless buzzworthy guest spots. More recently, he’s been brushing shoulders and co-writing with the likes of Kanye and Macklemore, has bolstered a reputation for his social consciousness and philanthropy, and with last year’s third mixtape Coloring Book, became the first artist in history to win Grammys for a streaming-only release. The true future of hip hop, Chance the Rapper is one of the most exciting new artists alive, and his Bonnaroo return is sure to be an epic affair.

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