Why did Chance The Rapper sample Djo?
Chance The Rapper made his big comeback on August 15th with his new album, Star Line. Somewhat of a redemption after his 2019 effort, The Big Day, the project is stacked with major appearances from Young Thug, Lil Wayne, and Joey Bada$$, to name a few. However, it’s the tender moments that make it feel truly alive, including some notable samples. One of the project’s best songs derives from a Djo sample.
Djo, also known as actor Joe Keery, has been making music for years while starring as Steve Harrington in the hit Netflix series, Stranger Things. He’s released three studio albums, Twenty Twenty, Decide, and The Crux, but it feels like he truly found his feet as a musician in 2024.
His single ‘End of Beginning’ was released in 2022 but took off as a viral TikTok song last year. It reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and four on the UK Singles Chart, going on to be certified three times platinum. In this moment, it felt like he had to seize the opportunity to catapult his music career, and that’s exactly what he did.
While sampling usually comes from music decades gone by, Chance decided to use ‘End of Beginning’ for his song ‘Back to the Go’. The song begins with a chipmunk sample of the chorus, in which Djo sings, “And when I’m back in Chicago, I feel it/ Another version of me, I was in it/ I wave goodbye to the end of beginning/ Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.”
‘End of Beginning’ continues to play in the background throughout the verses with a deeper tone. The track finds Chance reuniting with Vic Mensa on a project for the first time since his Acid Rap mixtape in 2013. On the Stix and Ephra-produced song, the two rappers reflect on memories from their childhood and making something out of their trauma.
‘Back to the Go’ samples ‘End of Beginning’ because of the lyric, “When I’m back in Chicago, I feel it,” with Chance and Vic both hailing from the Windy City. The pair grew up together in the Chi as part of the Savemoney collective alongside Nico Segal, Towkio, Joey Purp, Kami, and others. The title of the song refers to Chicago’s local nickname, “The Go.”
As for Djo, his connection to Chicago stems from attending The Theatre School at DePaul University. He also starred in the television show, Chicago Fire, and performed ‘End of Beginning’ at Lollapalooza in Chicago’s Grant Park over the summer.
This is far from Chance and Djo’s only link. Chance once starred alongside Keery in the 2018 movie, Slice. The A24 film starred Atlanta and Joker actress Zazie Beetz, as well as Hannibal Buress. Chance played one of the leads, Dax Lycander, a werewolf and former pizza delivery driver, while Keery starred as a photographer for the fictional Kingfisher Chronicle.
Slice was also filmed in Chicago. Director Austin Vesely, behind Chance’s music videos ‘Angels’ and ‘Everybody’s Something’, felt it was important to keep things close to home. “I think that the city is experiencing a period of growth in the film and TV industry and I wanted to be a part of that,” he said.
“My career so far has been as a Chicago filmmaker so to duck out for my first feature when there’s so many talented people working in the industry here would not have been the move. I got to work with a lot of people from my music video crews, people I was in film school with. It was an incredible experience.”