The song that inspired Chance The Rapper to make music: “So proud and bold”
While much of the 2010s was dominated by drill rappers such as Chief Keef, Lil Durk, G Herbo, and King L, another Chicago rapper offered something different. Chance The Rapper, who had a more jazzy and soulful sound, came up alongside Vic Mensa, Noname, and Saba, providing a different lens on the Windy City.
Chance was influenced by many of the city’s trailblazing stars before him, including Kanye West, Common, and Lupe Fiasco. Based on the storytelling in his songs, it’s clear as day. In fact, one of those artists inspired him to make music in the first place. Ye’s The College Dropout was the first album he ever owned, and his debut single ‘Through the Wire’ changed everything for him.
“My first album was The College Dropout by Kanye [West],” he told People. “I heard ‘Through the Wire’ on the radio, and I remember that definitely moulding my love for making original music. Because I was a dancer before that. I always loved music, but I didn’t really value creating my own or trying to tell my own story.”
‘Through the Wire’ was the song that convinced Roc-A-Fella Records to release a Kanye album. The track was recorded with his jaw wired shut, three days after getting into a near-fatal car accident in Los Angeles. In the end, Kanye proved himself to record executives, with the track reaching number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Chance was inspired by Kanye paving a career for himself in the music industry, especially given that he felt he wasn’t performing well in school or getting good grades. Getting into the creative sector allowed him to maximise his potential, rather than following the beaten path.
“I always remember feeling a little bit left behind in the education system and not really feeling like it was meant for me to succeed,” he admitted. “But the idea of being a success outside of that was something that was fairly new to me. And Kanye was just so proud and bold about his wants and needs as a human being and as a thought agent that it super inspired me. I was probably 10 or 11 years old knowing I wasn’t going to college based off of that shit.”
Although Kanye’s song was the one that got him into music, it was a New York rapper who got him into hip-hop to begin with. “I remember the first song that really turned me up as a kid and made me really love hip-hop, I remember it was Nas,” he said. “It was like a song for kids. I’m trying to remember what it was. Oh, ‘I Can‘. It was a Nas song when I was a kid that came out.
“It was just all this educational information and also affirmations of knowing who we are. I just remember that being something that I just loved when I was a kid. And it’s kind of like I don’t know if that’s Beethoven. I don’t know who it is that made that sample, but it’s crazy.”