To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of his acclaimed mixtape Coloring Book, award-winning artist Chance the Rapper will perform live in Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and Calgary this summer, as well as in a few other limited Canadian cities.
“I’m excited to experience these cities for the first time. Anytime I get to play in a new city in the summertime, it’s the perfect time to get introduced to what y’all got going on,” he said.
Chance’s Coloring Book, is a groundbreaking project that made him the first independent artist to win three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Best Rap Album.
“It’s the 10-year anniversary of a project that basically changed my life. For a lot of people, it was their introduction to me,” he noted. “Anytime you get to celebrate music in a celebratory looking back kind of way, it’s beautiful. To be able to see a lot of these fans that have grown up on it and for some of these people they’ve had kids and got married. Some people were kids when it came out. Now, they’re just starting to pop out and go to concerts and college. It’s a beautiful opportunity to celebrate something that impacted a lot of people — mainly me.”
Chance’s latest album was released this past August. “I’m working on the deluxe for Star Line. It’s been a beautiful response to that. We just wrapped up that tour at the end of last year.”
Chance shared he feels so many people long for a musical connection with their favourite artists, while identifying with and sharing that collective experience. “Getting to see people that shaped my love for music, my love for comedy or my love for sports — to be in the room and share that.”
And to be the person on stage, you feel that love, he explained. “When you get to see people, sometimes for the first time and sometimes for the tenth time, you get to see people really enjoy themselves and sing along with you. It’s a special connection, so I’m really excited about these shows this summer. I’m really excited about the tour. I think even with Star Line, once the deluxe comes out, I think it’ll just be more songs for us to sing together at the show.”
Chance added his hometown of Chicago is a major music city with a lot of music festivals throughout the summer. “It’s a very diverse festival scene here now. I’m always catching live shows. I’ve also been seeing a lot of great comedy shows.”
“I love going to concerts. As a live performer, you understand what the artist is trying to do in any moment, whether it’s hype up the crowd or get an intimate moment or just trying to have a cathartic moment and live through their music. I get all that emotionally. I think when I get to see a show, I get to really watch and connect with the artist in a different way,” he said. “I’m always trying to see bands in town. I have a venue in Chicago, the Ramova Theater. I try and catch shows there as often as possible.”
Chance has appeared on several television shows, including Saturday Night Live, The Voice, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, but for right now his focus is on music and performing because of the joy it brings.
“I just played the Hollywood Bowl. It was honestly the most fun I’ve had on stage in years. I don’t know if it was because of the crowd or because of the importance of the date. It was Juneteenth. It was a highly curated show,” he shared.
“I think just getting older, I’m looking at the shows in a more overarching way. Trying to build it in terms of dynamics, just trying to make sure it’s something that’s lit the whole time, but also impactful and has moments of clarity, focus moments or themes. That’s something I’m finding a lot of joy in right now,” he said.
Equally committed to community impact, Chance founded SocialWorks, a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering youth through the arts, education, and civic engagement.
For a list of Canadian concert dates, visit online at chanceraps.com.
