The DePaul Activities Board announced Wednesday that rap wunderkind and Chicago native Chance the Rapper will be performing as part of DePaul’s Winter Concert on Jan. 23.
Unlike year’s past, the event will take place at Lincoln Hall instead of the usual location in the Student Center’s Multipurpose Room. With this announcement, DePaul students should delight in the opportunity to witness perhaps the most promising member of hip-hop’s freshman class performing in his prime.
“We are very excited to have Chance performing this year,” Haley Benson, music coordinator of DAB, said when contacted via email. “We have only heard great things since the announcement of the event on Wednesday.”
As a former collaborator with the now defunct Kids These Days, Chancehas experienced a whirlwind of success from only two mixtape releases and a handful of big name collaborations. His most recent recording, “Acid Rap,” was released online for free in April and became a massive hit, at press time having racked up nearly 500,000 downloads on mixtape hosting site DatPiff. com.
“Acid Rap” had critical acclaim heaped upon it from the beginning by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and many other major press outlets. A Lollapalooza appearance, nationwide tour and even a spot on a Justin Bieber single all followed the massive wave of praise.
Much of the hype surrounding Chance has to do with his unique brand of theatricality, both on album and on stage. Throughout many of his songs, his lyrics alternate between rapping and slightly crooning, creating a cadence unlike the cookie-cutter rap that pervades the airwaves today. With a varied lyrical arsenal on hand, Chance can play the role of the crowd enlivener MC, the glassy-eyed introspective, or the brash social commentator all with equal skill.
This unprecedented combination of talent and poise make him one of the most exciting hip-hop artists around. The move to Lincoln Hall from the former location in the Student Center, according to Benson, was made in order to accommodate more students, in anticipation of the demand for this show.
“The event has been growing in the past few years, and Lincoln Hall allows us to continue the growth of the event,” she said. “Lincoln Hall allows the event to hold around 600 students, whereas the Student Center can only hold 500.”
The event is free to all DePaul students with a valid university ID. Tickets will be made available starting 12 p.m. Wednesday, January 15. For the first two days, 150 tickets will be distributed on both the Lincoln Park and Loop campuses, with any remaining will be made available the following week.
Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show will start at 8 p.m. Students must have a ticket and their DePaul ID in order to enter the venue.
