Michigan welcomed 20-year-old singer and rap artist Chance the Rapper to the U of M campus last night. The concert was produced by Big Ticket Productions, a branch of the University Activities Center (UAC). Chance’s first mixtape, 10 Day, was released in 2012. Since then he has come out with his second mixtape, Acid Rap, in 2013 which has had incredible success: named the #1 mixtape of 2013 and ranked 4th best album this past year by Complex Magazine. Having been featured on tracks with artists like Childish Gambino, Rapsody, Justin Bieber, and James Blake, Chance has been quickly gaining popularity in recent years.
The concert was held at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 22, 2014 in the Hill Auditorium on campus. The first opener, Quinn, began right on time and his performance lasted about a half hour. Quinn performed slow-tempo songs, having a lower energy than expected. Freshman Maher Hachem described Quinn’s songs as having “slow, summer vibes.” Though talented, the feel of his set didn’t quite seem to match the expectations of the crowd. The second opener, Noname Gypsy, was more up-beat with powerful backup singers. Her performance ended around 9 p.m. Both of the opening artists, Quinn and Noname Gypsy, had rap/hip-hop music styles.
Though there was a bit of a gap between the performances of the openers and Chance, his high energy and exciting stage presence quickly made up for any disappointment during the first half of the event. Chance put on a show. Including crowd pleasers like,”Cocoa Butter Kisses,” “Pusha Man,” and “Chain Smoker” kept the audience enamored throughout the night. He really got the crowd involved, the lights were on point with the music, and his transitions between songs was very professional. Chance entertained from the moment he came on stage to his very last song.
After speaking with a few other students who attended the concert, it seemed very evident that seating played a major role in the quality of experience. Though students who had seating in the balcony said they enjoyed the concert, they made it clear that their experience would have been greatly enhanced with better seating. Freshman Corey Johnson admits, “My seats were all the way in the back on the balcony. It would’ve been better with better seats, but Chance was great and I would go again.” Other than some discontent with the openers and some reservations about seats, the overall consensus was a good show and a good time.
If you happened to miss the concert last night and want to see Chance in concert, he will be performing at various locations and music festivals over the next couple of months (including Good Times, Ultra, Coachella, and more).
Special thanks to Maher Hachem and Corey Johnson.
