Chance The Rapper at EIF Presents: XQ SUPER SCHOOL LIVE
On Monday, a stage on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert was transformed with a simple guitar chord progression and blue background erupting in spoken word and a soothing hook that settled in our souls like a caustic lullaby. Chance The Rapper and Daniel Caesar’s performance was a retro pause in time, accentuating a career already full of substance-filled moments doused in spirituality and pushing the status quo.
Coloring landscapes in lasting and impactful ways is nothing new for Chance The Rapper. His 2016 release, Coloring Book, was the first stream-only album to chart on Billboard 200 and was the first album to win a Grammy.
During Monday’s performance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert with Daniel Caesar playing guitar, he was able to melodically string together a list of topics like the Flint, Michigan water crises, the effects of stardom, feeling overwhelmed and sexual orientation. The raw performance was reminiscent of Billie Holiday’s close-up, intimate first live rendition of “Strange Fruit” in 1939 and thought-provoking like Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” of 1971. It was unplugged like the 1993 Nirvana performance on MTV Unplugged in New York. Chance The Rapper and Daniel Caesar’s performance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert is a moment.
The song, originally untitled, is now titled “First World Problems.” Its chorus says,
The day is on its way, it couldn’t wait no more
Here it comes, here it comes,
Ready or not, ready or not
“Ready or Not” also happens to be a famous single by The Fugees, sung by lyricist and songstress, Lauryn Hill. And like Lauryn Hill who was a resounding voice when I was a child in the 90s, Chance The Rapper speaks with the purpose and awareness that music is both his sword and healing gift. While his permanent imprint is on music, Chance The Rapper’s stamp transcends musicality.
Not only has he set a trend for young black artists to aspire to be entrepreneurs and owners of their creative outputs, but his rise to fame has been embedded with social responsibility. This year he donated one million dollars to Chicago Public Schools and started his organization Social Works, where he continues to raise money and give back to communities in Chicago. Though he is one example of entrepreneurship and social responsibility, he is setting an important example that could be an answer to helping to heal forgotten communities throughout the United States.
“Have a dream and then never wake up,” he says in the “First World Problems” song. It is such a profound statement in a time where many people’s notion of the American Dream is shaken. In the performance, his message is humble, poignant, and honest—refreshing qualities for youth to see an adult display in an angst-filled time period in society.