Chance the Rapper's New "Independent" Hustle

By Nitish Pahwa on May 22, 2016

In a few short years, the talented Chance the Rapper has grown from another aspiring Chicago rapper into one of this generation’s most influential artistic voices. While he is not quite ubiquitous yet, he has certainly carved out quite the name and brand for himself.

At the ripe young age of 23, the raspy-voiced wordsmith can already boast of high accolades from his home city, collaborations with Madonna and Kanye West, and even a meeting with President Obama.

By itself, that’s an awe-inspiring resume. It becomes all the more impressive when you consider his rise. The two projects that brought his name into the rap canon, 10 Day and Acid Rapwere both free digital mixtapes crafted and released by his own volition. The tapes were only available for download on DatPiff, the internet’s most popular database of free mixtapes. Yet, they caught the attention of fans far and wide.

Taken by The Come Up Show. Image via Flickr

What sent Chance shooting up to the top were the quality of these tapes. 2013′s Acid Rap in particular was considered a free masterpiece, a ray of sunshine in contrast to the dark “drill music” that had characterized the Chicago rap scene. Chance’s yelps, sing-songy whine, and funny yet thoughtful lyrics, all backed by stellar production, wowed several listeners.

That year saw the rap world go crazy for this young one. And it all came from a honest-to-gawd direct-to-DatPiff mixtape. There was no major promotion, no sales, no backing other than his agent and manager; it was entirely Chance’s grind, and word-of-mouth took care of the rest.

Following Acid Rap’s critical and popular success, the biggest names in rap began hounding Chancellor Bennett, hoping to sign him. This was all playing to Chance’s initial plans; after 10 Day‘s release, he had entertained thoughts of signing to a major label and releasing a studio album. However, he declined all of them.

This was totally unprecedented; ever since the early 2000s, when mixtapes began taking the form of free albums instead of DJ mixes, the mixtape has consistently served as the means to an end. G-Unit’s 50 Cent is the Future served as the buzz-generator for 50 Cent while he was on the come up, paving the way for his official major-label arrival, Get Rich or Die Tryin’.

Lil Wayne’s mixtapes served as placeholders between his albums, giving his fans something to occupy themselves with while he worked in the studio to release more albums. The line remained in effect: mixtape, then proper studio album. Even when artists like Gucci Mane took the mixtape game to a whole new level, dropping dizzying amounts of free music, the tapes were still bookended by for-sale albums.

Chance flipped this concept on its head. The mixtape could be the means and the end itself. After infamously declaring the death of the record industry, a new set of rules was now in effect. A label, a proper studio outfit, deals with suits did not have to be the goal. A young, hungry artist could make their way without selling a single copy of any of their projects. The money, you ask? Why, touring of course. Not to mention the countless invitations for guest features and opportunities for songwriting credits.

To hell with the system, right? Stick it to the man! Chance the Rapper, representing the dream in indie success, would continue to embrace the grind and the ensuing image that came with it. Everyone loves a Horatio Alger story. Chance’s self-driven rise to success is inspiring, and the continued dedication to his ideals and artistry is even more so. There are plenty of artists who sell out, but no, not Chancellor. He is free of the evil shackles of the music industry, while still enjoying the success other indie artists wish to attain.

All of this makes Chance’s co-sign of Apple just the slightest bit confusing.

After Acid Rap, Chance joined a band of Chicago musicians called The Social Experiment. Their debut album, Surf, was released in 2015. Like all of Chance’s projects, the album was free. Curiously enough, instead of remaining just a download on DatPiff, the album was distributed on major platforms: iTunes had it available as a free download, and Spotify had it available for streaming.

This sent some heads scratching. If this was to be a free album, why wasn’t it just another Chance mixtape? Being self-released, how did this gain such a huge platform? Also, if this album is on streaming services, does this mean that the artists get subsequent monetary returns based on the number of streams, technically making it commercial?

As such, Surf is not a Chance solo mixtape — he is noticeably absent from some of the tracks — so bewilderment quickly gave way to enjoyment of the album.

The time did eventually come for Chance’s third mixtape, a prospect which had fans buzzing with excitement. After multiple teases, a couple of free singles, and a song debut on Beats 1 Radio, Coloring Book was released on May 13. However, something was unusual about this release: ads graced the top of the iTunes store, boasting about “The new mixtape — exclusively on Apple Music.”

This was a truthful claim. A download had been made available on DatPiff, but was quickly removed. The tape wasn’t even available for free download on iTunes, like Surf had been. Coloring Book was the latest willing hostage of a streaming service.

This isn’t a new idea; It was Future who kicked off the concept of the exclusive streaming release earlier this year, launching his February album, EVOL, on Apple Music and iTunes. Shortly thereafter, Kanye West followed with a similar strategy, releasing The Life of Pablo as a TIDAL exclusive. Unlike Future, Kanye did not offer a paid download option; it was stream on TIDAL or bust. This doubled TIDAL’s previous subscriber account, with more than a million users signing up for free trials just to listen to the album.

Eventually, both artists allowed their albums to expand to all major streaming platforms. The damage was already done, however. Beyoncé and Drake both followed suit and released their highly anticipated albums through TIDAL and Apple Music respectively. Just like Future and Kanye before him, Drake has since let his album get to Spotify, while Beyoncé has yet to do the same. Clearly, the exclusive release has become the new norm, and Chance is the latest to embrace it. However, representatives for Apple Music have claimed that Coloring Book will only remain exclusive on the service for a couple weeks, before presumably branching out as Drake’s album did.

The question remains, though: why Chance? The artists who have taken advantage of exclusives thus far aren’t some indie darlings; they’re some of the biggest names in the game. Furthermore, each artist was purposefully marketing and selling an album, an intentional product for retail. Chance the Rapper does not fall into either of these categories. He is popular, yes, but he is not a Drake, Beyoncé, or Kanye. Plus, Coloring Book is still a mixtape, or so Apple and Chance would have you believe.

Looking at his Twitter, he is still enthusiastic about his claims that Coloring Book is a free product; it just happens to be on a streaming service. And as The Social Experiment pointed out, if you were a subscriber and you streamed the tape on your phone, you could download and save it as well.

Something still feels off. A mixtape is supposed to be available for universal consumption, right? It’s in the very name; the earliest mixtapes were actual tapes, passed out on the streets to promote music. Fencing in a mixtape through a streaming subscription, even temporarily, does not seem to fit the grassroots concept. Chance  still doesn’t appear to be a major label signee, but is being an Apple crony really any different?

Since Apple Music doesn’t share Spotify’s “freemium” model, most subscribers are paying for the service. To have to pay for even the right to listen to Coloring Book technically doesn’t make the tape “free.” There are several new subscribers who are using the free trial of Apple Music thanks to both Views and Coloring Book, but the fact remains that it’s a paid service. Plus, it has been announced that Coloring Book will chart on the Billboard 200 based on its Apple Music streams. The Billboard 200 ranks albums based on sales. Free music doesn’t chart because it doesn’t sell; only paid-for products chart on the Billboard 200.

If this were any other artist, this might not be such a hot discussion. By contrast, this is Chance, someone who built their entire career off of free music aversion to corporate sponsorship. Not only that, this is someone who said they would commit themselves to those ideals, even after major labels chased after him like rabid dogs. How is it possible, then, that Chance retains this while landing exclusivity with the largest digital music marketplace in the world?

It’s a worthy question, but it may ultimately be missing the point. It’s easy to say that Chance sold out to Apple; at the same time, one should not forget that it’s remarkable he was even able to do so. There was no official A&R in a suit to talk to Apple for Chance about this deal; he managed to pique the interest of Apple on the strength of his work alone. Chance the Rapper is most likely the biggest musical name in America with no record deal whatsoever. Two of his projects, both self-released, are popular products on the internet’s largest music marketplace. That’s no minor accomplishment.

It’s been clear thus far that, above all else, Chance values the artistry and message of his music. It’s likely he would not have reached this agreement with Apple if he thought the company would get in the way of his art. After all, who in the world would have been willing to take a gamble on a gospel rap mixtape? Chance has all the power here, even over the “twelfth largest corporation in the world.” That is the ultimate victory that every artist aspires to; all other musicians dream of having that kind of say. In almost no other circumstance would the music take preference over the qualms of a billion-dollar corporation. Chance made it happen, and more importantly, he’s paving the way for other artists to have the power as well.

If Chance had the ability to decline every major label on Earth, he could have easily dismissed any deals with Apple. Yet, he took the opportunity of partnership to prove two things: It is the music that matters. and it is the artist that matters. In an age where the value of creative work is generally marginalized, Chance has opened up the stage for music to breathe and live on its own, even under the control of a major corporation.

Ever since Chance experienced his first unconventional success, he never sought to jump into the paths most famous artists take. Every step he has taken along the way has been unpredictable, yet wildly successful. This may be no different. Chance’s new fellowship with Apple may be yet another message to young artists; there are unexpected sources that are willing to give young musicians a shot. One shouldn’t restrict themselves to the tired terms and agreements of a typical record contract. When it all comes down to it, it’s all about the art that is presented. If what you have made is truly great, the people will follow. If you build it, they will come. The ultimate irony is that in selling out, Chance the Rapper remains the people’s champ.

Chance the Rapper’s career started as a self-promoted mission to just get heard, and it may continue as a quest to bring the importance of the music back to the forefront. That’s quite the hustle, and one hell of a legacy to leave behind. As Chance states himself: “I don’t make songs for free, I make them for freedom.” Maybe Coloring Book will be the ultimate way he achieves this goal.

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