Biography
Who is Chance the Rapper?
Early life and real name
Chance the Rapper was born Chancellor Johnathan Bennett on April 16, 1993, in Chicago, United States. He grew up in the West Chatham neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. His father worked as an aide to local officials, while his mother worked for the Illinois attorney general.
As a student at Jones College Prep High School, he formed a hip-hop duo named Instrumentality. He spent much of his junior year writing a project titled 10 Day, which he released after serving a school suspension. His early musical inspirations included Michael Jackson and Kanye West.
How Chance became famous
Chance the Rapper gained widespread recognition with his second mixtape, Acid Rap, released in April 2013. The project received critical acclaim and was downloaded millions of times on DatPiff. He followed this success by opening for Childish Gambino on a North American concert tour.
In 2014, XXL magazine included him in their annual freshman class. He also received Chicago's Outstanding Youth of the Year Award from Mayor Rahm Emanuel. His distinct style helped establish him as a leading figure in independent hip-hop.
Career highlights and albums
Chance the Rapper released his third mixtape, Coloring Book, in 2016. The project became the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy Award, taking home the prize for Best Rap Album. The single "No Problem" also won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance.
He released his debut studio album, The Big Day, in 2019, which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 chart. Alongside his solo work, he served as a coach on The Voice and a judge on the Netflix series Rhythm + Flow. He also released a second album titled Star Line in 2025.
Birthday and age
Chance the Rapper was born on April 16, 1993, which makes Chance 33 years old today. That birthday falls under the Aries sign. Chance shares the date with 36 other famous people.
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