Following the release of his Live Lounge performance, BBC Radio 1Xtra is now sharing the interview between Chance the Rapper and DJ Semtex.
During the interview, Chance revealed he is currently working on his official debut studio album.
The conversation also covered personal topics including the very significant influence Kanye West had on his life and his music. "I remember the first Kanye track I ever heard was 'Through the Wire' on the radio. Less than five songs later, they played 'All Falls Down.' They said this is by Chicago's own Kanye West and I looked up this guy and was like 'this guy is the real deal.'... the sheer exposure to it the first time, hearing those high pitch samples and hearing that 404... the kick and everything was something new for me. Finding out he was from Chicago was definitely encouraging but I think if I had been from anywhere in the world if I heard that song, I'd be who I am today."
"I think every rapper from Chicago at some point thought about what Kanye West thought of their music. I was the same way," he said, referencing how open he was about wanting to meet 'Ye. They met for the first time at Made in America in Los Angeles back in 2014. It turns out we all have Jaden Smith to thank for Chance finally being able to meet 'Ye in person. "It was surreal," Chance said.
The two then reconnected while Chance was working on Surf before Kanye brought Chance out to L.A. to work on The Life of Pablo. "It was only supposed to be 10 songs," Chance said of Pablo. "Songs like 'Waves' and 'Highlights' and stuff like that were on it. He was kind of just like, 'I want to accent certain things.'" Instead, they started working on songs outside of the album for G.O.O.D. Fridays, which is how "Ultralight Beam" came together.
DJ Semtex also pressed Chance about the state of politics going on in the U.S. "I knew Donald Trump was going to win. Anybody in the world who's surprised by the election of Donald Trump has been ignorant of racism," Chance stated before saying he thinks the Hamilton cast's reaction to Mike Pence and Dave Chappelle's powerful SNL monologue was "out of fear."
Chance was asked which rapper he thought would be president first, and he responded, "I think if anybody could do it, Kanye could do it. I don't think Jay wants to be president of the U.S. I definitely don't want to be president." However, if he could choose one rapper to be president, it would be David Banner.
Since the release of his Live Lounge performance, Chance reportedly canceled the remaining dates on the European leg of his Magnificent Coloring World Tour "due to personal reasons." No other information has been released on the topic, but we hope all is OK. You can watch Chance's nearly 30-minute interview above and be sure to check out his BBC Radio 1 performance where he sends prayers to Kanye right here.
