So Chance the Rapper pretty much made a fan out of America, Sunday at the Grammys. Even while belting out the chorus, You Don’t Want No Problems With Me, from his hit single he is still one of the most likable characters doing music.
We agree with you Chance! We don't want any problems with you, but not because we are intimidated, but more so because of the pants pulled all the way to your waist and the hat placed precisely straight forward with the 80’s bent brim. That makes us not want any problems. We’d rather just be friends.
Chance is the guy that a lot of fathers wouldn't mind dating their daughter. Although I’m sure there is probably a father or two that would advise against that impression. Nevertheless, the individualism and boldness it took to record and later perform a gospel track at the Grammys had the world screaming “give me one more Chance!” We need a few more guys like him in Hip Hop, and we’re willing to trade a few Young Thugs and Lil Yachtys to get them.
But I see a deeper connection that Chance is securing with his audience. It’s not rooted in his gear or even the vibe of his music. It’s this unapologetic Christian thing he has going on. “He lovez him some Jesus” and many of us feel the same way, “We lovez us some Jesus”. But we also agree with Chance that we lovez us some weed, drank, and casual sex with the occasional opportunity to flex on’em because we're out here like that.
Chance gives us this warm fuzzy feeling that we can have the best of both worlds. All of Jesus and all of that stuff traditionally, in the ole days, we had to choose between. Chance makes us feel like scriptures like:
1John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Or
Luke 6:46-47 "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:”
...are a thing of the past. They certainly are not progressive enough to fit into today’s world.
Chance speaks to us with two tones of voice and we love it. He is able to reach the side that truly desires to be closer to God, but he is also passing the blunt to the side of us that says, “I’m high 'til I die, so don’t kill my vibe”.
How cool would it be to have a stadium of 30,000 packed with people and Jesus waving his cellphone in the front row? If Chance can do it, then I can too, right!
You see, we love the feeling of thinking we’ll always have one more day, one more opportunity, one more “chance”. I think at the heart of it that is why the world is screaming, “Give me one more Chance!