The New York Post had recently reported that Chance The Rapper has turned down offers ranging up to $10 million from record labels after winning 3 Grammys (best rap album, best rap performance and best new artist).
An insider allegedly told the Post’s Page Six Column:
“Every label is still trying to get him. He’s making too much on his own… He was turning down $5 million advances before, and now it’s like $10 million. He may do something with Apple, but not a label per se … He is going to remain independent.”
Before we go any further, hypothetical question time, if you were an artist and was offered a $10 million signing deal to join a record label or remain an independent artist, what would you choose?
Well, Chance The Rapper has been making it clear that he will remain as an independent artist for the time being. But to know why he’s turning down massive offers from numerous record labels, we must first explore the man himself.
Background Info
Chance the Rapper aka Chancellor Johnathan Bennett, born and raised in the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, is a 23 year old heavy hitter in the music industry. Dubbed as an indie Hip Hop artist, his talents are not confined to that alone, but also being a singer, songwriter, producer and actor. In addition, Chance The Rapper has a heavy involvement in a collective called The Social Experiment as a vocalist. The Social Experiment, led by Donnie Trumpet (Nico Segal) is a band with musically gifted members which consists of Nate Fox, Peter Cottontale and Greg Landfair Jr.
10 Day, Acid Rap and Coloring Book (2012 – 2016)
The early days of his career came about in 2012, when he dropped his first official mixtape, ’10 Day’. The mixtape had been titled after his 10 day suspension in 2011 for possessing marijuana at his high school campus. With his first mixtape, the buzz had been created around him from media outlets with the city of Chicago taking notice.
A year later followed his second mixtape ‘Acid Rap’ that led to heavy hitters such as Jay Z, Andre 3000, Madonna and Justin Bieber contacting him in regards to work and to also advise him. ‘Acid Rap’ had garnered high praise from critics and ranked number 12 in the top 50 albums of 2013 by Pitchfork. Not forgetting The Social Experiment, the bohemian collective had released a studio album titled, ‘Surf’, in 2015 which resulted in 618,000 downloads in the first week on iTunes.
May 13th 2016, marked a big day for Chance The Rapper, as this was the day his third official mixtape, ‘Coloring Book’ had been released which secured his 3 Grammy wins. An important distinction to make, is that all of his work had been released for free and put up on streaming sites ‘for the people’ with zero physical copies. History had been made when Chance The Rapper was nominated for a Grammy. This was due to the Grammy’s governing board relaxing their rules on albums released only on streaming services. Meaning that this was the first time an artist had been nominated solely on streaming numbers. With Chance remaining to be independent, this had meant record labels needed to up their offers, however Lil Chano isn’t playing ball just yet.
Source: SoundCloud
Why Go Independent? Why Not a Record Label?
Chance The Rapper is another Hip Hop artist that can now be added to the list of successful Hip Hop artists that have ‘made it’ in the music game whilst being independent. His vision of releasing everything free, earning revenue through merchandise, sponsorships and touring is one to be praised. It can be seen that Chance The Rapper wants full creative control on what happens to his music and to have a more personal connection with his fan base. With the ability to release music for free and being in charge of the whole process, what does this mean for record labels?
A quote from his acceptance speech during the 59th Grammys.
“independence means freedom”
Record labels have the ability to reach places on behalf of artists that could not be easily done through being independent. The distribution of physical copies, the publishing, the promoting, new connections and all the heavy work gets taken care of by the label. However, with Lil Chano winning 3 Grammys whilst being independent, this shows an inspiring narrative to younger rappers. A narrative that illustrates that artists can achieve success through being independent and through the use of streaming sites such as Spotify and SoundCloud.
https://twitter.com/frankdigiacomo/status/784134697844604928
Artists That Have Made It Independently
Rappers such as Tech N9ne, Joey Bada$$, Fetty Wap and Young Thug are all independent and are all making big contributions to the Hip Hop scene.
Hip Hop artists have become more savvy, more business minded and have seen some of their predecessors fall too early, thereby not wanting to make the same mistakes. For instance, Fetty Wap has been recently expanding his portfolio of work venturing into technology and investing in stocks and shares. Artists are doing things for themselves now, from their own marketing using social media, to expanding their range and reaching fans on a personal level. More and more rappers are seeing the benefits from having ownership of their music, when they want to work and who they want to work with.
So should that worry record labels? Potentially, but then again, potentially not. Some rappers are in it solely for the money or potentially willing to give up certain aspects of their creativity in return for an easier route. Others want to join a particular label due to their favourite artists having done so and equating it to a symbol of success.
Can Just Anyone Be Successful Independently?
Can just anyone be successful independently? No… Chance the Rapper may be independent but he’s not alone. He successfully cultivated a strong creative group, surrounding himself with musically talented people. His dad’s political connections in the White House is also an open source of wisdom and advice on how to market himself. His hard work, the love of music and having like-minded people around him with resources are all attributes to his success.
So, now back to the hypothetical question, $10 million or remain independent? No wrong answers.
If you want more of Chance The Rapper, check out the interview below between Chance The Rapper and the Breakfast Club’s DJ Envy, Angela Yee and Charlemagne Tha God.
Heavy Hitters-Hiphop 