Chance the Rapper is not signed to a label, writes songs with playful lyrics, has appeared on tracks with major artists like Kanye West, and reps Chicago hard. These are the things most fans know about him.
But in a recent interview with GQ Magazine, the rapper opens up a little more about a myriad of things, including his kid-like behavior, rap beefs, death, and his feelings on Kanye West and Donald Trump. Here are five things we learned about Chance the Rapper.
1. He’s Just A Big Kid.
If you couldn’t already tell by now, the rapper’s lyrics are often a glimpse at the big kid he really is. He doesn’t eat vegetables (“I hate eating vegetables. The only vegetables I eat are lettuce on a burger”), loves fro-yo (“I f–k with it tough!”), and likes to take grand trips to Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park. “I recently took, like, 35 of my friends and all of the Golden State Warriors to Sky Zone. Just because they were in town and I like Sky Zone,” he revealed.
2. He Loves Kanye, But Doesn’t Want To Be Kanye.
Chance explained that he loves Kanye, his artistry, and his music, and will defend the rapper to anyone who calls him crazy, but even he sometimes disagrees with ‘Ye: “I don’t think I ever wanted to be like Kanye in personality. I think I definitely want to, have always wanted to, have his boldness or assurance in myself…But Kanye’s said some crazy s–t to me where I respond, ‘No, I don’t feel you at all.'”
3. Heaven Might Be Kind Of Like A Nightclub.
Describing what death and heaven mean to him, the emcee compares the process of getting into heaven to a nightclub: “I guess there probably is some type of legal process that you have to go through, where you have to go say wassup to Peter, or whoever’s at the gate, and he says ‘Come on in’ and everything…Saint Peter’s like, ‘Yo, you did really good, we got a table for you in the back, Jesus is trying to see you.’ All that process probably does go down. But I think my understanding of it is when you die, it’s the closest that you can be to God. And it is the, you know, the realization of self and self-worth and purpose and your opportunity to be everlasting.”
4. Don’t Expect Rap Beefs.
Beef has always played a role in hip-hop, but don’t expect Chance to engage in any. “I take my f–king raps so seriously that I don’t write raps without having a purpose for them anymore. I can’t write raps without having a beat and having an understanding of what I’m going to do with that song,” he says. “I have to know what I’m going to do with that track when I’m done. I can’t see myself ever having somebody say something about me on a song and me being like, ‘All right, now I’m about to say something about them on a song.'”
5. He Isn’t Afraid Of Trump And Doesn’t Want You To Be Either.
While America – the world, really – braces for Donald Trump‘s impending presidency, Chance isn’t worried because he believes good will win in the end, and people will become more aware and proactive. “Like, ‘Make America Great Again,’ that’s not a real thing because shit ain’t really switched up for them. It’s not really going that bad for you,” he says. “If you feel like you’re the under-represented, under-appreciated side of Middle America that is white—quote me—you need to, uh, toughen up, n—a! Somebody gotta punch you in the chest, because shit is sweet for you. You know what I’m saying? I would say to everybody, you know, the world is coming together. Like there’s—every day people are becoming more and more, I’m not using this word in terms of emotion, but sensitive to real issues and…and aware. That’s really what I mean. People are raising their kids to be more and more knowledgeable and understanding.”