MANILA, Philippines — American hip hop recording artist and Grammy-Award winner Chance the Rapper brought the house down in a jam-packed concert on August 22 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Chicago superstar Chancelor Jonathan Bennett, known professionally as Chance the Rapper, quickly rose to prominence after he self-released his debut mixtape “10 Day” in 2012 and his stunning “Acid Rap” in 2013. Since then, Chance the Rapper has performed at festivals like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza and worked with superstars like Lil B, Kanye West, Skrillex, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and more.
Though early in his career still, Chance the Rapper’s best bit as a hip-hop artist and musician has come from his third mixtape, “Coloring Book” in 2016.The mixtape featured guest appearances from Kanye West, Justin Bieber, and Future.
Debuting at number eight on Billboard 200, it became the first release to chart solely on streams. The mix tape was widely lauded by critics and went on to receive three Grammy nominations, including Best Rap Album, Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance for the single “No Problem,” featuring Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz, with seven other nominations in total. It also became the first streaming-exclusive album to ever do so with over 57 million streams its first week. The Grammy-winning single, “No Problem,” was a Top 50 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and reached No. 5 on the Billboard Rhythmic chart.
A devout Christian and often refers to Christ in his songs, Chance the Rapper was also presented Chicago's Outstanding Youth of the Year Award by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and was listed seventh on the Forbes “30 Under 30” 2015 music list.
Chance the Rapper’s Manila concert was part of his Asian tour and was presented by MMI Live together with Globe. — Photos by EC Toledo IV