Chicago rap phenom Chance the Rapper endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in an interview this week, saying that he feels a “connection” to the Democratic candidate that he doesn’t feel with Republican Donald Trump.
The 23-year-old Coloring Book rapper — real name Chancellor Jonathan Bennett — told Billboard in an interview that as a Chicago native herself, Clinton would be best positioned to tackle the city’s challenges.
“Hillary Clinton, by far,” the rapper said when asked who he’d be voting for. “Not to sound selfish, but she’s from Chicago, so I would hope that she’d be engaged in our city’s current troubles and needs.”
“She has a certain sincerity that’s hidden by the media,” he went on. “I’m not sure if it’s because she’s a woman or because Donald Trump just has a stronghold on the media at this time, but she’s unfairly treated. I can’t really speak on her policies but I feel a certain connection to Hillary Clinton that’s just not there with Donald Trump.”
Clinton thanked the rapper for his endorsement in a tweet Thursday:
The young rapper has a had a big year; his album Coloring Book — released exclusively on Apple Music — reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200 list; shortly thereafter, the Recording Academy changed its rules to allow streaming-only albums and songs to be eligible for awards.
Chance also became the first unsigned artist ever to play Saturday Night Live in December.
The rapper told Billboard that people of color and women face challenges in music that are similar to the challenges they face in other industries and areas “in terms of being overlooked, under-appreciated and held back from a lot of stuff.”
“Colorism and racism don’t stop when you’re a musician or when you have wealth or when you’re in any given position,” he added. “Kendrick [Lamar] going home Grammy-less [in 2014, when he was nominated in seven categories] was an awesome moment for people to recognize that it plagues us regardless of talent or skill.”
Read Chance’s full interview will Billboard here.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum