Ebony/Aaron Smith
Chance the Rapper Explains Why He Won't Run for Office
Don’t expect Chance the Rapper to be Chance the President.
In his cover story for Ebony‘s June issue, the Chicago MC explained why he won’t be running for office or even following in his father’s footsteps through a career in government.
“I would never run for any office or government position,” he said. “I’m not into it. I think politics is a reason why a lot of stuff doesn’t get done. There’s a lot of favors, and a lot of people are held back by their intentions of being re-elected or the things that they owe their party or constituents. I think when you’re in my position as an artist, I can say what I want and talk about the issues that matter.”
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Chano is no stranger to the White House. His father, Ken Bennett, once worked under President Barack Obama and the rapper was a repeated guest throughout the previous administration’s run.
Chance, who dons a dapper suit on his Ebony cover, may not run for office, but the demand is certainly there. Last month, after he donated more than $1 million to Chicago Public Schools, some Chance supporters launched the Chano4Mayor website, explaining why he should run for mayor.
“We need a new mayor,” read a message from the site’s organizers. “Rahm Emanuel has been in office since 2011. In that time we’ve seen the closure of 50 public schools, the largest in history. The city shut down 6 of its 12 mental health clinics. The Department of Justice found a pattern of civil rights violations by the Chicago Police Department, including but not limited to the murder of Laquan McDonald. It’s time for change.”
For now, he’s doing just fine as a rapper. He is featured on the No. 3 song in the country, DJ Khaled’s “I’m the One,” which recently hit No. 1. Plus, he’s working on his debut album, a follow-up to his Grammy-winning mixtape Coloring Book.