Chance the Rapper said he's out to tell the truth about Chicago -- and that includes his perception of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the shooting death of Laquan McDonald.
During an interview with GQ released this week, the Chicago-based musician reflected on the fatal 2014 police-involved shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
Chance, whose real name is Chancellor Bennett, is the son of Ken Bennett, who served as deputy chief of staff and director for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Office of Public Engagement. The elder Bennett also worked for former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and President Barack Obama.
“It was really hard for my dad,” Chance told the publication. “He worked on a lot of very noble and decent causes. And I think he believed in Rahm as much as everybody else did."
During the interview, Chance noted that his father’s role has consisted of getting “a call every morning with a list of all the people with their names and ages of who got shot.”
The rapper reflected on the relationship between the police and the black community.
“We already have a really bad relationship with the police,” the rapper said. “They kind of have us stuck in our corners of the West Side and the South Side and only come through our neighborhoods when they’re trying to do some bull****.”
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“Now we have video of them doing us like this” it was just scary, I think for everybody,” he added.
It's a topic he references in his music as well.
"I think it's always the job of an artist, in trying times or not-- it's always our job to tell the truth," he said.
During two separate appearances on Saturday Night Live, Bennett referenced McDonald’s shooter, Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke.
Chance also talked about meeting President Obama at the White House in April. He joined the president and a host of other celebrities to discuss the White House’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative, as well as criminal justice reform. After posing for photos and signing autographs, the president invited Chance to join him in his office.
“He brings me up to his office, and we had a really good conversation about what I was working on,” Chance said. “He told me I needed to start selling my music. He’s a good man.”
The rapper also claimed the Obamas were “bumping” his new mixtape, Coloring Book, at the White House.
“Malia listens to Coloring Book and I send them stuff sometimes,” he said. “I haven’t seen Malia since I was a kid. I think they were both in school the day that I went up there recently, but Barack was talking about it."
“Or, uh, President Obama was talking about it."
