Chance the Rapper Says Feeling Audience’s ‘Love’ at Young Age Made Him Chase That Feeling ‘Forever’

The adoration that Chance the Rapper received from early fans was earned, not given.

The Star Line rapper was a guest on the Friday (Sept. 5) episode of Cam Newton‘s Funky Friday podcast and reflected on being a part of Chicago’s musical “chitlin circuit” as a child. It was in his hometown where Chance got his start as a performer, but perhaps noticed that he had a fixation on winning over crowds.

“I’ve been through all of the different moments of like what our version of the Apollo Theater is,” Chance told Newton. “I’ve faced all that at a young age. And I think anybody, especially people that you see get on as child stars, or we could just call them young, anybody that got on when they [were] a teen, we faced harsh criticisms from strangers and adults at a very young age.”

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The Grammy winner added that entertainers who’ve had an early start are “a little bit fucked up in the head” and “misguided” in “finding love.”

“Because we felt the love of a room of people at your fifth grade talent show doing a standing ovation ’cause you impersonated Michael Jackson,” he continued. “That’s my story. I had moments on stage where I felt the love that I chased forever.”

The rapper added that on his latest album, he looks “inwardly” on his issues to “find love.”

“The reason why I be out so much, the reason why I always want to perfect my music or the reason why I always take it so seriously when anybody got something negative to say about my s**tis ’cause I grew up looking for that sort of [idolization] from the perspective of one little kid looking at a room full of fifty. adults,” he explained. “You’re either getting booed or getting a standing ovation, but either way, that’s how my brain was developed.”

Chance also recounted that his first tour was at nineteen years old with headliner Donald Glover, and that the rapper-actor “knew business.” Elsewhere in the interview, Chance discussed co-parenting with his ex-wife, Kirsten Corley, and the backlash to his 2019 album The Big Day.

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