For the first time ever, 3-time Grammy Award winner Chance the Rapper came to Manila yesterday, August 22. As part of his Asia Tour, the artist stopped by to perform his songs from two of his latest albums, Acid Rap and Coloring Book, plus a few from his recently-uploaded set on Soundcloud.
Local artist and underground music gem Jess Connelly opened the show. She performed several songs from her upcoming album JCON and a few of her old songs which includes How I Love and Under Blankets.
Chano (as his fans call him) and his band, The Social Experiment, started his 20-song set with Mixtape, Blessings, and Angels, all of which are from his latest album Coloring Book.
He followed it with three of his new singles: 65th & Ingleside, Work Out, and What’s The Hook with a special appearance of Reeseynem. After this lineup came hits from his second album Acid Rap: Favorite Song, Cocoa Butter Kisses, and Chain Smoker.
Chance the Rapper is known for being outspoken of his faith.
In one of his songs aptly-titled Blessings, he says “I speak to God in public, I speak to God in public.” And he did just that. The multi-awarded artist sang a cover of Kanye West’s Ultralight Beam – a song that talks about a Christian’s love for Jesus. Hence, his interest in it.
He then continued with I’m the One, Juke Jam, All We Got, No Problem, All Night, Summer Friends, and Same Drugs.
For his encore, Chance performed one of his most popular hits, Sunday Candy. He also sang Blessings (Reprise), and asked everyone in the arena to lift their hands as they sang “When the praises go up, the blessings come down.”
He pulled a party that put the kids from school and office in the MOA Arena, even on a Wednesday night.
The crowd’s energy remained high throughout his long set. Even with his slow melodic songs, the crowd was still dancing and singing lines with him. In fact, the longer the concert progressed, the wilder the crowd went. His energy was contagious. Chance the Rapper gave everyone a night to remember.
Did you miss Chance’s first show in Manila? If you did, there’s still next time – Chance promised to come back here for another show in the future. For now, we’ll be waiting for his next two albums, one solo album and another one with Kanye West.
