Is Chance the Rapper taking aim at Barack Obama? What he says about new song 'Together'
Chance the Rapper is addressing a new song that calls into question the development of the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago's South Side.
On "Together," the Grammy-winner raps directly to former President Barack Obama about community benefit agreements: "We need CBA, CBA, CBA, Barry / Before they build another golf course, library."
The Chicago rapper, 31, hopes the song highlights more than just the former president's development.
"The Obama Library is one development that the government has planned that could possibly displace people or raise property taxes or freeze people in the community from getting jobs," Chance tells USA TODAY. "But there's a lot of developments that happen like that. So while the people of South Shore in Chicago are organizing to make a CBA and be granted those rights and liberties, there's people all over the nation that deal with eminent domain or housing and justice."
There have been a number of community organizations, including park preservationists, that have raised concerns over the center's location in Jackson Park. According to nonprofit organization The Urban Institute, the agreements Chance raps about are "legally binding contracts between coalitions of community-based organizations and developers that shape how local development projects contribute to improving the quality of life of nearby residents."
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Chance, born Chancelor Bennett, knew Obama well before becoming a platinum-selling rapper. The artist's father, Ken Bennett, served as the state director to Obama when he was a U.S. senator in Illinois and then a state director for Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.
Despite this, Chance has not heard from either the former president nor anyone in his camp.
"That fight is still going strong for sure, and there's been a lot of great organizing in the city," he continues. "(The organizers) have my full support."
Prior to his comments, the "No Problem" artist spoke on a panel that covered women's sports, super fans and Meta AI, the artificial intelligence assistant on Facebook, Instagram and other Meta platforms. Meanwhile, Chance is readying his next project, "Star Line." Struggles like what some are facing on Chicago's South Side are top-of-mind as he's creating new music.
"Luckily we're in the information age, so we get to see how people are living day to day and some of the oppression that people deal with on a day-to-day basis," he says. "I'm in service of the people that have been historically at the bottom and I'm enjoying making anthemic pieces of art for them to revel in."