(Editor’s note: This story was originally published on July 30, 2014)
It’s not every day that a Chicago teen gets to open a concert for a rapper like Nas. But that’s what’s happening Saturday night for Taylor Bennett, the 18-year-old lyrical phenom who just so happens to be the little bro of Chance the Rapper, just so happens to have premiered his latest video on MTV.com and who this year, just so happens to have already sold out three shows in Chicago alone.
Kanye, Common, Twista, Chance, Louie, Keef, Herb, Lupe and Katie all make headlines and keep Chi-town hip-hop front and center. It looks like Taylor’s turn is next. “It’s all about the future,” says the Urban Prep grad, who recently graduated and says he was accepted into several colleges, including Western Illinois University. He’s skipping college for the moment so he can work on more music and nonviolence campaign #savechicago. Adds Bennett: “It’s all about the next generation of Chicagoans and how they will act and how they will be perceived.”
