Chance the Rapper to appear at Louder than a Bomb fest finals

Chicagoan and alumnus of the Young Chicago Authors workshops Chance The Rapper is scheduled to appear at the March 28 Team Finals of the 15th annual “Louder Than a Bomb” youth poetry festival at the Arie Crown Theatre.

The six-week festival (produced by Young Chicago Authors) will culminate with Indy Finals on March 21 at the Rubloff Theater at the Art Institute of Chicago (280 S. Columbus) and Team Finals on March 28 the Arie Crown Theater (2301 S. Lake Shore Dr.). Both events run 6 – 9 p.m. and feature some of the most talented youth poets in the Chicago area, sharing their work, verses filled with their insights, including stories of injustice and inequality.

“Collectively, we are changing the culture of the community, ” said Kevin Coval, Louder than a Bomb founder and the artistic director of Young Chicago Authors. “If we change the culture, we change the politics and, ultimately, the policies. There is power here: a growing mass, an army, a counter-culture to norms that dehumanize people of color, the working class, and the critically underserved. The poets at LTAB in Chicago and the nationwide movement they represent are changing things for the better. Together we will make a more equitable country for all.”

The team finals on March 28 will feature defending champions Kuumba Lynx and Rebirth Poetry Ensemble, Simeon Career Academy and Niles West High School in a four-round, Olympic-style poetry slam as well the appearance by Chance the Rapper.

Tickets to both the March 21 and 28 dates are $10-$20; purchase at www.youngchicagoauthors.org or click here.

Louder Than A Bomb is the largest youth poetry festival in the world, with 10 chapter sites around the country focusing on a Literary Arts curriculum as a team sporting event. It was founded in Chicago in 2001.