Chicago’s own Chance the Rapper never shies away from sharing his political viewpoints on Twitter, and he’s known for supporting public education and the Chicago Teachers Union.
But few fans and followers might have guessed that the rapper supported Kanye West’s bid for the White House.
On Monday morning, Chance shared West’s tweet promoting his new song, “Donda.”
And yall out here tryna convince me to vote for Biden. Smfh https://t.co/JgbGBmPQk5
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) July 13, 2020
The song, named for West’s mother, calls for an end to racism. Donda opens the song by reciting lyrics from KRS-One.
Some commenters called Chance irresponsible for promoting West in such a crucial election while others hoped for a “Sike!” tweet.
Chance then asked followers if they were more pro Biden or anti West and why. A few tweeted their own reasons for voting for Biden and cited West’s anti-abortion and anti-vaccine comments as troubling stances for Democratic voters.
Kanye’s candidacy is a joke, but I’ll take Chance’s question seriously.
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) July 13, 2020
Where do I start. Kanye knows nothing about policy, has 0 experience, called slavery a choice, backed Trump, is an anti-vaxxer, etc.
Biden has experience & plans for climate change, race, the economy, etc. pic.twitter.com/BTtrHqSN1x
On July 4, West tweeted that he was running for president in the 2020 election under what he called the Birthday Party banner. So far, he has not filled out any of the necessary paperwork to appear on ballots in any state. In an interview with Forbes, West, who has been a vocal supporter of President Trump, denied his campaign was a publicity stunt for his new album and listed his own priorities should he get elected.
Chance’s criticism of Biden is even more puzzling because the rapper’s father, Ken Williams-Bennett, worked as then-Sen. Barack Obama’s state director and later on the president’s 2008 campaign and in the White House. After leaving the White House, Williams-Bennett returned to Chicago to work for then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Chance appeared to be reading replies to his tweets and responded with:
I finally got the answer now. I understand. Yall trust Biden more than yall trust Ye. I think I understand why, I just don’t feel the same way.
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) July 13, 2020
For the next few hours, Chance continued asking questions from what it means to be “presidential” to thoughts on prison abolition. Thousands of people responded to his original and subsequent tweets.
Chance acknowledged his trending status with one simple request:
I didnt plan on trending today, but I would like take this opportunity to say: with all these apologies and accountabilities going around the city of Chicago and the Chicago Police Dept should finally admit to and denounce the assassination of Fred Hampton
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) July 13, 2020
Fred Hampton, a Black Panther leader in Chicago, was gunned down in his home by Chicago police and the office of the state’s attorney in December 1969. Anyone interested can also check out “The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther.”
