All Of Chance the Rapper's Gifts On Display At Ramova Theatre Birthday Show

Dear Chance,

At the risk of things going...well, something like this, I thought I would write this piece directly to you as a combo thank you letter/birthday wish. Why take such a huge risk doing something potentially lame with little to no upside? Variety, I guess. Telling other people about a live event that they didn't attend isn't always the easiest thing, so maybe this will freshen things up around here. It also seems like an appropriate response to you giving myself and the rest of the audience at your birthday bash/fundraiser this weekend such an intimate and personal evening.

The more I think about the show, one word keeps popping into my brain: Hobbits.

Probably not what you were expecting. Believe me, I'm as surprised as anyone and it came out of my brain. But it is my go-to reference for flipping the script when it comes to birthdays: instead of receiving gifts on yours, you give them out to all of your fellow Hobbit friends and family. I keep thinking about that because this was a show celebrating your birthday and all, but you seemed to be the one giving out the gifts. And that's something that you've been doing in both literal and metaphorical ways for over a decade now, all of which were on display during the best party the city's seen in years.

Thank you for the gift of the newly renovated Ramova Theatre, a true piece of Chicago history that fell into disrepair for far too long. Everyone here in Chicago remembers the headlines when you (along with Quincy Jones and Jennifer Hudson) led the effort to restore the theater/diner space, but after countless delays with other "hopefully it'll come back one day" projects like the Congress Theater and the Double Door, just getting the renovation done and opening is a Herculean feat. And holy crap, what a job you did! With an attached diner and taproom, it's the perfect place to spend an entire night out. And with the performance space being a converted movie theater, the slight slope to the floor, elevated stage, and multi-tiered GA space meant that you could see from absolutely everywhere. It feels like The Vic Theatre, but a little wider and nicer. The sight-lines were especially important on the night of an all-ages show, with literally all ages and types turning up to check out the newest crown jewel in the Chicago live music venue crown. This theater wouldn't be what it is without you, and it's a gift all of Chicago can take advantage of for decades to come.

Yes, the show was partly a celebration of your birthday, but it was also a fundraiser for SocialWorks, the charity you started in 2016 raiseing money for social issues that affect Chicago's youth. Focusing on education, mental health support, homelessness, and creating spaces and opportunities for local artists, you fund all of the things that we all wish the government would but doesn't. SocialWorks does amazing work for this city, and 100% of the proceeds for the show went right into its coffers. There wasn't even any of your own merch available to buy on-site, just shirts/hoodies/hats/sweats with SocialWorks logos instead of your standard number 3. The result was still a line that stretched across the back of the venue with fans waiting to hand over even more to this fantastic organization.

I already mentioned the intimate feel that the 1,800 capacity Ramova gave the show, more like hanging out at a giant party than attending a concert. Strengthening this vibe was a very freestyle DJ set by DJ Oreo that covered a whopping 90 minutes before you took the stage. The set honestly had the perfect 'pre-party' energy to it, as Oreo wasn't afraid to go down a deep rabbit hole depending on the response of the audience. Like your buddy who has the best taste in music taking over the CD player, he didn't mind playing two, three, sometimes four straight songs by the same artist - a lot more palatable when it's J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar he's doubling down on (or in the case of Kanye West, quintuple-ing down on). But any good dorm room DJ knows that you have to cover everyone's taste to really get things moving, and DJ Oreo made sure to sprinkle in the requisite amount of Jackson 5, Miley Cyrus, and Adele. It was awesome and did exactly what the best DJs do before parties: gave everyone a chance to have a few drinks, find their spot on the floor for the night, and dance around with the people in their vicinity.

If we look at the restoration of the Ramova as a gift from Chicago's past and SocialWorks a present for Chicago's present, your birthday performance was definitely a reminder of the future you have in store for hip hop. Yes, there's not much that can top the energy the crowd builds up when you play one of your massive hits like "No Problem" and "All Night", but this July will be five years since The Big Day and you know we're hungry for a new album. On a night where you said you're "just gonna do the songs I like", it was a good thing that what you like was a whole lot of the upcoming Star Line Gallery. In the middle of a chunk of new tracks, you mentioned how "these don't sound like new songs, they sound like good songs!" and I don't think you could find a single person in the Ramova's capacity crowd that would disagree. I'm not sure if it was so we could try and sing along or just to help us keep up with your sometimes-quick-as-lightning flow, but having the lyrics to unreleased songs like "Bad Kids", "Link Me", and "Angie Got Stoned" projected behind you as you worked your way through them was one of the smallest gifts you gave us on the night, but one of the most helpful.

One of the things I've always appreciated about your music is that in an industry that sometimes glorifies violence, sexism, and just general dark tones, you've always had a lighter, more positive sound. Not that you don't touch on serious issues, but putting on one of your albums fits more with walking around the city on the first warm day of summer than getting up to serious shit under the cover of darkness. So it's interesting to hear new songs like "The Negro Problem" and "Just a Drop" taking a more somber, contemplative direction. They reminded me more of a Kendrick song than anything you've done so far, and if that's the direction that Star Line is headed, the release date cannot come fast enough. You said it's coming in the Spring...it's Spring! With the increasing number of events and video snippets you've been dropping over the last week, it feels like something's coming soon. Maybe you've got one last Hobbit gift to give to the rest of the world on your actual birthday tomorrow?

(Seriously, watching the teaser video you posted today, you can see Lil' Wayne, Yachty, T-Pain, Vic Mensa, and Jermaine Dupri in the studio with you. You cannot just drop that kind of thing on us and make us wait. It's inhumane!)

This was a night of firsts for me. I'd never been to the Ramova Theatre before. I'd never seen you in concert before. And no one is going to read this and then go "That's it, my mind is made up and I will now go see a Chance the Rapper show when he has another concert" as if you weren't on their radar until I suddenly rocked their world with this letter. I'm just someone that also calls Chicago home and got to see, in just a few short hours, the multiple ways that you have and continue to give back to this city with your music, your charity, your activism. You're an example of what is truly great about this city. And I'm not anyone important nor do I have any realistic expectation that you'll read this. But that's no reason not to thank you again for representing this city and the people that live in it so well.

Happy birthday.

Chance the Rapper Setlist - The Ramova Theatre 4.13.24

No Problem
Blessings
Everybody's Something
On The Run
All We Got
Summer Friends
All Night
I'm The One (DJ Khaled cover)
Brain Cells
Ultralight Beam
Link Me
Just a Drop
The Negro Problem
Guide
Ride
Angie Got Stoned
The Heart & The Tongue
Child of God
The Highs & The Lows
Cocoa Butter Kisses
Same Drugs