Chicago's Chance The Rapper played his first of two sold out Red Rocks shows on a brisk chilly Tuesday evening. Riding the wave of much heralded success the past year the Be Encouraged Tour made a pitstop at the heralded venue. The current tour is mostly playing arena shows so the Denver crowd got a treat as the rapper played to an intimidate 9,000 plus guests. This is our fifth time getting to see Chance and as he progresses in his career all elements of his performance have blossomed into a persona unlike no other. Backed by his band the Social Experiment, Chance tore through the recently Grammy Award winning album Coloring Book (Mixtape). Opening with "Blessings" the emcee strutted back and forth on stage often pausing to glimpse at the majestical venue (as all others before him have done). Chance is able to control the tempo of his songs with such grace that it makes for beautifully crafted sing-a-longs and crowd participation. From upbeat rap anthems to slow religious awakening ballads, he is in control from beginning to end.
Most of the evenings arrangements were from Coloring Book, he did pay homage to mentor Kanye West on his version of "Waves" as well as covers of "Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1", and "Ultralight Beam". He also managed to include the recently released collaboration with DJ Khaled's "I'm The One", which is certain to become a staple among summertime bbq's this coming season. Other crowd favorites included "No Problem", and "Summer Friends". The night ended with the perfectly soulful gospel inspired "Blessings". As the crowd began to exit, one thing is for certain, they witnessed one of the youngest most talented performers in the industry today. With a slew of festival headlining performances and continuing his current tour Chance The Rapper is on top of the world right now with no signs of coming down.
Words and Images: Robert Castro
