Chance the Rapper: The Story Behind the Biggest Independent Artist in the World

Episode 90 | Chance the Rapper Chance the Rapper is one of the biggest independent artists in the history of music. He’s a multiple GRAMMY winner, including Best New Artist, Best Rap Album, and Best Rap Performance. He’s hosted Saturday Night Live twice, been the musical guest three times, headlined the world’s biggest festivals, and done it all without a record label. He’s the definition of a creative entrepreneur and a true leader. In this conversation, we dive deep into how Chance built his career, how he operates his entire musical and business ecosystem, his mentality as an owner, and what he’s like as a leader. We talk about lessons from independence and entrepreneurship, his role as a father, a creative, and a community builder, and how he’s evolved from Acid Rap all the way to Star Line. Chance is an incredible human with amazing energy, a big heart, and a strong drive. I hope you enjoy my conversation with the great, Chance The Rapper. Subscribe for more conversations with the world’s greatest musicians. ‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.   / gowithelmo   Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, Zoom hangs, invite only events, and discussions about music and music careers. 0:00:00 - TRAILER 0:01:59 - INTRODUCING CHANCE THE RAPPER 0:04:25 - INTERVIEW STARTS 0:05:04 - WE BACK, TOUR 0:05:56 - CHANCE THE ENTREPRENEUR 0:07:22 - PARENTS, POETRY, LEADERSHIP 0:11:18 - DONALD GLOVER (CHILDISH GAMBINO) 0:12:23 - MAC MILLER 0:13:08 - BEING INDEPENDENT AT SCALE 0:16:39 - STOCK, OWNERSHIP, INVESTING 0:20:19 - ACID RAP, MAC MILLER, EMINEM, MACKLEMORE 0:24:34 - GROWING UP, AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM, POETRY 0:28:19 - CHICAGO COLLABORATIONS, KANYE, TWISTA, VIC MENSA, BJ THE CHICAGO KID 0:30:57 - THE SOCIAL EXPERIMENT (SOX) 0:33:12 - SURF ALBUM 0:35:18 - THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION 0:35:52 - JEFF GITTY 0:36:15 - CHANCE'S TEAM, ACID RAP 0:38:34 - RECORD LABELS 0:43:56 - HOW TO ACHIEVE GOALS 0:45:14 - CHANCE'S CREATIVE PROCESS 0:47:12 - EXPENSES, INVESTMENTS INTO PERSONAL PROJECTS AS AN INDEPENDENT ARTIST 0:49:27 - CEO 0:51:48 - COLORING BOOK, THE APPLE DEAL 0:57:19 - DAILY SCHEDULE 0:58:41 - LIFE BALANCE 1:01:51 - LEADERSHIP 1:06:00 - HOW TO SEPARATE CREATIVE FROM BUSINESS 1:08:15 - WRITING PROCESS 1:12:17 - STAR LINE, DARKCHILD 1:15:39 - "SPEED OF LIGHT" 1:16:11 - SOCIAL WORKS, PHILANTHROPY 1:20:04 - ADVICE FOR INDEPENDENT ARTISTS IN 2025 Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://elmolovano.komi.io/ Follow Chance:   / chancetherapper   Follow Go With Elmo:   / gowithelmo     / gowithelmo   https://x.com/gowithelmopod Follow Elmo Lovano:   / elmolovano   https://x.com/elmolovano Follow Jammcard:    / @jammcard   jammcard.com