Chance The Rapper challenges American social ignorance in new song
"The American dream may you never wake up"
Chance The Rapper recently appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to discuss his recent work to increase education funding in Chicago and debut a new track commenting on the current racial issues dominating conversations in the US.
The lyrical exposé, featuring Daniel Caesar, was written only two days before the performance as a reaction to recent uproar over the mistreatment of people of color in the United States.
The untitled track centers around the so-called "American dream", white privilege and social ignorance to injustice. Lyrics like: "You're just gonna keep clapping / Like ya'll got clean water and ya'll don't got teen daughters and black friends and gay cousins / Ya'll just gonna say nothing" touch on the lack of help and protection received by marginalized demographics.
With Caesar lending soft guitar and aqueous vocals, Chance proclaims a powerful closing verse:
"Knees bowed, tongues confessing
The last ones getting first dibs on blessings...
...Keep on telling us we’re making it up
The American dream may you never wake up"
Watch Chance The Rapper's full performance below.
Sydney is Mixmag's US Digital Content Editor. Follow her on Twitter here