Chance the Rapper might run for mayor of Chicago: 'I'm thinkin' maybe I should'
'City Hall pull up'
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Your support makes all the difference.Chance the Rapper has suggested that he may run for mayor in his home city of Chicago.
The artist, who has already donated $1m to Chicago schools and gone to great lengths to raise awareness around education in the city, tweeted a line from his 2015 single "Somewhere in Paradise" (where he raps about running for mayor): "I'm thinkin' maybe I should."
The Chicago native later tweeted: "City Hall pull up" accompanied by an announcement that he would hold a press conference regarding Chicago's mayoral election at 10am – but didn't reveal what day this would take place.
However, the announcement could also be Chance preparing to throw his support behind another candidate, following the news that Chicago's current mayor, Rahm Emanuel, will not be seeking reelection.
Following Emanuel's announcement, Chance appeared on Joe Budden's podcast to talk about Chicago's political situation.
"You could look at it on some defeatist s**t, like, 'if I do this s**t they're going to f*** it up anyway'," he said. "But if you don't do it, it's f***ed up anyway, so why not?"
"I think there's an easy way to look at it, like a blanket thing," he continued. "'Chance does good things, in totality.' But if you look at the specific things I'm working on, and look at it critically, it's usually something that has something to do with equity, to make sure that everyone gets what they deserve – not necessarily equality, because if there are people that are set back then equal shares don't make them equal.
"Or if it has something to do with women's rights, or black women's rights, period. Education. It's a lot in the same area. Homelessness. You could call it all economics."
Referring to how the mayoral contention has developed since Emanuel stepped out, he added: "It's like a wide-open race now. I think 15 or 16 candidates?... I am a rapper, I rap. As a whole, I have very forward-thinking ideas. I'm 25 – I've got a minute in this joint."
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