Chance The Rapper Clears the Air About His Relationship With Apple Music

Chance the Rapper has come under scrutiny over whether or not he is really independent. On Friday (March 17), Chano went on his Twitter account to explain his relationship with Apple Music. Many have believed that he is a signed artist with the tech giant, which helped him sell his Grammy-winning album, Coloring Book. So therefore he’s not an independent artist. But that’s not the case.

"I wanna clear things up. @apple gave me half a mil and a commercial to post Coloring Book exclusively on applemusic for 2 weeks," he wrote. "That was the extent of my deal, after 2 weeks it was on SoundCloud for free. I needed the money and they're all good people over there."

This revelation comes as Chance ponders on whether he should sell his official debut album. At this point, it’s still just an idea, but the Chi-City wordsmith said that selling his album will allow his music to be on the charts.

“I think I might actually sell this album,” he told Complex. “That’s, like, a big step in itself. I kind of hate the fact that I can’t chart, really. I can chart, but the way they have the streaming s--- set up is weak as f---.”

“It’s unfair,” he added. “15,000 streams is the equivalent to one [album sale], and that’s just unfair. Nobody listens to their songs [1,500] times when they buy it, f--- outta here, so it makes it hard. I can’t really compete with other people.”

As of right now, it's all an idea, but it's something that weighs heavily on Chance's mind.

“I think having it for purchase would be dope," he said. "Also, this is all hypothetical. There is no album. I can feel fans squirming in their chair, like, ‘Oh sh-t, he’s changing.’ This is an idea.”

In the end, Chance the Rapper is still independent.