Dillard University Announces Chance the Rapper Will be Addressing 2018 Grads

Dillard University graduates must be excited because Chance the Rapper will deliver this year’s commencement address! This Grammy Award-winning artist’s album, “Coloring Book” became the first streaming-only album to be nominated and win a Grammy.

Chance is also known for his activism. In November, he spent his morning at a city hall meeting in Chicago, voicing his opposition to the city’s planned development of a $95 million police academy in Garfield Park.

According to the New York Times, the Universities dean stated ” He’s not signed but a multiple Grammy winner,” Kimbrough said, noting that Bennett often gives away his music, movie tickets, Jordan-brand tennis shoes and awards to school teachers. “He’s the artist that your grandmother would love…The activism is a bonus with Chance,” Kimbrough said. “I thought he made for a great commencement speaker because of his spirit of being entrepreneurial and authentic. But his civic engagement, including encouraging people to vote and willingness to speak out on issues, like his recent opposition to a Heineken ad, are just as paramount.”

Author:
Erin Whitten is currently CMN's Senior Correspondent and is currently a student at Arizona State University majoring in Mass Communications and Media Studies.