August 15th, 2026
The Chancelor returns to Montreal
Chance the rapper returned to Montreal this week to an excited and very diverse crowd to celebrate the 10th anniversary of ”The Coloring Book”. Color, like the word ”grey”, is of course a word that can be spelled in 2 different ways, the British way and the American way. Today, we’ll be using Chance’s method. I don’t know about you, but personally I use both. Depends on the day.
Accompanied by NoLa native La Reezy and a bazillion dollars worth of gear, the Chicago based rapper delivered a fantastic rendition of his aforementioned album, which is was in fact, his third mixtape release.
See Also: Triumph at Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa
So excited in fact, it sometimes crossed the line into good old teenage girl hysteria. From where I was standing, I was continuously being assailed by blurts of hyperactive, high pitched singing from somewhere like 8 o’clock of my position.
But before I take a rather large pill, become 20 years younger and pretend I enjoyed listening to The Colouring book, let’s take a look at La Reezy.
La Reezy
La Reezy is an relatively recent Hip Hop product that flew in directly from New Orleans, Louisiana.
Stepping on stage, my ears began unboxing this new sound. It’s all head bopping tales of growing up wrapped in southern sensibilities. And at the musical core is some pretty sweet beat work. Listening to the album ”Skiddle Bandana”, one should expect groovin’ samples with wonderful little spotlights shining on certain instruments. A good example is the smooth piano outro to his track ”Melanate it”.
His storytelling is detailed and though his rapping can sometimes be rapid, it’s all to his credit. His music is fun to listen to and interesting to untangle.
It would be interesting if he could have a backing band. It’ll be interesting to see how his stories evolve and perhaps travel to new territories.
I’d personally like to see him in Montreal again in the near future. Check him out.
Chance the rapper
Photographing Chance the rapper was like trying to take photos of a fast moving rodent in a department store’s basement boiler room.
To start, you had to maneuver your way through other photographers and the smoke canons strewn about the pit like artillery. Then, you have to be at the right place to catch Chance. An energetic performer, he’s rapidly pacing about the stage, taking half his jacket half off, like only one side of the stage was heated and the other side was freezing cold. Once in your sight, sound monitors and flatscreens the size of large children were now visual obstacles you have to compose with. A challenging situation, let me tell you.
On a lighter note, there was a funny moment before the set, when they randomly tested the smoke canons by shooting them off in a short burst. The front row fans, fully sucked into their cell phones, were suddenly shocked out of their doom scrolling hypnosis. It’s a shame that a large number of his fans were unable to enjoy the purity of The Wait.
The Coloring Book turns 10
Chance enters the stage and the hungry crowd welcomes him with adoration. He begins flipping through the pages of The Coloring Book with the practiced precision of a naturally skilled entertainer. He’s not trying, he’s simply being himself. Overall, I can’t say I digested The Coloring Book in a way that my body found pleasant. But what I can say, is that this piece of work takes on a whole new life when performed live.
On stage, Chance is accompanied by superb drummer Greg Landfair Jr. and musical maestro Peter CotonTale. The album itself was a highly acclaimed, mainstream success. It’s part rap, part pop; it has soul, it has gospel. Basically, it’s a perfect recipe for mainstream American music. Chance is a what I’d call a positive rapper, a sort of rainbow in the dark. It’s a poet’s show and to enjoy it, you need to accept Chance the rapper for who he is: an ascending star who has reached the pantheon of the American Hip Hop nobility, homogenous in their beliefs and inspirations.
However, his strong stance on musical independence makes him slightly different than the average star artist?
Read More:
>> Angine de Poitrine at Minotaure, Gatineau
>> Journey at Bell Center, Montreal
>> Live at Place Bell, Laval
This was a fantastic show, one that really surprised me. He’s a young powerhouse and a great lyricist. If you’re a fan, you should never ask yourself twice about going to see Chance the rapper live.
Ack, but 130$ for a sweatshirt. You fucking kidding me?
