Chance the Rapper Investigates Chicago's Political System in New Video
Co-starring Hannibal Buress.
Chicago employs what’s known as an alderman system to govern 50 of the city’s wards, but most residents are likely in the dark about the austere position, and what the functions of an alderman even are. To shine some light on the subject, Chance the Rapper disguises himself as Champ Bennett to explore Chicago’s aldermen.
The fifteen minute clip breaks down the responsibilities of the 50 representatives, with some help from Hannibal Buress (who portrays the fictitious Ald. Durhman), real-life Chicago citizens, journalists and current aldermanic candidates. By illuminating an otherwise mysterious element of Chicago’s politics, Chance aims to explain the role of aldermen and why citizens should care about who they vote for — alderman boast impressive influence over nearly every decision made within their ward, and have a budget of over $1 million USD to carry out their tasks.
The video is also the first production from Chicagoist, a local news site that went under in November 2017, but was purchased by Chance this past summer. Watch it in full above.
Meanwhile, Chance was recently tapped to be a judge on Netflix’s new hip-hop reality series.
