![]() I found out how inspired he was by Marcus Garvey, and how so much of the framework of the nation is built on Pan-Africanism and global Blackness, and it just made me want to learn more. I went to a museum built in his honor, and I learned about how integral Ghana was to furthering the liberation of Black folks. The most impactful thing I learned about was Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. I was blown away in terms of the friendships I made, and the art scene, which really inspired my new project. So, just being a Black American, it was a big deal. It’s something you hear about your whole life, and you feel deeply connected to, but you haven’t really experienced it. It was kind of like going to outer space or something. You took your first trip to Ghana earlier this year. ![]() Chance spoke with Hemispheres from West Africa, where he’s gearing up for the Black Star Line Festival, which kicks off in Accra on January 6. ![]() For his new record, he called on Black artists from across the globe to make interdisciplinary works for the cover art of each song. “It’s been like a fun house coming up with ways to express our Blackness.”Ī UNICEF Chicago Humanitarian Award recipient and Grammy Award-winning independent artist, Chance began championing the empowerment of Black people, and creating lanes to do so, even before he dropped his first mixtape in 2012. “Expect amazing music, street art, fine artists, food vendors, and clothing designers,” he says. Similarly, Chance is looking to cultivate Black connectedness with the festival, which aims to be a bridge between Black people and artists of the African Diaspora. The name of the festival and the title of Chance’s upcoming album, Star Line Gallery, were inspired by a shipping company conceived in 1919 by civil rights leader Marcus Garvey, who aimed to create an economic network between Africa and Black people in the Americas. “We should do a show at this beach and create something sustainable.” By the time they stepped off the sand that evening, the Black Star Line Festival, Chance and Mensa’s upcoming music and art fest, was on its way to becoming a reality. “I feel like I’ve played every nook and cranny, but I’ve only played one show ever on the continent,” he told his friends. As they ran out into the water at Accra’s Laboma Beach on the last night of their stay, Chance (born Chancelor Johnathan Bennett) had an epiphany. In early 2022, Chicago-bred Chance the Rapper took a trip to Ghana with fellow rapper Vic Mensa and poet Aja Monet. The Chicago rapper illuminates Black art with a new album and the upcoming Black Star Line Festival in Ghana
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