The musician held a free gig in his hometown on August 12th after serving as the Grand Marshal of the Bud Billiken parade
Barack Obama congratulated Chance The Rapper during a free concert in Chicago on August 12th.
The musician had served as the Grand Marshal for the city’s annual Bud Billiken parade earlier in the day, during which he handed out free tickets for the show.
The parade is the largest and oldest African-American parade in the United States and was first held in 1929. The position of Grand Marshal is often taken by a celebrity – Chaka Khan took the role in 2014.
Via a video message, Obama said: “I felt obliged to say congratulations to you for being the Grand Marshal of Bud Billiken. I did it once and I ended up being President, so you never know what might happen.”
A video of Obama during Chance's concert. Nothing but respect for MY President. pic.twitter.com/T0pb9lZogj
— larry hut jr. (@TelegraphAvelou) August 13, 2017
The former US President also spoke to the crowd in general, as Pitchfork reports, saying: “I wanted to just have the chance to say to all of you that the Bud Billiken parade stands for so much that our community is about. We want to make sure our kids are safe.
“We want to make sure that they are ready for going back to school. We want to make sure that we are nurturing and attentive and encouraging and loving the next generation of leaders all around the city of Chicago.”
He added: “Chance, I am grateful for everything you have done for our young people back home.” Watch the video above.
Future and Jeremih turned up to perform with Chance at the concert, appearing for the songs ‘Mask Off’ and ‘Don’t Tell ‘Em’ respectively.
As well as handing out free tickets, Chance and his youth empowerment charity SocialWorks also donated 30,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to students at the parade.
The post Watch Barack Obama congratulate Chance The Rapper during Chicago concert appeared first on NME.
