Chance The Rapper Is Performing a New Kind of Concert at Ralph Lauren

As he remembers it, Chance the Rapper’s love for Ralph Lauren began at an early age. “Polo Ralph Lauren was always an important staple for Chicago streetwear,” he says. “When I first got a little bit of money, I started copping Polo sweaters, then I moved on up to Ralph Lauren sweaters, then Purple Label, then Black Label. And then you graduate again into understanding the high fashion of Ralph Lauren—and at that point, you start pronouncing it Laur-en,” he adds, with a laugh. “It’s a whole thing.” As such, when Chance was planning his wedding last year, the question of what to wear was easily answered: of course it would be Ralph Lauren. 

The love is clearly mutual, given the label has dressed Chance for everything from multiple live shows, to the sweater he wears on the cover of his critically-acclaimed 2016 mixtape Coloring Book, to, of course, the white tuxedo jacket and tailored black trousers he wore for his wedding. And now, Chance is taking his relationship with the brand to the next level, by way of a pre-recorded live set at Ralph Lauren’s flagship store in Chicago, Chance’s hometown and a city he pays tribute to in both his music and political activism. The performance will air on Monday night at 9 p.m. ET, streamed across both Chance and Ralph Lauren’s social channels.

“Funnily enough, it wasn’t me who had the idea of doing it in Chicago, or even at the Ralph Lauren store,” Chance explains of the concert, which was initially proposed by the brand. “I was very receptive to the idea of doing it there obviously, because I love that spot. It was where I got my suit fitted for my wedding, and I've spent a lot of time there, so it's awesome just to say I've performed in it too.” The performance will come as a welcome surprise for Chance fans, who have had to without the various gigs he had planned in support of his last year’s album The Big Day, but also introduces Ralph Lauren’s new partnership with Snapchat. Chance’s performance serves as the launch event for a collaboration between the social media giant and the all-American brand, for which they’re unveiling a digital wardrobe of 12 looks that can be used to dress the platform’s Bitmoji avatars. 

With no live audience and precautions taken for COVID-19, the concert has also proven to be an opportunity for Chance to explore a different side of his typically lively setlists. “For this performance, I'm doing a lot of songs I don’t normally do,” Chance explains. “Usually when you do a short set of five or six songs, you want to steer towards the more popular songs so everybody feels included. But because the Ralph Lauren store is so nostalgic to me and so intimate as I'm literally playing in an empty, quiet store, I wanted to tone it down and play some songs I'm not used to playing. So I'm pretty sure my fans, especially the ones that have been around for a long time, are going to really respect this song selection in the set, and they'll feel this immersive experience that's very calming.”