In just a few years, Chance the Rapper has put out three successful albums, including the only exclusively streaming album to make the Billboard 200 list. To what does he owe his success? A curse.
He told GQ that during a time in his life when he was heavily involved in drugs, his grandma said a prayer that "damn near sounded like a curse."
It went: "Lord, I pray that all things that are not like You, You take away from Chance. Make sure that he fails at everything that is not like You. Take it away. Turn it into dust."
At first, Chance was concerned. Damn, I don't even know if God likes rap! he thought. Is she praying that I fail at everything I'm trying to do?
We do see what he means: For a prayer, i's pretty negative. But it's also not illogical. If you're asking for someone to lose the bad things and fail at destructive things, we suppose the negatives cancel each other out. And Chance soon came to appreciate it for what it was: a blessing in disguise — literally. "Things that you push so hard to get, and they don't work out," he explained, "I don't dwell on them as much, because she said that." Way to go, grandma.
We do see what he means: For a prayer, i's pretty negative. But it's also not illogical. If you're asking for someone to lose the bad things and fail at destructive things, we suppose the negatives cancel each other out. And Chance soon came to appreciate it for what it was: a blessing in disguise — literally. "Things that you push so hard to get, and they don't work out," he explained, "I don't dwell on them as much, because she said that." Way to go, grandma.