Chance the Rapper is Hot at His New Festival
Chance to Host The Rapper with Vic Mensa (his close friend, collaborator), the inaugural Black Star Line Festival — a week of talks, parties, skating, and music in Accra, Ghana — was dreamt of and designed to catalyze physical connectivity, understanding, and eventually, radical movement-making among Black people globally.
“I think this is kind of what they call a pilot in TV, where this is an example of what it could be like yearly or biyearly to have something that we all just go to that’s free, that you bring your kids to, that you bring your elders to, that you come out and experience a safe space where we can all be in confidence together,” Chance said when we spoke a month before the festival.
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Reportedly, about 50,000 people gathered in Accra’s historic Black Star Square for the music festival that bookended the week of activities. Chance, Vic, Erykah Badu, T-Pain and Tobe Nwigwe headlined the event. “[It] was a night that delivered an unforgettable experience to patrons,” Okayplayer A few days later, the decision was made.
The Black Star Line Festival received its fair share of criticisms. When it was revealed that the “special guest” Chance was to hold a conversation with at the University of Ghana would be comedian Dave ChappelleSome raised red flags. In light of Chappelle’s bevy of stand-up punching down at trans people, particularly since 2018The, and pain and controversy It caused it to make the comedian appear insensitive or antagonistic. A cross-party coalition comprising Ghanaian parliamentarians is currently pushing for a bill that criminalizes intersex identity or allyship. “The measure would also criminalize cross-dressing, public affection between two people of the same sex, marriage among same-sex couples, or the intent to marry someone who is the same sex,” reported the Los Angeles BladeAmerican LGBTQ newspaper. An additional sentence for allies is up to 10 years imprisonment.
Chappelle spent some time with Chappelle while in Accra to celebrate the festival. Talib KweliHe is the Black Star rapper and co-hosts an interview with a podcast with. Critics pointed out the fact that in 2020, well before Musk’s takeover, Twitter confirmed that it permanently suspended Kweli for violating the platform’s rules, following several weeks over which he used Twitter and other mediums to continuously admonish a young Black woman who posted a critique about Black men in hip-hop and colorism. Kweli then doubled down on his behavior. suing A publication that covered the controversy.
Just a few weeks before the Black Star Line Festival, Dave Chappelle performed in San Francisco — and made headlines for inviting Elon Musk on stage, where was booed. Kweli was also present. Chappelle then asked Musk if he was available after the booing subsided. unban Musk agreed to meet with his friend on Twitter. Kweli has not been seen on Twitter since then, as well as his old account. remains suspended). Though Chance talked to me in depth about Dave Chappelle’s participation in the festival, when approached days later for comment on Kweli’s appearance, a representative relayed he’d be unavailable before publishing due to travel.
A wider critique focused on whether or not the Black Star Line Festival should ever have been held. Some people concerned with Ghana’s economic conditions assert that the poverty, economic inequality, and quality of life issues native Ghanaians experience are exacerbated by the influx of people visiting, relocating to, or investing in the West African nation as a haven. Others suggested that the Black Star Line Festival could be a contributing factor to the problem.
“It’s only going to get worse with the Black Star Line festival coming up,” tweeted Fernanda Meier, November. Meier was born in Ghana and now lives in the United States. She frequently travels around the world. “Like, Ghanaians cannot afford to eat and go to work, but American artists are still boosting the country’s image?” she went on. October was a busy month. Bloomberg declared that Ghana’s currency, the cedi, was the world’s worst-performing tender to the US dollar.
2020: The United Nation Development Program (UNDP), reported 46% of Ghanaians — 14 million people — were “multidimensionally poor.” This signifies not only monetary deprivation but deprivation across health, education, and living standards: “In terms of living standards, indicators used are electricity, water, sanitation, cooking fuel, assets, overcrowding, and housing,” wrote the UNDP. However, per a 2016 analysis, Accra —the nation’s capital, largest city, and popular tourist draw — sits in a region with the smallest population of poor people in the country.
“Accra is uninhabitable for regular Ghanaians,” tweeted Adwoa Fofie is a Ghanaian writer and photographer, whose public work is focused on food. “The only people thriving are the diaspora and the wealthy and I think honestly that is their plan,” she continued, in a thread on the failures perpetuated by the country’s political and economic leaders.
“The [current] government has heavily invested in tourism,” Fofie went on to write in a blog post about gentrification in Accra. “It has become their balm to soothe the gaping hole that decades of corruption, mismanagement, bad policies, sheer negligence, wickedness, and greed has left inside this country. This problem isn’t limited to Accra. This problem is common in almost all African countries. You can’t fix decades of corruption and mismanagement with tourism.”
Chance discusses here the intentions and the outcomes of the Black Star Line Festival. He weighs its power as well as its failures.
Let me know what your feelings were about the festival’s successes. You had over 50,000 people in one place and had it go smoothly per all the reports that I’ve read. People had a great time. Is that right?
That’s when it started to happen, probably around five or six in morning. So basically the event started, it was originally slated to started 2:00 PM We pushed back to 5:00 because of the builds, the build time just ended up taking longer than we anticipated and there were a few equipment pieces that had to get switched out, whether you’re on the production side or on just the audience side. And so music started at seven o’clock, there were about nine acts plus a few special guests. And so it ended up being that my set wasn’t until about, I didn’t get on stage until about 5:00 AM and crazily enough about 1500 people stayed, including some children.
So I felt both the responsibility and energy. There were people who wanted me to be there so badly that they would stay up late. I’d never done that much in my entire life. It gave me the space and energy to still perform my full show for them. It was an intimate and very personal moment for me. And a few celebrities stayed too, people that I definitely would’ve thought would’ve went home, Erykah Badu was still out there. Letitia Wright was the new Black Panther. I was able to perform for a bunch of family members, but also for a bunch of Ghanaians who had never seen me before.
It was an amazing moment. And by that time, obviously the crowd going from 50,000 to 1,500 — it’s a lot of space. I think by that time the guards and everybody are like…there’s no real reason to keep people out at that point. Because the video towers were able to allow you to see the show from outside, I believe they allowed in about a hundred people that had stayed up all night. I’m still processing the whole thing, everything. It didn’t go all as planned, but it went perfectly.
Would you agree that the overwhelming response you received was positive?
Yes, it was something I had not seen before.
I’ve thrown five festivals and this is the second or third free one that I’ve done. But none of the festivals have reached 50,000 or more people. That it should be predominantly black and that it be on the continent. It was a first trip to Ghana for many, regardless of whether they were American or from the diaspora. It was entirely organized by black people on the continent. Everyone seemed to be very happy. I think that it was safe in that there wasn’t a big security fiasco or people being stampeded. Many people congratulated my on the fact that it was mostly safe. And, that they got to see so many acts that they hadn’t seen before. I think everybody’s still in shock a little bit.
Since we had our first conversation, I’ve encountered different critiques of the festival. It’s very evident to me that something important happened, but I know it’s also very important to you, based on our previous conversation, that black people feel seen, heard, connected. A conversation I’ve seen online suggests that the diaspora’s influx into Ghana as a tourist destination and a place to explore, learn, and understand another culture, is having negative economic consequences. They’re concerned that the influx of tourism in Ghana propelled by things like big festivals is linked to the rising of costs there.
Conversations with people there have revealed that December is a busy month in Ghana, as it hosts so many festivals and concerts. They call it Detty Dec.
Many of these festivals are indigenous to Ghana. There’s only myself and Vic’s Black Star Line Festival and Afro Nation are the only two that I know of that aren’t actually posited by people that are from Ghana. That was something I had in mind right from the beginning. I always wanted this festival to be something that, for one, provided access to people that don’t typically get to go to these concerts because a lot of the events around that time do price people out.
I also wanted to work in a Ghanaian-owned team, not just with the directors or production managers but also with all stagehands and all the equipment from Ghanaian production firms. I can’t speak for all the festivals, but our festival created a whole lot of jobs and put a lot of people to work.
But I also do understand that Ghana’s economic infrastructure is very different from America’s. When you bring events like that to spaces where the dollars or their currency is volatile, that you can create a disruption that’s even if it’s not intentional can be negative. You can avoid certain problems if you’re willing to work with the people on the ground.
I know there’s a big issue with people spending US currency in Ghana as opposed to using the cedi. So, we were very strict about this and all our transactions, even those that had to do with the festival.
Also, I know that Accra’s pricing is a major issue. So, until I can find out a way to responsibly invest in terms of moving or owning property in Ghana, I’m not going to take part in it because I don’t believe in displacing people. I’ve been upfront about that and most of my conversations about the festival.
It is all about creating community. This trip was a great example of that. Many of the people who came from the diaspora were respectful of the space. A lot of connections were made and relationships built. I believe that many people will continue to have these relationships long after the festival. I think it’s something that we just have to remain in conversation about. I think it’s important that those issues are raised, and those conversations are had.
I funded the entire festival and made sure that there was an opportunity for people to link up and feel safe and feel protected and be introduced to artists that they might typically not get to see and just feel proud to be Black regardless of what nation you’re from or your religion or sexuality or gender or age. It was something I felt, and it was evident in the reactions of those who attended.
So I think the more connection that we have and the more that people know about what’s going on in Ghana, because there’s a lot more important things going on in Ghana than obviously the festival or whatever Meek Mill Does or any other shitlike that. There’s things that I think the people of Ghana have already platformed and feel like are the most important things going on, but we don’t really talk about Ghana or have tangible relationships as much as we could, I think.
In thinking about things that are going on in Ghana, one of the things that I’ve become aware of is anti-LGBTQ policy in Ghana. I’m also sure you’re aware that right now consensual same-sex relationships in Ghana are prohibited and can potentially have people imprisoned. I’m also sure because you’re there and keeping up with what’s happening there, that there’s a [more extreme] Bill [in contention]. This makes me recall a critique I read about someone who came to Dave Chappelle’s talk. The person wrote a thread The other said that they were leaving early. They described some of the conversation as Chappelle “bashing queer and trans people unprovoked.”
The thread’s critique is related to the threat to LGBTQ people living in Ghana. What do YOU think about the criticisms that there were homophobic or transphobic elements in the conversation you had?
So, firstly, I am well aware of the antigay bill in Ghana. I think it’s probably one of the most destructive things that I see in the future of Ghana as a country. This allows police to target anyone, particularly LGBTQIA+ persons, based simply on their clothing, self-identification or how the officer identifies. And it’s antithetical to what I’m trying to do.
We came to Ghana because of this. […] Kwame Nkrumah is probably the most well-known pan-African African president. We must all be Black to be able to imagine that there could be one global power. So, you can’t not be Black enough because of how you identify, whether that’s your sexuality or your gender, or again, your religion or your age or what nation you’re from. Black people are Black.
I think that it’s partly, it’s not a Ghana problem, it’s a West African problem, but I think all of West Africa is dealing with this issue of intolerance and violence, whether it’s at the hands of the people or of the state towards our brothers and sisters of the LGBTQ community.
I think it’s something that Dave was actually shining a light on. That’s where that conversation came from. Dave was making a comment about the comedy scene in Ghana when he said, “I bet gay jokes go over so well here,” to which everybody laughed about. He was trying to make a point about the fact that you can make jokes in Ghana about things about gay people and trans people. But you can’t make a comment about the government there. That’s not funny and that’s not respected, and it can be dangerous. It’s the complete opposite where we come from, where we can speak about the government all we want.
I quickly switched to Dave asking him about his views on identity. This was my introduction to identity. Dave and I have had many conversations about misperceptions about Dave’s feelings about him, the LGBTQ community in general, and whether or how he believes in protecting those who identify as trans.
He took that opportunity because he is a comedian, to ask me if I was trans, to which I took the opportunity to say, “Would you hate me for it if I was?” And I feel bad that the person in the audience felt singled out or that the violence against the trans community or LGBTQ community in Ghana wasn’t being respected.
But I think it was an honest dialogue, where I was giving Dave the opportunity to speak about who we are as a community, because he was taking so much pride in the fact that he was respected as a Black man in Ghana, but I don’t know that he would be respected that much if he was a gay Black man in Ghana or if he was trans in Ghana. And just like I’ve been saying the past year, that we’re all over the world as Black people, we’re all over the world as gay Black people too.
And I think the point that he made about there needing to be more infrastructure, more comedy clubs, more space for comedians, he was making a point about comedy as a political platform and a space to speak about social issues, and the fact that comedians in Ghana don’t have as much space to talk openly about their government.
I think that even the simple fact that Dave Chappelle was a part of the festival, to some people that was a signal to them that queerness and transness was being taken lightly. It sounds like you’re saying the opposite is what came out of that conversation. Would you say that that’s true?
Again, I wanted everyone feel as comfortable and as connected as possible. And so if having Dave there made people feel like they weren’t, that they didn’t have space or that they weren’t welcome, that was not my intention. It is true that there are many people attending the festival and at this talk, from many different backgrounds.
I can’t really all the way speak for Dave. I don’t want to say what he thinks or what he feels, but what I think I know about him is that he loves everybody, especially his people, meaning Black people, meaning Black people that are trans, Black people that are gay, Black people that are gender non-conforming, people period. And I think that in that space, I would say I don’t believe that he bashed trans people or gay people at all throughout the entire conversation.
When we were discussing identity, the only time I heard him mention trans was once. I probably shouldn’t repeat this but I’m going to just say it anyway. When we were discussing identity, I explained that many of the divisions between us that have arisen beyond religion and language came from religion. It was something that we were taught, and it was an enforced tactic to push us up the spectrum of whiteness. And he goes, “Ah, you said trans!”
[I laugh]
You know what I’m saying? You must write down the giggles if this is what you wrote. But he wasn’t bashing trans people. That’s how Dave talks. I don’t think that he intended to alienate anybody. I didn’t even know that anybody felt alienated. And again, I think to that person’s point, it’s a critical time for Ghana’s future. It must accept all Black people if it is to remain a refuge and place of pride for Black people.
I think that it’s important to highlight that, one, the bill, you know what I’m saying, that still hasn’t been passed, and to recognize that people on the ground there don’t necessarily always have the same luxuries of having a voice as we do.
I appreciate your candor and thoroughness in addressing this matter.
You’re so good at interviewing.
Trying to come to the conversations from a place of empathy and good faith, I think it’s just challenging. I don’t think people are good or bad a lot of the time. I think people just care a lot and I don’t think that the mediums that we have right now — like social media, celebrity culture — are conducive to everybody understanding the way that we care about each other and ourselves. Is that clear?
No, totally. I mean, if you think about it, the celebrity or the pop star; the idea of that identity isn’t really even that old. It’s not even 100 years old. The ’50s and ’60s is when people started becoming world renowned. It was a new phenomenon to have the Jackson 5s, Elvises, and Beatles. It was probably 2018 or 2019 that we democratically democratized blackballing, I think. Before you could become a celebrity, the tabloids had have to hate you. And now it’s kind of just you can ramp up a viral moment to the point that it defines someone and you can campaign to basically de-platform them — which I’m not saying I agree with or disagree with. I’m just saying both things are fairly new. It’s something I do, but I have more control because I know the power of my voice.
I think we — and when I say we, I mean Black folks from around the world — need a through line to be able to communicate and resonate with each other on a human level and understanding the difficulties that we face because we are the same people, but we don’t have all the same problems, even if we have the same roots of issues.
The greatest thing is to learn how to strengthen each other, how to communicate with one another, and how you can be one another. It was this aspect that I was proud to share with you at the festival. It was great to see people help each other and meet each other. I think the remnants of that are something that we’re going to see over the next 100 years. We don’t know exactly what’s going to come from it — and maybe nothing, who knows — but I think the more that we can have dialogues and also the more space that we give our creatives to learn from mistakes and learn how to create space for everyone to feel heard and seen and respected and acknowledged, the better off we’ll be eventually.
This is the first Black Star Line Fest. The purpose of the event was to support global Black identity. And what I’m leaving with is, for one, a profound sense of urgency to remind us that all our people are all our people. We must be respectful and healthy in our interactions with each other, so we can build those communities instead of taking from them.
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