Chance The Rapper Takes Inspiration From Beyoncé For Dillard Commencement Speech

Chance The Rapper sent off the graduating class of Dillard University with a speech inspired by one of the greatest artists in the world, Beyoncé.

On Saturday, May 12, the hip-hop star drove to New Orleans to deliver a commencement speech to the graduating class of 2018.

Dillard University first announced the news back in April.

Before the event, he celebrated the important milestone on Instagram where he said that he, too, will be graduating on that day. Aside from addressing the students and guiding them to the next step of their lives, the rapper also received an honorary doctorate.

Striving To Be Better

Chance, whose real name is Chancellor Jonathan Bennett, delivered a 22-minute speech where he encouraged the graduating class of 2018 to try not to copy, but surpass their heroes. The 25-year-old said that one of his favorite artists, Beyoncé, who performed a historical and epic set at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April, inspired him.

"With that performance, I realized that greatness can never be stagnant," he stated. "Chance then encouraged graduates to "eclipse" their heroes, citing Beyoncé's Coachella as the moment she surpassed another of the rapper's heroes, Michael Jackson."

The Grammy-winning artist made history last month when she became the first black woman to headline the annual music festival. For her two-hour set, Mrs. Carter and her army of dancers brought black pride to the event by making the festival her own Historically Black Colleges and Universities homecoming.

Beyoncé's set was a jaw-dropper. She exceeded expectations and made a lasting effect to arguably the biggest music festival in the world.

Chance The Rapper thinks that her incredible performance, watched by thousands of people live in California and the world through YouTube, made her even bigger than the late music icon Michael Jackson.

"I realized that all of us have a responsibility to be greater than the people who came before us. We have a responsibility to be not as good as them or live up to their example, but to actually surpass them, even when it seems scary," he added. "We have to overcome that fear and be greater than our role models. We have to erase the fear and stigma behind eclipsing our heroes."

Chance The Rapper Joins 'Trolls 2'

Chance The Rapper is a man of many achievements. Aside from being a talented artist, he is also a philanthropist and, now, a voice actor for a new movie.

The Chicago-born MC just announced that he joined the cast of the animated movie, Trolls 2.

The upcoming sequel from Dreamworks is slated for release in April 2020. The rest of the cast includes Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri), Anthony Ramos (Hamilton), Karan Soni (Deadpool), YouTube star Flula Borg, and Jamie Dornan (50 Shades Freed). Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake, who starred in the first blockbuster success, will return to reprise the roles of Queen Poppy and Branch. Walt Dohrn signed up to direct.

Chance's character has not been revealed, but the movie will see Queen Poppy and Branch work together to create peace among feuding Trolls. They need to unite their people to fight a mysterious threat to their world.

Tags

Chance The Rapper, Beyonce, Coachella 2018