Review: Sparse crowd doesn’t deter Chance the Rapper at Minnesota State Fair

A little slow to catch on to trends in music, the Minnesota State Fair grandstand finally discovered the popularity of hip-hop in 2012 with Wiz Khalifa.

Since then, hip-hop has become something of a staple as reliable as country and classic rock. Pitbull and G-Eazy drew sellout crowds and vociferous responses. This year, Ludacris, who grandstands on Tuesday, has sold more tickets than any other act.

On Friday, Chance the Rapper, a household name from his recent stint as a coach on NBC’s “The Voice,” became the first hip-hop artist to make a second grandstand appearance, after he opened for a sold-out Macklemore & Ryan Lewis in 2013.

The scene: Where was everybody? Chance, the pride of Chicago who sold out Xcel Energy Center in 2017, wondered about ticket sales this week when he dropped a new track, “3,333″ (3 is his favorite number; it’s emblazoned on his familiar ball cap). He questioned with 3,333 tickets sold in a place that holds nearly 14,000, if should he cancel. Heck, no.

For the record, he drew 4,110 fans. And they stood for all 75 minutes, taking over a few choruses such as on “Cocoa Butter Kisses” and waving their arms like windshield wipers when prompted. Many of the guys at the grandstand sported ball caps emblazoned with Chance’s signature “3.” The star, however, wore a multicolored bucket hat and a Bob Marley T-shirt.

The music: Chance the Rapper, 31, who famously won the Grammys for best new artist and best rap album for a streaming mixtape (“Coloring Book”) in 2017, has not released a full-length album since his 2019 debut, “The Big Day.” Since last year, he’s been promising the new “Star Line,” and on Friday night, he played a handful of new songs. Some, such as “Stars Out” and “Bad Boys 2,” have been released, but he offered the unreleased “The Negro Problem,” which details problems associated with Black people, and he concludes anybody’s problems are everybody’s problems.

The music: Backed by three musicians and three singers, Chance delivered a performance rich in musicality. He covered a range of his catalog, from 2013′s “Everybody’s Something” to his smash hit pop collabs, 2020′s “Holy” with Justin Bieber (a disembodied voice) and 2017′s “I’m the One” with DJ Khaled and others.

Biggest takeaways: With a welcomed helping of new material as well as crowd-pleasing favorites, Chance bolstered his reputation as a deft wordsmith with a fast flow and vibrant stage presence. While his ego was sincerely bruised that he didn’t sell more tickets, he seemed genuine in his commitment to give it his all no matter how many people showed up. But he wasn’t completely familiar with his five-day-old “3,333″ because he began one bar a couple of beats too early and then caught himself.

Coolest moment: On “Ultralight Beam,” Chance rapped over his soothing a cappella three-voice choir.

Low point: “Stars Out” was such a chill, jazzy jam that in the middle of it, Chance asked, “Y’all still with me, Minnesota?”

Best banter: Twice in the concert, Chance said he’d been looking forward to this State Fair concert all week. It was his first gig since April and one of his few this year. He introduced “3,333″ by saying he used to do showcases in which there were 13 performers on the bill and 13 people in the audience. But late in Friday’s concert, he admitted: “I want you to know that whole ticketing thing, I’d perform for one of y’all.”

Opening act: After spinning several Kanye West jams, DJ Oreo opted for the overly familiar, including the Jackson 5′s “I Want You Back,” Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” and Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” Listening to his set drag on for a full 80 minutes felt like having just downed an entire bucket of Oreo cookies.