Chance The Rapper Criticizes Chicago’s WhirlyBall Venue
According to the rapper, the sports bar’s new management and strict dress code are to blame.
So far, Chance The Rapper has proved to be a vocal person when it comes to injustice. The 23-year-old has been a tireless advocate for both disenfranchised students and the homeless in Chicago and it's no secret that he was less than happy with the way legendary director Spike Lee chose to portray his embattled hometown in the film, Chi-raq.
Last night, though, Chance reportedly weathered an injustice of his own. Through a series of tweets, the rapper claimed that he faced dress code-based racism at the hands of the management at WhirlyBall, a popular sports bar and venue in Chicago. According to Chance, "armed security" also prevented him from speaking to the bar's management team about the incident.
Back in May, the venue tweeted that they were happy to have Chance as a guest, even going so far as to share the cover art for his newest album, Coloring Book.
But since then, it appears that WhirlyBall has doubled down on a restrictive dress code, which, among other things, requires guests to wear their hats "either straight forward or straight back," forbids "excessively baggy clothes," and requires men to wear shirts with sleeves.
The FADER has reached out to WhirlyBall for comment and will update when we hear back.