Chance the Rapper has revealed that Lauryn Hill told him he needed to focus on music over commercial opportunities such as starring on The Voice.

Speaking to Bootleg Kev, Chance said: “Lauryn Hill sent me a text one night. I’ll thank her forever. She said ‘I was watching TV and I saw you were doing the second season of ‘The Voice’ and I want you to know that in this industry, sometimes a lot of these opportunities, as important as they are financially, there’s nothing more important than your art.

“I’m sure people understand how deep that is coming from Lauryn Hill. I place her pretty high in who I think the greatest artists of all time.”

Chance added: “That shit made me cry. It broke me down into tears. Remember when J. Cole made ‘Let Nas Down’? I felt that was my ‘Let Nas Down’ moment.”

Chance the Rapper speaks on his ‘Let Nas Down’ moment with Lauryn Hill, where she encouraged him to prioritize his art over other business side quests

“Lauryn Hill said she’d see me on The Voice again…You better use your pen, baby, use your heart” -Star Line Intro@BootlegKev pic.twitter.com/YPpCflAb2j

— Joey (@gothamhiphop) August 26, 2025

Away from music, Chance recently called out the ICE raids being conducted by Donald Trump’s government.

Speaking on The Cruz Show, the Chicago rapper did not hide his feelings about the highly controversial raids conducted by ICE.

He said: “It’s disgusting. I think we’re just in a space where people are afraid to, I guess, really fight the system. Like, this is a country that’s actually built on bloody revolutions and radical thought and self-determination, and sometimes I think we make that such a historic thing or such a in-the-past kind of thing that we forget that, like, we’re a country built on fighting the system and fighting the power.”

Chance added: “I think we’re just in a place where people sometimes feel helpless and they don’t know how to fight. My voice and my pen is my gift, you know? And then on the other side there’s my physical body, and one day I’m going to have to give my physical body to the revolution. I hope it’s not soon. I got young kids.”

He continued: “It’s late in the game. We’re at the fall of empire right now. So, you know, I would say being in Chicago and growing up in those after-school programs. We were 14 years old, rocking keffiyehs and saying ‘Free Palestine.’ That’s how we grew up. Like, we are radical children that just happen to be in our 30s now. And so when it comes time for each one of us to put out a body of work, especially at this time, we have to use our heavenly gifts. And when the time comes, everybody’s going to have to use their bodies.”

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