Chance the Rapper Just Bought a News Site

Chance the Rapper is also a songwriter, actor, and producer—and as of Wednesday, he's in the media business, too. The 25-year-old rapper, who is from Chicago, announced his purchase of Chicagoist, a local news site that former owner Joe Ricketts shut down in November 2017 along with Gothamist, DNAinfo, and other sites. The rapper calls it an "integral local platform" and notes that when he relaunches it, it will be "an independent media outlet focused on amplifying diverse voices and content." He also mentioned the deal in one of four new tracks released Wednesday, NBC News reports: "I bought the Chicagoist just to run you racist b-----s outta business," he says in "I Might Need Security." Vanity Fair is hailing the move as saving Chicago journalism, "or at least a significant part of it." (More Chance the Rapper stories.)