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Kanye West Gives Surprise Set At Magnificent Coloring Day, Fans Freak Out

By Alex Nitkin | September 25, 2016 1:12pm | Updated on September 26, 2016 8:48am
 Chance the Rapper brought his Magnificent Coloring Day music event to U.S. Cellular Field Sept. 24.
Chance the Rapper's Magnificent Coloring Day at U.S. Cellular Field
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ARMOUR SQUARE — Chance the Rapper faced sky-high expectations for his day-long Magnificent Color Day festival Saturday, selling out the 40,000-plus seat U.S. Cellular Field less than a week after tickets went on sale.

Thanks in part to a few unexpected guests, he still over-delivered.

The 23-year-old emcee from Chatham made his hometown a constantly-recurring motif of the event, the first concert held at the ball park since 2003

Chance got a helping hand from the Chicago Children's Choir, who in turn showed off the talent of local artist Hebru Brantley. (Brantley's animations livened the music video for "Angels," one of the singles from the album Chance 3.)

Fans in attendance knew they'd get to see full sets by artists like Alicia Keys, John Legend and Tyler, The Creator. But others had kept their appearances secret.

Hip-hop artist Common and comedian Hannibal Buress — both Chicago natives — brought their talents to the South Side on Saturday, according to the Tribune. Chicago Bulls shooting guard Jimmy Butler made a brief cameo, too.

But the biggest shock hit in the middle of the afternoon, when attendees realized they were face-to-face with Kanye West, arguably Chicago's most famous export this side of President Barack Obama.

The event's security staff could barely handle the collective freak-out, with some devotees scaling port-a-potties in the Sox bullpen for a better view. 

Chance later joined West on stage to perform "Ultra Light Beam," a gospel-infused collaboration from West's latest album, The Life of Pablo.

Not everyone was spared security's wrath, however. One fan caught an NFL-caliber body blow.

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