Chance The Rapper Brings His ‘Family Matters Tour’ to NYC

Chicago-bred star Chance The Rapper puts family over everything. So when his Family Matters Tour rolled through New York, he made sure every Chano fan felt like they were attending a reunion.

For someone who hates big labels, Chance and company run a tight ship. With doors opening at Terminal 5 at 7 PM, SaveMoney affiliate Towkio started the show promptly at 8 and watched the crowd grow as he ran through his .Wav Theory tracks like "Reflection" and "RN."

By 8:30, feet dangled from the balconies of T5's second and third floors as Virginia MC and Show & Prove alum D.R.A.M took the stage for his set. Having just dropped his latest EP, GAHDAMN, that same day, the jovial, dancing rapper performed singles like "$" and "Caretaker" and managed to surprise the crowd by announcing A$AP Ferg as his special guest.

While MetroBoomin spun his hottest production credits from the past year, ("Where Ya At," "Big Rings," "Jumpman" etc.) and Australian neo-soul band Hiatus Kaiyote slowed things down, there was a noticeable shift in audience energy. With the concert being all ages, more families began to appear between flashes of stage light. The Friday night set brought out everyone from flannel clad suburbia, Brooklyn kids who were late because of the subway and chaperoning parents who appreciate the feel of Chance's unorthodox hip-hop shows, proving there's no such thing as a typical "Chance The Rapper fan."

At 10:30 pm, Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment took their positions on stage to the rumbling of rafters and finally young Chancellor appeared. The minute they heard his pitchy cadence, everyone's phone was up in the air for the arrival. Chance ran out and attacked the mic stand, running through Acid Rap singalongs "Everybody's Something," "Pusher Man" and "Smoke Again." With plenty of stage to play around with, the 2014 XXL Freshman showed off spastic dance moves and engaged with fans from the minute he went on.

Being in New York, Chano called up a special guest to rep the Empire State in classic fashion. Ja Rule appeared to the crowd's delight to perform 2001's "Livin' It Up" and 2004's "New York."

Giving a nod to his inspiration, Kanye West, Chance performed his latest single and tour namesake "Family Matters" while members of hip-hop's A-List, Jay Z, Beyonce and Usher, were spotted enjoying the show.

Finishing strong, Chano thanked his crowd, who he called his "extended family" for the night, but still wanted a bit more energy out of them. "This is your show!," chanted the 22-year-old. "This is your iTunes, your ticket, your fucking show!"

With eighteen more dates left on his tour, including a NYC encore this Sunday due to popular demand, Chance, D.R.A.M., Towkio and Metro are growing the family one night at a time.