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Chance the Rapper is dedicated to being the best girl dad.
When he's not performing to sold-out crowds, the "No Problem" rapper is spending quality time at home with his family. Chance tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Kirsten Corley in March 2019, and together they share two daughters: Kensli, 7, and Marli, 4.
After welcoming his first daughter, Chance opened up to Complex in March 2017 about how having his own children transformed the relationship he has with his parents. Not only did it make him "want to be closer" to them, but it also gave the musician a greater appreciation for the values they instilled in him.
"I have the world's best dad currently," he said. "Most of the stuff that he showed me has been his dedication, his time management, his commitment to being truthful. It's all about what he's instilled in me. So, I wanna have the type of relationship where I'm a trusted figure beyond a dad. I wanna be a good friend and a good example."
Chance has also been candid about how the Black Lives Matter movement has informed the way he and his wife raise their two children. During an August 2020 interview with Parents, the rapper discussed the importance of teaching his daughters about the history of oppression and self-love.
"If we thought that teaching our kids how to read was hard, imagine teaching them that there's an entire system of oppression that our society is built on, that they can either be complicit in or work to change," he said. "It's a difficult task, but it's like we were born or live in this time for a reason. I think we have a pretty crazy opportunity right now to change the trajectory of humanity."
He continued, "Mainly, we've been teaching Kensli to love herself, to understand that her opinion is important, to understand that Black is beautiful and that Black power is her superpower."
While Chance and Corley are a relatively private couple, they do occasionally share glimpses of their life as a family of four on Instagram. In September 2022, the mom of two posted a gallery of photos from their vacation to Italy, which featured images of her daughters walking around the city and posing for the camera.
From the birth of his daughters to his heartwarming tributes on social media, here's everything to know about Chance the Rapper's kids.
Kensli Bennett, 7
Kensli Bennett was born in Chicago in September 2015. A few days after her birth, Chance announced the arrival of his first child with a post on Instagram of his hospital bracelet.
"I got to take my child home. Thank God, her mother, our families, the medical staff at Women's Prentice and an amazing organization called The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicago," he wrote. "I love this time in my life, and I've learned to love better because of it."
In December 2018, the rapper revealed in a tweet that Kensli had spent over a week in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) due to a heart arrhythmia, and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana provided a place for him and Corley to stay during that time.
Now, Chance and his older daughter are often spotted spending quality time together. They've attended a Chicago Bulls game together, took a daddy/daughter trip to Los Angeles and wore matching face masks while doing their nighttime skincare routine.
Kensli even received a special shout-out during Chance's acceptance speech for best new artist at the 2017 Grammys. "I wanna thank God for my mother and my father who've supported me since I was young. For Kirsten and Kensli, for all of Chicago," he said.
By the time she was 4, Chance shared with PEOPLE that Kensli was growing into an "intelligent" and "opinionated" person.
"Kensli says really funny stuff and she's very, very advanced for her age," he said. "I know all parents say that about their kids, but it's ridiculous. She's so intelligent and she just speaks. She's very opinionated too. She says exactly how she feels about stuff. She's 4, but she acts like a 7 year old that's acting like she's 13."
In June 2021, Chance further praised his older daughter for excelling in an "accelerated Kindergarten course," even though her September birthday "would've placed her in preschool again" for that year. He shared a video on Instagram of Kensli in her white graduation cap and gown to celebrate the occasion.
"She's moving on to the FIRST GRADE and tested in the 97 percentile in math and 99 percentile for reading... OUT OF THE KIDS THATS OLDER THAN HER," he wrote in the caption. "If u ever met my dad you would understand I come from a long line of people being extremely proud of their kids, but KENSLI YOU GIVE ME THE BEST REASONS."
During an appearance on the Jennifer Hudson Show in October 2022, Chance revealed that both his daughters have already become performers who "love singing" and "love to dance." According to the rapper, Kensli has "perfect pitch" and "goes crazy" with any song she sings.
While she may have caught the performing bug, Chance also told host Jennifer Hudson that Kensli and her younger sister don't yet understand the concept of fame.
"They know I'm famous, but I don't think they know anybody else is famous, which is awesome," he said. "They don't get impressed by anybody that I bring around, that I show them that I'm with, but they know that I sing and they like my songs, so I'm going to hold on to that while I can."
Most recently, Kensli made headlines when Chance shared a story on Twitter about how actor Martin Short kindly gave the 7-year-old his seat on an airplane.
"So I just got on this plane with my daughter, and found out our seats weren't next to each other. I really ain't wanna inconvenience anyone by asking them to swap seats, but before I could say anything this kind older gentleman offered his seat to Kensli so we could sit together," he recalled. "We both said thank you and as he stands up, I realize it's THE Martin Short!! So cool and Kensli freaked out cause she's obsessed with The Santa Clause 3."
Marli Grace Bennett, 4
On Aug. 29, 2019, Chance and Corley welcomed their second daughter together, Marli Grace Bennett. The mom of two announced her arrival a few days later when she posted a photo of the newborn on Instagram and captioned it, "Our sweet baby girl, Marli, is here."
The couple revealed they were expecting their second child in March 2019, less than a week after they got married in Newport Beach, California. The rapper shared a screenshot of his Notes app on Instagram, which read: "We pregnant again. It's a girl. JESUS CHRIST. WE LOVE YOU GOD."
Following the birth of Marli, Chance decided to postpone his tour for his first-ever album, The Big Day, to spend more time with his family. The rapper shared the news with his fans on Instagram by posting a photo with his two daughters and explained he was finding it "very strenuous" to balance work with his family life.
"When Kensli was born, I went on tour 2 weeks later and missed some of the most important milestones in her life, but more importantly I was absent when her mother needed me the most," he recalled. "At this point as a husband and father of two, I realize that I can't make that mistake again. I need to be as helpful and available as possible to my wife in these early months of raising Kensli and Marli."
During his time off, Chance was able to witness one of Marli's major milestones: her first words. In April 2020, the rapper revealed to PEOPLE the infant had learned the words "dada" and "hey."
"Her first word was 'Dada,' which I'm proud to say both of my girls' first words were 'Dad' basically," he said. "She calls everybody 'Dada' now. She even calls her toys and her pacifier 'Dada,' so that's just her go-to phrase now."
He continued, "I was making a bite for Kensli, and [Marli] was in her little walker. She wobbled over to me and I was like, 'Heyyyy' and she responded the exact same little 'Heyyyy' back to me. It was in key and matched my energy perfectly. I was like 'Damn, can you talk? That's crazy.' That was a crazy moment for me. I laughed at it."
In August 2020, Chance marked Marli's first birthday with a heartwarming tribute on Instagram. Alongside a photo of his daughter sitting on a changing table, he wrote, "Happy first birthday, my forever daughter. I have learned so so much about fatherhood from YOU miss Marli Grace. I now clearly see the limitations of what I owe to this world versus what I owe the family that keeps me."
Though Marli and her sister don't often make red carpet appearances, the siblings did attend Chance's Books & Breakfast event in August 2022 and often model for their mom's children's apparel line, World of Boby.
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