By Sharell Jeffrey

First glance at Taylor Bennett and of course you can’t help think of his older brother, Chance The Rapper. While they both have that natural Bennett glow and charm, Taylor possess a unique drive and attraction that you can’t help but admire. As an independent label owner, artist manager, and an artist himself, the Chicago rapper balances his responsibilities well enough to still enjoy being a 21-year old.

Restoration of an American Idol is Taylor’s “best work yet,” receiving an immense amount of love and growth since its February release. With a family of fun features, his latest project brings the utmost positivity in today’s youth. The Chicago spitter has geared up for his first headlining tour, “The Taylor Bennett Show,” consisting of a 15-city tour all over the United States with openers such as hip hop collective SAVEMONEY's Brian Fresco and Taylor Bennett signee, Morocco Brown. Now, more than half of the tour is sold out, proving that Taylor has established some star power of his own. I had the pleasure of attending Footaction’s Family Dinner and Q+A roundtable during Taylor’s tour stop in New York City. The Chicago rapper spoke on his style, dieting, family, and tour life.

When it comes to style, Taylor likes comfortability and is also a big fan of the Timberland brand. A simple hoodie, jeans or joggers and sneakers will do (and sometimes a baseball cap on a backwards tilt). On stage, Taylor keeps the layers to a minimum and stays hydrated to keep his energy consistent. When packing for the tour, Taylor disproportioned his jackets and shirts, leaving him with more tops than bottoms. As the youngest sibling, Taylor is the most fashionable in his family. While Chance sticks with a minimalistic look of no brands/logos unless it’s his own, he also ‘steals’ any hoodie or jacket of Taylor’s. Siblings sharing clothes is nothing out of the ordinary – unless it’s the eldest wearing the youngest sibling’s clothes.

“#1 RULE: NO LAYERS ON STAGE”

Keeping a healthy diet on tour is critical. While his tour mates typically go for fast food, Taylor at least sticks with sushi and water. After the brief Q+A, we were served a very fancy 2-course meal of kale salad, asparagus, steak, and pasta. We ate ‘family-style’ and bonded with conversation.

Taylor is heavily involved with a homeless youth outreach program and LGBTQ groups

Most may know of Taylor’s family background and their impact on the Chicago community. His father works in politics and local government while Chance tends to preserving Chicago’s art education. In addition to what Chance and their parents contribute, Taylor is heavily involved with a homeless youth outreach program and LGBTQ groups. Staying humble and grounded with local residents is something that the Bennett family has genuinely practiced, continuing to strengthen Chicago with more strides to break the city’s stereotypes.

From his first touring experience as an opener for Tory Lanez, Taylor learned all he could to strengthen his stage presence and performance endurance, and establish crowd control. For the future, Taylor is earning his way through to working with bigger acts. He later hopes to collaborate with Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West (“the Graduation Kanye West”). And after learning from his brother’s success, Taylor has his own expectations to create and live up to. For now, he’s having a blast performing on the road and connecting with his fans.