A 23-year-old rapper who refuses to sign a record deal is tearing up the hip-hop world all by himself

Chance the Rapper is the most talented rapper of his generation and a pioneer in the music industry. His latest album, "Coloring Book," is one of the best-reviewed albums of the year and debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 list. It's the first streaming-only album to chart on Billboard's ranking.

And he got his due in the mainstream when he became a fixture (and a meme) at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards.

Now some people are surely wondering who Chance is.

He's already made awards history by helping to allow streaming-only albums for Grammy consideration. Many suspect "Coloring Book" will get a nomination at the next Grammys.

Miraculously, Chance (aka Chancelor Bennett) has done all of this without a label supporting him. He's turned down record deals from numerous labels, and depends on word of mouth and his Soundcloud account for distribution.

Meet the most successful fully independent musician of our era: