Coloring Book

Kanye West, as inconsistent and odd as he may be in recent history, he has given to hip hop just as much if not more than any other artist. The contributions he’s made as an artist through production and performance has left a mark for generations to come. Much like Lil Wayne, he made rap fun again, all the while not sacrificing skill. As a result, he’s paved the way and given musical birth to a long line of hip hop artists that have tried to mimic his blueprint. The original Kanye though, not this new shit he’s on. Anyways, enter Chance the Rapper. His “mixtape”, album, project, I don’t know whatever you want to call it, Coloring Book, displayed Chance’s reverence for Kanye all the while carving out his space as his own artist. Three years since its release, and we have yet to get a new project from the Chicago native, is enough proof that perhaps, there’s nothing left to do. After all, in 2016, Chance conquered the music world by not only starting a movement to get the mixtape nominated for a Grammy, but ultimately winning for Best Rap Album becoming the first artist to achieve such a feat for a free piece of work. To date, you STILL can’t purchase this album. Before going further, I want to say a few things. I remember the lead up to this release. Chance plays the social media game perhaps better than an other artist, he was able to build the buzz for this mixtape big enough to create a collective “I cant wait” experience. Even I, not being the biggest Chance fan waited not so patiently for the release of Coloring Book. At the time, I had a podcast called Hot 16 (currently on hold but it will return) and on this show I and my co-hosts would review albums and discuss hip hop headlines. Back then, I was the one that had less than stellar opinions on Coloring Book. In hopes of giving a responsible opinion I gave Coloring Book a brand new listen, having not listened in about a year or so. I always enjoy going back to albums, especially ones that created a moment in music. And, regardless of your feelings, and opinions on this project, you must admit Chance created a moment when this released. So, with no further adieu, my recent opinions on Coloring Book, the “mixtape”.

I still remember quite clearly what it was like when Chance The Rapper first caught the attention of the public in 2013. I was on a Hip-Hop forum and the person who posted the video to the song “Juice” from Acid Rap said that it was difficult to get over his voice at first. They were right. Chance’s voice, especially on that song, is raspy and high pitched and considering the fact that he was from Chicago, was especially unique juxtaposed with the Drill scene which was at its peak popularity at the time. The project, as evidenced by it’s name, was made largely while Chance was experimenting with LSD and it comes through in the music. Despite Chance claiming that the drug use had only 30% to do with the creation of the music, a lot of the content on the project revolves around drugs. Even in “Smoke Again” video, Chance is seen with a cigarette in his hand. There was nothing really wrong with this, and it was certainly nothing really new to the scene, but it was the first introduction to Chance for the majority of the public and it created a certain perception of him. Somewhere down the line, things changed, presumably in his personal life, and he started to talk about drugs a lot less and God a lot more. He credits a large part of it to the birth of his daughter. But many have seen the transition as fake or turned up a little for the sake of perception. The change can best be seen in the differences between Chance’s two solo projects, Acid Rap and Colouring Book.