Chance the Rapper
Coloring Book
[Mixtape]
Chance is still not signed, despite previous smashes and a starring role on The Life of Pablo‘s totem, Ultralight Beam. What he is is self-assured. At 23, the somewhat skittish rapper of his previous mixtape Acid Rap is gone, replaced by a young man with a strong sense of self, both lyrically and musically. Coloring Book is a diary of an achiever, not an aspirer. It’s sketched out between the poles that always stand strong in a sometimes troubled Chicago: Sundays at church.
In ways, Chance is Kendrick Lamar’s long-lost twin. He’s a notebook rapper playing with complex rhyme schemes, a mostly “good kid” in a violent city and a figure bigger by reputation than by radio presence. But Kendrick is a minor key rapper with a temper; Chance is unfailingly major. When he speaks about divine favour, it’s in a “my life is good” way rather than a “we showed them” way. Even the self-destructive Future manages to sound like he’s smiling on Smoke Break, over gospelly synth horns and wandering bass.
He’s endearing, interesting and considered on songs like Blessings and All We Got, comfortable over the church-music beats like an early Kanye. But where Kanye’s raps are a pretty blunt instrument, Chance tends towards filigree. His music is uplifting, but it’s tiring. There’s one more step in his evolution before he can try to claim the crown.
Words – Karl McDonald
Like this? Try these:
Kanye West – College Dropout
Common – Be
Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid, Maad City
