You gotta fight for your way/and that don't take nothing away / cause at the end of the day / Music is all we got - "All We Got"
With the release of his third mixtape, Coloring Book, Chance the Rapper is changing the look and sound of the hip-hop scene. The Chicago native doesn't have a label and gives away all his music for free (even getting Apple to agree to make his music available for free via iTunes), but he's still able to bring in heavy-hitting guests — like Justin Bieber and Kanye West — for features on the album. And Chance is the only unsigned artist to ever appear on Saturday Night Live. Twice. If you are unfamiliar with Chancelor Bennett, aka Chance the Rapper, the arrival of Coloring Book should have you checking in.
It's easy to mention the big names featured on Coloring Book, but there's a reason Forbes magazine named Chance the "Team Captain" for independent artists. Raised in the South Side of Chicago by parents who were dedicated to their community (his father, Ken Bennett, worked as an aide to President Obama when Obama was a senator, and is currently the deputy chief of staff for Mayor Rahm Emanuel; his mother, Lisa Bennett, worked for the Illinois Attorney General), Chance focuses on mentorship with the open-mic series he started for Chicago youth and by showcasing developing artists on his album. His crew of bohemian musicians, The Social Experiment, are all on hand. Chance highlights the relatively unknown Chicago rappers Fatimah Warner (who goes by Noname), Saba, and Jeremih, producer/pop band Francis and the Lights (who performed at Eaux Claires last year), and his cousin Nicole also gets a spot.
Even with the addition of guest performers and producers, the soul of Coloring Book never sways too far from Chance and his optimistic lit-hop. The smile on Chance's face is audible in the album opener "All We Got," as he sings, "Man I swear my life is perfect, I could merch it," following up with his distinctive yelps that help spread the infectious joy. But everything hasn't always been perfect; in "Summer Friends," Chance laments that summer never seems as lighthearted to him after seeing friends get killed or arrested: "Our summer don't get no shine no more/ Our summer die." Following the style of his previous record, Acid Rap, there's a minute-long interlude, "D.R.A.M Sings Special," telling the listener that they mean something. And the drama of people using Chance for his newfound fame, labels owning his friends, and Chance himself missing a broken friendship, is soothed with the help of gospel music.
The addition of the Chicago Children's Choir, the Harlem Gospel for Teens Choir and gospel singer Kirk Franklin casts additional light on the gospel side of the album. Religion is an important part of Chance's life, and his songs balance out the bad things that happen with the power of prayer and appreciating blessings when they appear. Particularly powerful song, "How Great," starts with the Chicago Children's Choir and Chance's cousin Nicole singing "How Great is Our God." In a Reddit AMA Chance explained that, "[his] grandmother passed away a few weeks before we recorded, and my cousin Nicole sang 'How Great Is Our God' and it crushed me; a week later, I had her come in the studio."
Whether he's rapping about a flirtation on the skating rink ("Juke Jam"), refusing to sign to a label ("No Problem"), using Peter Pan to describe a fading friendship ("Same Drugs"), or even The Lion King's Simba and Mufasa ("How Great"), the gospel according to Chance the Rapper shines out as a positive blessing and only gets better with every listening.
Check out the rush of positivity from Chance the Rapper's new album, Coloring Book, by listening to the tracks below, and memorize the songs before the Church of Chance comes to town for Rock The Garden on June 18.