Chance The Rapper seems to have won everyone over. With the release of his Acid Rap mixtape, he may have even usurped Chief Keef's role as the voice of Chicago's disenfranchised youth. The demand for it was so high the week it came out that it crashed both hosting site Audiomack and Chicago hip hop blog Fake Shore Drive. Where Keef traffics in the dark side of Chicago, Chance's imagery is more wide reaching. His flow travels between Lil Wayne's raspy singsong delivery and Eminem's more straightforward moments. The beats serve to showcase his inspirations. "That's Love" along with the intro and outro are early Kanye. Freddie Hubbard's "Red Clay," the sample used for Tribe's "Sucka N***a," gets used for the psychedelic "NaNa." There's a little Dilla homage on "Everybody's Something" which uses the same sample as Slum Village's "Fall in Love." And Biggie and Mary J. Blige get some love on the Betty Wright sampling "Favorite Song." It's impressive to see a 20 year old rapper reference these golden era moments. Obviously this is not music made for the club. It serves better as music to sit back and take in one verse at a time. There's no doubt that at least a few of Chance the Rapper's fans will be singing right along with him when they see him live.

• black double vinyl pressing
• original release year: 2013
• music label: Chance The Rapper 2025

reviewed by Kool Moby 04/2014