The "Acid Rapper"

New artists and new styles are always coming arise everyday in the music industry. This is especially the case in the world of hip-hop. One of the newest up-and-coming artists in hip-hop music right now is Chicago MC Chance the Rapper.

The 20-year old Chicago MC made his presence known earlier this year with the release of his second mixtape Acid Rap. This mixtape has been a personal favorite of mine as of late due to the style and sound he brings to it. Chance the Rapper brought a psychedelic, jazzy sound and feel with this mixtape. This sound has caught the attention of rap veterans such as Lil Wayne and Big Boi. Lil Wayne featured Chance the Rapper on his song “You Song” and the young MC dropped a line that has stuck with me since I heard it: “You feel like kool-aid in a wine glass”. Lil Wayne had contacted him after he returned home to Chicago before returning to Europe to finish a tour. “I was a little bit scatterbrained. I was just stressed out,” said the MC when asked how he approached the song. Personally, I would be stressed too if the self-proclaimed “best rapper alive” asked me to have a song or a few bars ready in two days.

The Chicago MC has not only been on tour with the likes of guys like Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, but also he has recently landed himself a voice role on the Adult Swim show Black Dynamite. According to an interview in Rolling Stone magazine, Chance the Rapper said he was casted to do the voice of Bob Marley on the TV show.

While Drake’s Nothing Was the Same or Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.a.a.d city are always in rotation on my iPhone, Chance the Rapper’s mixtape Acid Rap has been something I’ve been listening to quite frequently as of late. The mixtape features artists such as fellow Chicago rappers Vic Mensa and Twista but also artists Childish Gambino, Action Bronson, and Ab-Soul. The mixtape begins with a song called Good *** Intro which features a reworking of Kanye West’s Freshman Adjustment 2. Other standout songs include “Cocoa Butter Kisses”, “Juice”, “Favorite Song”, and “Smoke Again”. I would recommend this mixtape to any hip-hop head who has not heard it yet because he has the star power and a style that can make him long lasting in this industry. This leeway comes with being an independent artist. The perks of being an independent artist include having say in how you perfect your craft and most earnings from album sales goes straight to you. “There’s no reason to. It’s a dead industry,” said the MC on why he has not signed to a major label. 

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