Album Review: The Big Day - Chance The Rapper

The big day is here. Chicago native Chance The Rapper who wears his city on his sleeve, after his three critically acclaimed mixtapes 10 Day, Acid Rap, and Coloring Book, has finally released his debut album: The Big Day. Although there were no singles released to promote this project, I went in with high expectations and hopes for a breakout project that would cement Chance as one of the more unique artists carving his own lane in a recently oversaturated and commercialized rap genre. Unfortunately this project did not live up to my hopeful expectations, and I was very disappointed by Chano here. Let me explain why.

The first few tracks on this project started off strong. “All Day Long” and “Do You Remember” came with the usual Chance ad-libs, nostalgia, and lyricism we’ve come to know and love from him. After that, besides a couple of gems such as “Roo”, “Handsome” and my personal favorite “Sun Come Down”, this album really took a nosedive for me. Some of the production, lyricism, and overall sound from some of these tracks is just completely sub-par for an overly loaded 22-track debut album, and some tracks are just simply unlistenable for me, like “Hot Shower” and the title scream-heavy title track.

I was also disappointed by the features chosen for this project. Instead of featuring Chicago icons and talent like Kanye West or Noname as Chance has done in the past, he instead decided to feature John Legend, Shawn Mendes, and Nicki Minaj (twice?!) which seems like another step by Chance toward a more washed and commercial sound that is not as authentic to his sound as 10 Day or Acid Rap. Those who thought that Coloring Book was a regression for Chance from his original sound will be sorely disappointed by the direction this project takes.

No clear themes are established lyrically or narratively which is unfortunate for a track listing which lasts an unnecessary hour and 17 minutes. There is so much potential for a story to be told dynamically on this project, but I feel like Chance missed his mark and couldn’t accomplish what he set out to do with this album. If he continues on this downward trajectory, I’m worried that he will become just another voice getting lost in a completely saturated field. This album isn’t bad necessarily, but it could’ve been so much more coming from who used to be one of the most dynamic artists in the entire rap genre. I really wanted this one to be better.

SCORE: 2/10