This spring has been an exceptional season for the rap industry. First Beyoncé shocked the world with her visual album Lemonade in late April, and then Drake came out with Views less than a week later. Now, Chance the Rapper has dropped his third mixtape, titled Coloring Book, last Thursday, exclusively on Apple Music. This mixtape was highly anticipated since his first hit mixtape Acidrap came out in 2013. Coloring Book has 14 tracks that feature both an array of big-ticket artists such as Future, Justin Bieber, 2 Chainz and Kanye West, while also showcasing lesser-known groups such as Chicago Children’s Choir and Noname. Chance interweaves jazz-type instruments, like piano and trumpets, with hard-hitting rap lyrics to create a gospel, almost religious experience. I’m sad to say this as a loyal Drake fan, but after listening to Coloring Book, I won’t be listening to Views anymore.
“All We Got” (feat. Kanye West & Chicago Children’s Choir)
Chance starts off by singing “And we back, and we back,” followed by clapping, which is an upbeat, cheerful start to the album. The track features a large range of trumpets, deviating from more traditional rap sounds. That, combined with the Chicago Children’s Choir, makes “All We Got” sound gospel.
Favorite lyric: “This ain’t no intro, this the entree/Hit that intro with Kanye sound like André”
“No Problem” (feat. Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz)
I would have thought that Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz would sound out of place with Chance’s gospel tones, but all three rappers oddly work when they softly harmonize together. As the song progresses, Chance manages to balance many different elements (three rappers, background singers and instruments) without being overwhelming.
Favorite lyric: “This my blessin’, this my passion”
“Summer Friends” (feat. Jeremih & Francis & The Lights)
This track includes more electronic sounds as background music instead of relying on backup singers, making “Summer Friends” a simpler, cleaner sounding song. Toward the end of the song, Chance’s religious themes become more apparent when he incorporates a distant-sounding prayer in between verses.
Favorite lyric: “Summer school get to losing students/But the CPD getting new recruitment”
“D.R.A.M. Sings Special”
Clocking in at 1:42, this song is the shortest one on Coloring Book. The instrumentals remind me of “Cocoa Butter Kisses” from Acidrap, which is a nice throwback to his older sounds. It serves as almost an interlude to his album, as it alternates between traditional piano chords and electronic sounds with no rap verses, only singing.
Favorite lyric: “This I know is true, when I look at you”
“Blessings”
Jamila Woods softly sings the intro and chorus to “Blessings,” which pairs nicely with the impressive trumpet range and piano in this blues-esque song. Chance mostly raps passionately about miracles and God in this song, remnant of a hymn.
Favorite lyric: “I don’t make songs for free, I make ‘em for freedom/Don’t believe in kings, believe in the Kingdom”
“Same Drugs”
This track is surprisingly sweet despite the (inappropriate sounding) title. Chance describes the disjoint relationship between two lovers, using soft piano chords and background singers. The lyrics seem to allude to the story of Peter Pan, as he calls out to a “Wendy,” describes flying, windows and his shadow.
Favorite lyric: “Don’t you miss the days?/Don’t you miss the danger?”
“Mixtape” (feat. Young Thug & Lil Yachty)
“Mixtape” sticks out compared to the rest of the album because there are no trumpets, piano, or background singers. Although the song is different, it reminds me of a more traditional rap track with it’s clean beats and lots of bars of rapping. Young Thug and Lil Yachty mesh well together here.
Favorite lyric: “They gotta ask if you may/Cinco de Mayo”
“Angels” (feat. Saba)
Easily my favorite song on the album. Chance really drives the passion in this song and continues to make really good use of trumpet sounds and gospel tones. Chance hits hard beats and all of his verses have clever yet meaningful lyrics, while also managing to sing a catchy and uplifting chorus.
Favorite lyric: “I got my city doing front flips”
“Juke Jam” (feat. Justin Bieber & Towkio)
Surprisingly, Justin Bieber, along with classical guitar strumming, mixed well with Chance’s “Juke Jam.” Here, Chance reminisces about his days at the skating rink with some former lover, along with some other nostalgic themes.
Favorite lyric: “All the kiddies stop skating/To see grown folks do, what grown folks do/When they grown and they dating”
“All Night” (feat. Knox Fortune)
I really liked the fact that Chance wasn’t in the intro to “All Night” because the song ended up balancing out, as most of the rest of the verses were just him rapping. This track is one of the catchier tracks on the mixtape, and with it’s funk elements is very easy to dance to.
Favorite lyric: “Everybody high five, everybody wanna smile/Everybody wanna lie, that’s nice, no”
“How Great” (feat. Jay Electronica & My cousin Nicole)
This is the most religious song on Chance’s mixtape. Chance doesn’t actually come into the song until over halfway through the song, and up until then the track is a choir singing about the greatness of God. I would have liked to have the beginning sound less like a hymn, however the shift to Chance’s verses was smooth and his lyrics were very powerful.
Favorite lyric: “Collar white collar crime”
“Smoke Break” (feat. Future)
Future is by far my favorite featured artist on this album because he harmonizes well with Chance. “Smoke Break” is one of the slower tracks that also showcases more classical guitar as well as some experiments with autotune. This track also contrasts some of the more religious themes in Coloring Book, adding some thematic variety.
Favorite lyric: “Let me crack your back/Slow it down for a second”
“Finish Line / Drown” (feat. T-Pain, Kirk Franklin, Eryn Allen Kane & Noname)
As the longest song on his mixtape, clocking in at just under seven minutes, Chance took advantage and mixed a great deal of elements together, like trumpets, rapping, acapella singing and piano. He also revisited the “We back” lyrics from “All We Got.” Like “How Great,” there is a dramatic shift in the middle to a much more somber tone that grows into something similar to a church choir.
Favorite lyric: “Like all them days he prayed with me/Like emptiness was tamed in me”
“Blessings”
This second “Blessings” acts as a continuation to the first “Blessings” track. It has some parts that mirror the earlier track, like the chorus, but is overall much more raw and emotional. In the beginning parts, Chance’s verses are powerful and honest compared to any other lyrics on the entire mixtape. The last few seconds echo: “Are you ready big fella?” which ends Coloring Book on an optimistic note.
Favorite lyric: “Kanye’s best protege/He ain’t sign me but he proud of me”