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How Chance The Rapper is still winning even after ‘The Big Day’ slander
Chance The Rapper finally dropped his long-awaited debut studio album, The Big Day, this past weekend on July 26, his first project in a staggering three years.
After winning three Grammys for his 2016 mixtape, The Coloring Book, holding arguably the greatest feature on Kanye’s The Life of Pablo, and appearing on dozens of guest features, the hype and build-up surrounding the album alone made the 22-track debut easily one of the most anticipated projects in 2019.
Once The Big Day arrived, however, the reception did not reflect that at all.
let's be real chance probably should've left this song off the album pic.twitter.com/KQMIwsmaf3
— charles (@charliewinsmore) July 27, 2019
this Chance The Rapper album is confusing, it sounds like if the cast of Hamilton was performing on 106th and Park.
— Ahmed/The Ears/Glorilla's Assistant 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) July 27, 2019
Chance might be the first rapper to Kidz Bop his own album
— chris kindred (@itskindred) July 27, 2019
We’re talking 22 records with contributions from names as big as actor John Witherspoon, En Vogue, Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, Megan Thee Stallion, Bon Iver, Nicki Minaj, Gucci Mane, and many others and the response has not only been bad, but flat out disrespectful.
For the past 48 hours since the album dropped, ‘Chance The Rapper makes music for’ has been trending everywhere. The joke has not stopped circulating with parody songs and memes attached.
In one sweeping instant, one of the most awaited efforts of the year became the biggest joke and everyone seems to have a punchline to add.
https://twitter.com/Bdell_1014/status/1154965067764502528
Who exactly is Chance the Rapper’s targeted audience?
— Janaé Adams (@janaenadams) July 26, 2019
This is exactly who I thought Chance the rapper made music for https://t.co/pT6MF0bYbI
— BA (@Banderson718) July 28, 2019
Funny thing, tho? It literally didn’t phase him.
According to Hits Daily Double, Chance’s The Big Day is expected to generate 90,000 to 100,000 in album-equivalent units and 24,000-27,000 in pure album sales, making it Chance’s first effort to debut at the No. 1 spot (his prior project, Coloring Book, was streaming only).
Joke all you want and laugh until your face turns blue, but the expansive 77-minute effort of 22 tracks made the top 200 on US Apple Music. Thus, making the album a huge success.
You know why: because Chance The Rapper is bigger than rap!
The failure of the internet’s slander to affect Chance’s album’s success is the most recent proof of the magnitude of his platform. If you think Chance is like every other rapper you see around here, you’re sorely mistaken.
Already, although having only dropped four and a half (the Surf mixtape partially counts) bodies of work, Chance is a part of the echelon of the Drakes, Rick Ross’s and dare I say… Kendricks of the world.
From his activism to the bold proclamation of his faith to his roots as a slam poetry competitor, his “audience” is far beyond “cool twitter” or even the rap culture in general.
This man has given a years worth of free groceries and put up a million for mental health in his hometown of Chicago. Not to mention, he bought a dying news publication in Chicago to hire black journalists of color to help provide a much-needed narrative to the region and has fought on the behalf of public schools in Chicago.
What else? He’s married with a kid before the age of 30, likes to hum, and wears Mickey-Mouse jeans. Simply put — Chance The Rapper doesn’t play by rap industry rules. So, not “liking” his music literally doesn’t matter.
Chance The Rapper has an audience that expands past urban inner cities. As you listen to The Big Day, you’ll clearly hear how he markets suburban middle-class families, Christians, and the concept of fun. If some of his album comes off as cheesy it’s because Chance is cheesy and his base is cheesy.
Yes, Chance The Rapper “loves his wife” as the now-viral parody snippet pokes fun at. But guess what, so does a good portion of Americans. Chance may get slandered, ridiculed, and even be the subject of jokes for some time. But at the end of the day — The Big Day — he’s going to have the last laugh.
Catch Chance the Rapper on his 35-stop North American tour supporting his debut album, The Big Day. It kicks off Sept. 13 in San Francisco and wraps up on Nov. 10 in Miami.
According to a press release, “special guests” on the trek are to be announced.