Chance the Rapper, The Big Day | Album Review 💿

After winning three Grammys, Chicago rap standout Chance the Rapper releases his ‘big,’ entertaining, if scattered debut LP, The Big Day.

The Big Day finally arrived: the highly-anticipated debut album by Grammy-winning rapper, Chance the Rapper.  Yes, at this point, Chance has established himself as one of the more intriguing artists in hip-hop, cemented with mixtapes Acid Rap and his Grammy-winning effort, Coloring Book.  Even so, The Big Day marks the official debut.  Fair enough.  While The Big Day runs long approaching 80 minutes in duration and comprised of 22 tracks (19 of which are full-length songs), there is much more to love than to scrutinize.

“All Day Long”

The Big Day launches with a bang with the enthusiastic, up-tempo, ✓ “All Day Long.”  Chance the Rapper delivers spirited, agile rhymes.  As always, it’s his witty rhymes and clever wordplay that really stand out, such as “I still could hit up Sony today and get a loan / And shout out to Miss Sylvia Rhone, we get along / But that boy advance gotta be bigger than Diddy Kong / I need stock and it gotta be Pippi Long…” Sigh, he’s assisted by John Legend on the memorable, incredibly soulful chorus. ✓ “Do You Remember” maintains the momentum, featuring an unlikely vocal collaborator – Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie! While Gibbard isn’t the first collaborator that comes to mind, he does a fantastic job on another memorable chorus. Chance continues to ‘kill it,’ referencing Gwyneth Paltrow, Balto, The Lion King, and dropping the brilliant line, “My family The Sopranos these niggas is altos.”

✓ “Eternal” follows in groovy, soulful fashion, keeping The Big Day an incredibly big, accomplished one for the rapper.  Handling refrain and chorus duties himself for the first time, Chance the Rapper remains ‘on.’ Smino assists on the second verse: “I wanna pass the ball, I don’t pass the ball / I’m Kobe, baby, I ate it up.”  “Hot Shower” finds Chance working with a minimalist, banging beat.  He delivers an incredibly playful performance.  If nothing else, his energy is appreciated, particularly his emphasis on certain words, specifically ‘dude.’  MadeinTYO and DaBaby guest, with DaBaby earning the honors of best overall verse.

“We Go High”

Chance the Rapper goes solo for the first time on the thoughtful ✓ “We Go High.”  The sound possesses a throwback, soulful vibe with a dash of gospel sensibility as well.  There is plenty of personality showcased on this cut, particularly the gravelly, imperfect “higher” that he sings at the end of the first verse.  As is the trend, the wordplay continues to be dope.  “I Got You (Always and Forever)” brings some serious urban contemporary grooves to The Big Day, not to mention electrifying guest vocals by Ari Lennox.  In fact, Lennox steals the show early on, before Chance brings his energetic, attitude-laden rhymes to the mix about a minute-and-a-half into the joint.  One of the first of several skits, “Photo Ops (Skit),” follows.

The minor-key “Roo” finds Chance assisted by CocoRosie on the chorus (“Roosters calling in the distance”), as well as his younger brother, Taylor Bennett on the second verse.  After bringing the heat on the first verse, Chance sets up his younger bro in dramatic fashion:

“But we can be cool
We can be cool
Me and my brother
We can be cruel
Find your ass
Line your ass up
Go to work on ‘em.”

Taylor does his own thing, including a standout lyric, “So if you do production, just make sure the drums right / The independent Bennetts will never need your advice.” Title track “The Big Day” follows in all its unique, quirky, left of center goodness.  Francis and the Lights are definitely responsible for some of the distinctness early on, singing on the intro and later a portion of the chorus, and the outro.  There is something that truly draws the listener into the title track, including one ferocious, shouted verse by Chance – “Fuck money, shit, fuck, shit, tell ‘em, burn it / I don’t wanna, get it, fuck it, fuck it, fuck it, fuck it, fuck it…” That’s a lot of random, if passionate f-bombs in a row!

“Let’s Go on the Run” 

“Let’s Go on the Run” keeps The Big Day charmingly ‘all over the place,’ coming off quite stylistically eclectic. It’s hip-hop mind you, but hip-hop with some pop, rock, and alternative sensibilities you might say. The energy remains infectious, while featured guest and co-producer Knox Fortune provides a lift with his distinct, smooth, tenor pipes.  More idiomatic of hip-hop is follow-up ✓ “Handsome,” where Chance isn’t shy about his stunning good looks.  Perhaps he doesn’t reinvent rap with the 11^th track of the LP, but ultimately, it’s pretty sweet.  He also brings in Megan Thee Stallion who isn’t the least bit shy – “After me, it’s really hard to top it / She don’t suck it sloppy, she don’t like to ride it…” Yeah, you see where she’s going with that…

On “Big Fish,” the confidence continues: “There ain’t no keepin’ up with the Bennetts.” Fair enough. For added punch in the cocky, confident department, Chance the Rapper collaborates with the ever-ubiquitous Gucci Mane who “All white tux on, brought the church to the streets.” “Big Fish” is enjoyable, but the more unexpected ✓ “Ballin Flossin” is among the most unique records of the 22-track affair.  Once again stepping outside the box, Chance enlists Shawn Mendes for the assist, and he’s the perfect match by all means.  Adding to the allure of “Ballin Flossin” is the embrace of electronic music – house to be exact.  This is a non-traditional record through and through, but this sort of left-of-centered-ness actually suits the Grammy-winner.

“5 Year Plan”

Following the second skit of The Big Day (“4 Quarters in the Black (Skit)”), the respectable ✓  “5 Year Plan” arrives.  This is the type of record we associate with Chance the Rapper, referencing a plan for his life and career, including spiritual matters.  Interestingly, Randy Newman (yes that Randy Newman) provides additional vocals on the interlude and outro.  “Get a Bag” trades Newman for CalBoy. Sure, it’s not as deep as “5 Year Plan,” but “Get a Bag” is a crowd pleaser and does wonders with a James Taylor sample (“Only One”). “Slide Around” lacks depth too but shows Chance’s abilities to thrive in any sub-genre of hip-hop or otherwise really.  “Slide Around” marks the first of two appearances by Nicki Minaj (verse two).  Lil Durk, another unlikely collaborator, raps the third and final verse.

✓ “Sun Come Down” brings more thoughtful, reflective rap to The Big Day following enjoyable-enough, but less transcendent numbers in “Get a Bag” and “Slide Around.”  This is easily one of the better songs on the album because Chance the Rapper digs deeper.  “Please don’t let my death be about my death / Please don’t make no movies about my death,” he raps on the first verse, later adding, “Don’t misconstrue my offerings to offer new advice / If I said it, I meant it / If I’m dead, it’s cemented.” The danceable, jubilant “Found a Good One (Single No More)” certainly lightens the mood to the nth degree.  The big takeaway? Chance ain’t “single no more.” He loves his wifey.  Also, worth noting, SWV provide additional vocals!

“Town on the Hill”

“Town on the Hill” serves as the penultimate full-length song from The Big Day.  Notably, Chance the Rapper sings absolutely beautiful singing on this ballad.  It’s another contrast – The Big Day is chocked-full of them of course.  “Our House (Skit)” precedes the final cut, ✓ “Zanies and Fools” which is ‘quite a sight’ to hear. Nicki Minaj returns, dropping the entertaining fourth verse. But that’s not before the slow intro that transforms into quite a zany listening experience. The production is awesome, and Chance is on autopilot, dropping incredibly agile, compelling bars. “Zanies and Fools” is a fantastic way to close The Big Day.

Final Thoughts

The Big Day is one big album.  Not only is it a long LP at nearly 80 minutes, but there are also an assortment of stylistic shifts and experiments from Chance the Rapper.  Is The Big Day the perfect debut album? No, but give Chance lots of credit for trying so many different things and not merely settling on delivering the traditional rap album.  Ultimately, there’s lots to like about The Big Day.

✓ Gems: “All Day Long,” “Do You Remember,” “Eternal,” “We Go High,” “Handsome,” “Ballin Flossin,” “5 Year Plan,” “Sun Come Down” & “Zanies and Fools”

Chance the Rapper • The Big Day • Chance the Rapper • Release: 7.26.19

Photo Credit: Chance the Rapper