3. Chance The Rapper: Acid Rap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTDJmROdC0k When Acid Rap was released at the end of April, the hip hop world listened to the album intently. The collective chops of the music press was snapping eagerly over Chance on every social media outlet imaginable, plucking towering comparisons out of the sky and scrambling to exaggerated claims. Unfortunately, this is how it works now; journalistic lead times have become extremely rare in the mixtape era, so once that green light flashes - the battle for opinions takes centre stage. Acid Rap Chances second release - is born into this climate of imitation, but luckily it's not a product of it. While last year's pleasing but erratic debut was thrown out during a week and a half long high school suspension, Acid feels like a more measured, insightful statement. Chance's impulsive, rather volatile raps still carry the essence of a young man excited to hear his own thoughts on record. However, they also come with a new sense of reasoning, Chance enforces this release with so many different ideas that all elbow for space from animated, loose-lipped verses to psych instrumentation and moments of unwearied, contemplative poignancy yet there is a distinct individuality which bonds them together. This individuality effectively boils down to Chicago life and music, which is the powerful engine that powers the masterpiece that is Acid Rap.