By: Colton Robertson

Entertainment Editor

Chance the Rapper released his 3rd project last night, and it’s amazing.

Chance put out Coloring Books on Apple Music, and to me it is the best project of 2016, better than The Life of Pablo by Kanye West and Views by Drake. He begins the mixtape with something loud, something with a lot of brass, horns, trumpets, etc. The song is called “All We Got” and it features West and the Chicago Children’s Choir. Chance was quoted in an interview with Apple Music recently saying that he didn’t know real love until his daughter was born, and he made his love for her and her mom clear in the song saying, “Man, my daughter couldn’t have a better mother, if she find another, he better love her, man my life is perfect.”

After that Chance moved on to “No Problem” featuring Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz. The beat on this song is insane. Unlike the “All We Got” beat, this involved zero brass. Chance displays his feelings about signing to label with the very opening lines of the song. Unfortunately, I can’t feature them due to a couple of explicits, but it basically says that if one more label tries to stop him, it’s not going to go very well. This is also the best, in my opinion, that both 2 Chainz and  Lil Wayne have done in a long time. The beat complimented their flows well, and Wayne really wrapped up the song well.

He then moved on to “Summer Friends” featuring Jeremih and Francis & The Lights. The second verse of the song, is one of the best on the mixtape. He raps about how his mom used to work out of their front yard basically, and how his father continuously worked and took little breaks. Chance then goes into how he’s just like them now, always working, and how he isn’t disappointed and understands why his parents worked so hard. They needed to support him, just like he needs to support his daughter. Obviously right now, his hard work is paying off.

Before the next song came an interlude, like you will find on almost any album there is. These are annoying but seem necessary. The interlude is titled “D.R.A.M. Sings Special” and is quite relaxing actually.

“Blessings” was the next song up. It is the chillest of the songs on Coloring Books and also one of my favorites. Chance raps about how he is blessed beyond compare, due to a supportive group of people around him. “I got blessings falling in my lap. I don’t make songs for free, I make them for freedom. Don’t believe in kings, believe in the kingdom.” The kingdom that Chance refers to are the people he credits with getting him to where he is at, and all the blessings falling in his lap.

Next up was “Same Drugs”. It’s hard to compare any other song on the mixtape to this. It’s a song of heartbreak and growing pains. Chance says that he and a girl, Wendy, don’t do the same drugs anymore. The drugs he is referring to is the love they shared, but it’s no longer there. He says, “When did you change? Wendy you’ve aged. I thought you’d never grow up.” This is probably my favorite song on Coloring Books. In the second verse, he turns the song around, putting the problems they had on himself. “Where did you go? Why would you stay? You must have lost your marbles, you always were so forgiveful.” You won’t find a better song on this mixtape.

The tempo completely flipped with the next song. “Mixtape” features Young Thug and Lil Yachty. Chances first verse is complete heat. If you ever want to roll up anywhere bumping something that’s absolutely lit, this is the song. Thug goes in second on the song, and as always, it’s hard to understand him, but it’s impossible not to like. It is one of my favorite Thug verses since “Best Friend”. Yachty closes out the song, and his flow is just too good. “Mixtape” is worthy of several listens, a day.

“Angels” is the next song, and it’s been out for months. Chance fans are familiar with this song because he dropped it on SoundCloud in October of 2015. Although not the newest, still amazing. He again raps about his daughter, but this time, looking out for her because the streets of Chicago are dangerous. “Clean up the streets so my daughter can have somewhere to play.” Is only one of the references he makes to the dangerous Chicago streets. One of the more memorable lines from the song is “There are way too many young angels on the south side.” These lyrics show that people who are too young are passing in Chicago due to the danger and violence on the streets.

Justin Bieber and Towkio are featured on the next track, which means plenty of singing. Chance got his share of singing in on this one as well. This is a good slow song to simply sit and vibe to. They talk of their wanting for a young girl, as young kids. Chance says “We never roll at the rink, we would just go to the rink….you had your boy, I couldn’t stand him, but when they play Take You Down, Chris Brown, I am standing.” Showing he is willing to fight for this girl and make her his. This is a very deep song, and some will be able to connect with it on a very emotional level.

Thereafter, was “All Night”, my least favorite song on Coloring Books and it’s still not bad, at all. The beat is just a little too electronic for my liking. Chance’s verses are good, but the intro tears the song down for me. If I ever am just casually listening to this song, I will have to fast forward deep into it.

Chance switched up from the electronic into gospel next, with a song called “How Great” featuring Jay Electronica and My cousin Nicole. Yes, that’s an artist and no, not actually my cousin. The intro to the song is the repetition by a gospel choir singing “How great is our god?”. This is a five minute song and Chance doesn’t rap until 3 minutes in, and it is totally worth the wait. Or you could always fast forward through the first couple minutes. He has a more aggressive flow in this but it all has good meaning, he raps about his love for God. Electronica went in next, and his verse had less holy meaning, but was still great.

Future was featured next, so you know it’s good. “Smoke Break” is track 12 of 14 on Coloring Books, the point of this song is simply that life is moving tool fast and that they need to take a break, slow things down a bit. Chance describes one of the most chill days possible. Future’s part in this song, along with almost any other feature of his, is good. His deep, raspy tone accompanies the short, choppy beat very well.

“Finish Line / Drown” was up next. It features T-Pain, Kirk Franklin, Eryn Allen Kane, and Noname. This song is more than six minutes long, but Chance made the entire thing work. His first verse was about how his childhood has affected him to this day. In the second verse, he speeds his flow up a bit. Chance talks about his friends, family, and others he cares about being controlled by a record label if he were to sign to one. T-Pain sings this chorus, he’s known for his auto tune, but he always manages to make it work. The song is beautiful.

“Blessings” was up next. Yes, another song called “Blessings”, yeah, that’s a little inconvenient. This song takes a different approach at his blessings. He describes his childhood and what lead to them. This is another song that you could just sit and vibe to. The beat is subtle and Chance’s voice is a dominant presence. It is more like a poetry reading with a beat playing in the distant background rather than your typical rap song. He also speaks of the things that make him feel blessed right now, like Kanye West. West put Chance on, one of the things that West has always been good about doing, is getting kids who can rap out of Chicago and into our ears. Chance raps about him here. “Kanye’s best prodigy. He ain’t signed me but he proud of me.” West made it out of Chicago and is an inspiration to many there. Chance lists him as one of his blessings. Definitely worth a listen, or two, or ten.

Coloring Books was everything I was hoping for and more. I’ve listened to Chance for years and this topped any projects he has done in the past, like 10 Years and Acid Rap. Chance the Rapper has fought his way from the streets to Chicago, to the ears of the millions who will download this mixtape. Coloring Books is and will be the best music project of 2016.