Chance The Rapper & Nosaj Thing - Paranoia (Songs From Scratch, 2013)

The hype machine behind Chance The Rapper is pretty incredible. A lot of people have credited it as an organic rise from the bottom, and I certainly don’t doubt this. But can I ask exactly where it was that everyone hopped aboard the Chance bandwagon? A year ago, his blog presence was minimal at best thanks to “Juke Juke,” a great song which actually utilized one of the most cliche samples in hip-hop to great effect. “Juice” was a pretty incredible single and benefitted greatly from the Keef and Trel name-drops, which let a more street-oriented fanbase know Chance was with the shits. Acid Rap was eagerly anticipated by those who were touched by the single, but the sheer amount of press that this tape has gotten greatly exceeds any of the subsequent leaks that mostly flew under the radar with the exception of some hardcore fans.

I ask these questions, but I really do like Acid Rap. I’m not in love with it, but it certainly is the beginning of a very prosperous career. The production is very lush, and the somewhat muted music contrasts well with Chance’s over-animated flow. But of all the songs present on Acid Rap, “Paranoia” - a hidden song that follows “Pusha Man” which would be released as a single for Songs from Scratch a mere couple days later - is the crown jewel of this mixtape. 

Over a very minimalist beat provided courtesy of Nosaj Thing, Chance encapsulates Kendrick Lamar’s entire good kid, m.a.a.d city into one song. Chance is clearly caught between worlds, a survivalist instinct implanted in a kid who just wants to see the sun, but can’t because of the harsh reality he’s faced with. Dead children are mourned over, but also accepted as just another casualty in a city with no soul. Chance mentions some residents who had just moved there, and claims they won’t be there for long. Is he condemning them for this? Or does he envy them? Everyone dies in the summer, so Chance prays to God for a little more spring. But he realizes the summer is inevitable.

485 - Chiraq (self-released, 2012)

485 are a duo from Chicago who are little more than an amalgam of every popular rapper in the scene. Durk melodies abound, Keef adlibs are directly bitten, Keef’s rhyme structure is present, Reese’s simple, yet menacing hook writing is the structure for which this song finds it’s chorus, sung in a faux-Durk voice; there are even a couple of adlibs that sound eerily similar to Louie’s. The beat, courtesy of Jay Beatz, is totally Chop worship, and you’d be hard pressed to take anything original away from this song. They even claim OTF. But yet the song is catchy enough to stand up by itself, not in spite of its direct biting, but simply because of it. I really can’t imagine hearing much of 485 in the future, but for this one single that encapsulates pretty much everything that’s hot right now in their city, it works.

2 Chainz - Like Me (internet, 2012)

2 Chainz enlisted the assistance of Chicago producer, Million $ Mano, for this Weeknd-sampling affair. Utilizing The Weeknd’s “The Birds, Pt. 1”, Mano creates a somber backdrop for 2 Chainz’ ever misogynist lyrics, as Abel heeds an unknown woman not to “fall in love with a nigga like me.” Though they don’t make the likeliest of pairings, both Weeknd and Tity work far better in execution due to the fact that both of them are, at the core, repulsive human beings. Though 2 Chainz never quite admits to this on the song, the fact that he chose such a self-loathing sample to identify with proves that 2 Chainz is more self-aware than his critics would have you believe.

Chief Keef - Bang (Youtube, 2011/12)

bang. bang. BANG. BANGBANG

(thank you for this wonderful discovery, So Many Shrimp)