Monday 20 May 2013

#MixtapeMonday - Chance The Rapper: Acid Rap


Lyrics & Delivery: 4.5/5.0
Production: 4.5/5.0
Overall Score: 4.5/5.0

Review by MrReesh - Mamma mia, mamma mia, mamma mia figaro - Twitter: @MrReesh - @Rawfunnytrue


Sorry but my abundance of bars got me
feeling like Thorntons today
ACID RAP! Rhymes with RAPID TRAP! And also kind of rhymes with NAPPIN' BACK, so you can back your naps while you listen to this acid rap. Whoa.

But after listening to the rapper Chance The Rapper's mixtape Acid Rap by Chance The Rapper whose occupation is rapper, it's clear its title was chosen for reasons beyond mere assonance. The mixtape is filled with potent persistent punchlines and flows as well as booming baselines, all decorated with topics and lyrics Chance The Rapper (who's the rapper) articulates creatively, powerfully, and for the most part consistently.

The greatest thing about Acid Rap is the fact that if it wasn't for Chance, it would've never existed. Seriously. No-one is sounding like he does with a decent quality of lyric other than Chance, so if he didn't make it, it wouldn't have been made, and that's the charm of the mixtape: Chance's creativity of delivery. Admittedly at first it may seem a bit 'Oh God why is he speaking like that' but you quickly acclimatise to his style as it becomes enjoyable, dramatic and even stylish. Chain Smoker as well as Cocoa Butter Kisses are especially fun for this reason, though just about every song on the mixtape shares this quality to some extent. Times when Chance doesn't utilise this style can end up feeling slightly monotonous however, such as in NaNa and the first half of Smoke Again where an uncharacteristically repetitive flow makes the song feel just okay.

You know how much I used this ting when I was
younger? Imagine you got used like that. DAMN.
As I mentioned Chance’s lyrics are decent, although sometimes you can finish singing along to a line like “JHEEZE... wait what the hell did I just say”. Some of his best lines come from multi-layered reflective pieces rather than acutely intricate wordplay, as perhaps can be seen in the Jake One produced Acid Rain, where quotable lines like 'the richest man rocks the snatchless necklace, spineless bxtches in backless dresses' hit but aren’t truly felt until later on. A special shout out has to go to Cocoa Butter Kisses for its lyrical content as well which while not particularly deep, conjure satisfyingly nostalgic images against a heartwarming instrumental to use as effective similes 'use her like orange cassette tapes like Timmy Tommy & Chuckie', and all three rappers on the track KILL IT. DEAD. I must admit though, I very much disliked Lost, the saccharine love song which quickly becomes disgusting in that “get a room” kind of way. While I see the attractive chill factor, lines like 'hug me when I'm bummy scummy I'm your hubby' make me want to purchase stomach insurance, violently regurgitate, claim the insurance and do it all over again. However other than that it’s quite rare to have a moment where you can really attack Chance The Rapper’s raps.

To say that Acid Rap is worth a download would be an undersell, and trust me if I were to sell you acid I’d at least want to do it right. The mixtape sounds very much unique in today’s soundscape, yet it still has that requisite uniformity that allows you to feel comfortable in the fact that you’re not listening to some postmodernist, pseudo-singer rap raggaeton fusion thingamajig that everyone but you can feel the hype to. So in the words of the great Herbert Stevens IV (that's Ab-Soul, lol) in Smoke Again, go ahead, 'take a chance with this rapper'.

My Top 3:
1) Cocoa Butter Kisses
2) Acid Rain
3) Everything's Good (Good Ass Outro)

You can download Acid Rap via the Soundcloud player below:



Photo Credits:
Thorntons store "Its Got Chocolate Inside" by Garry Knight
Rugrats image is from this eBay listing, and, if you're US based, you can purchase it while the link is active.

1 comment:

  1. You forgot to mention the fact that he produced this mixtape while on ACID, rather unheard of amongst rappers nowadays who prefer weed/molly/drank as their intoxicant of choice.

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