On The Third Day Of Christmas...
The man who won 2016 - Chance The Rapper here with Coloring Book. This wasn't even an album! Whoever said mixtapes were irrelevant - eat your heart out. The only mixtape to make it onto every single 'top albums of the year' list this year. Chance has given this year all the lift that it needed.
I never really thought of Chance as a soul/gospel rapper but this record did everything for my soul. To be honest I shouldn't have been surprised after his soulful feature on Kanye's The Life Of Pablo earlier this year but here we are. He even had believers and non-believers alike singing "how great is our God?", he managed to move so many people with just 14 songs. In less than an hour, he managed to become one of the most powerful and recognisable voices around at the moment. It didn't even stop with the record, every time Chance has appeared live with this album, he's captivated people and managed to take each track to a new level. He is pretty much the living embodiment of creativity.
On top of all that, this album brings out just about every kind of good emotion you'd ever associate with listening to music. I say that with confidence. It makes you laugh, feel uplifted, smug, joyful, thoughtful and just overall content. The first time I listened to this I was travelling to work and by the time I got in, nothing could've made that day go wrong for me. Some personal go-to favourites for me when I need a pick-me-up are "No Problem (feat. Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz)", "Blessings", "Juke Jam" and "All Night (feat. Knox Fortune)". Nothing but good vibes with this record for me. In a year that's had so much go wrong with it, this is one of the few things that's brought pure light to a multitude of lives. If you haven't already claimed your blessing yet - do yourself a favour and have a listen.
This will be a difficult one to top, a commendable peak in anyone's career - but I have faith that Chance will find a way to move upwards. I don't know when we'll hear something new but I know it'll be a blessing no matter what nor when. I can only hope that I get to see this live someday.
I never really thought of Chance as a soul/gospel rapper but this record did everything for my soul. To be honest I shouldn't have been surprised after his soulful feature on Kanye's The Life Of Pablo earlier this year but here we are. He even had believers and non-believers alike singing "how great is our God?", he managed to move so many people with just 14 songs. In less than an hour, he managed to become one of the most powerful and recognisable voices around at the moment. It didn't even stop with the record, every time Chance has appeared live with this album, he's captivated people and managed to take each track to a new level. He is pretty much the living embodiment of creativity.
On top of all that, this album brings out just about every kind of good emotion you'd ever associate with listening to music. I say that with confidence. It makes you laugh, feel uplifted, smug, joyful, thoughtful and just overall content. The first time I listened to this I was travelling to work and by the time I got in, nothing could've made that day go wrong for me. Some personal go-to favourites for me when I need a pick-me-up are "No Problem (feat. Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz)", "Blessings", "Juke Jam" and "All Night (feat. Knox Fortune)". Nothing but good vibes with this record for me. In a year that's had so much go wrong with it, this is one of the few things that's brought pure light to a multitude of lives. If you haven't already claimed your blessing yet - do yourself a favour and have a listen.
This will be a difficult one to top, a commendable peak in anyone's career - but I have faith that Chance will find a way to move upwards. I don't know when we'll hear something new but I know it'll be a blessing no matter what nor when. I can only hope that I get to see this live someday.
Here's another musical gem that just missed out on a top three spot yesterday.
