Chance the Rapper - Acid Rap (2013)
Man, ain't that a good opening track?! "Good Ass Intro (Feat. BJ The Chicago Kid, Lili K., Kiara Lanier, Peter Cottontale, Will for the O'mys)" is just fantastic and happy as shit, and serves as the perfect intro for an album that.. Doesn't sound that much like it, really. It lifts you up, but cockblocks you in the process, just like Xanax. Just kidding: Xanax doesn't really lift you up, but I'll be damned if it doesn't make your dick like silly putty.
Chance the Rapper comes back with positive messages tackling various subjects, such as life in the ghetto in the latter half of "Pusha Man/Paranoia (Feat. Nate Fox & Lili K.)" in which he states "Down here, it's easier to find a gun than it is to find a fucking parking spot", which is a great lyric and look into his life in Chicago, but what's this? On "Favorite Song (Feat. Childish Gambino)", Chance boasts that he's a "Slap-happy faggot slapper".. Really? What happened to that song "Doctor Oz" from a few years prior where he rapped from various perspectives, and talked about how hard the life of the gay character in it was? That's just suddenly out the window? Okay then.
Aside from that minor gripe, I'm just not that impressed by this mixtape, because of several reasons. One being that it occasionally tries to hold you down and beat the shit out of you with its gimmick of "listen to this weird sound that Chance can make" with his adlib "Igh!" being spammed at you repeatedly during the latter half of "Pusha Man/Paranoia (Feat. Nate Fox & Lili K.)" or him repeatedly going "nananana" for melodies, it quickly turns from the interesting kinda quirky to annoying, which unfortunately can be said about his rapping and singing on this mixtape as well.
Chance's rapping style on this mixtape reminds me of a showtune from a 1950s-1970s cartoon: Too over-the-top in its sugarly sweet theatrics, and despite some catchy moments, nothing that's going to stick with me a day from now. He comes across as genuine with most of the stuff he raps and sings about, especially the chorus of "Lost (Feat. Noname Gypsy)" where he sounds soulful as shit, but his adlibs of "Igh!" serve as a friendly jab of "Don't take anything I say too seriously... EVEN WHEN I'M BEING SERIOUS!!" which REALLY works against him.
Not my cup of tea, or my tab of acid.
6/10
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