#14 Chance the Rapper’s Acid Rap & Vic Mensa’s Innanetape

[Soundtrack for Chance]

Yeah, we listen to hip-hop at Rock Genius too my people! Especially when it hits this hard. Gotta admit, Rap Genius is the sole reason i was exposed to both of these game-changing artists. I remember the first time i heard Chance's "Favorite Song (w/ Childish Gambino)" and how hyped it got me. I remember the first time i heard the bass drop on Vic's "Yap Yap" and how i bounce like a crazy asshole every time i hear it play. But what stokes this old school hip-hopper the most about these records, is that it's a glimpse into the future of hip-hop. With these two talented (and independent) MC's from Chicago's Savemoney crew leading the charge

Chance the Rapper

Let's start with Chance. The beauty of Acid Rap is that there's so many different tracks that have imminent appeal to different sets of ears that all it takes is to connect with one of them before being sucked in to the entire composition. Chance put the mixtape up on his website as a free download, in true independent artist fashion and has been touring the country (and world) with reckless abandon ever since. What sets him apart is the emotional nature of his songs. He's silly at times, zany on others, but in the end his ability to dig deep inside and FEEL and convey his (and your) emotions is sublime

So dance for daddy like Gator
Ain't no partners on this trip
And lose yourself in my room
And find yourself in my gripHe has a slew of these heartening moments, and he's more than just a lover on the record. He breaks through the chaos of social injustice in inner city Chicago to call attention to black/white issues on "Paranoia":

They murking kids, they murder kids here
Why you think they don't talk about it? They deserted us here
Where the fuck is Matt Lauer at? Somebody get Katie Couric in here
Probably scared of all the refugees, look like we had a fucking hurricane here
They be shooting whether it's dark or not, I mean the days is pretty dark a lot
Down here it's easier to find a gun than it is to find a fucking parking spot
The point here is that Chance is a socially conscious dude and he knows how to hit home with what's on his mind. But he's also balanced and knows how to bring our spirits back up. Make no mistake about it, at it's core, Acid Rap, is a lot about drugs. Namely how these experiences have shaped his style and his mind in many ways. And Chance the jokester rears his head on "Smoke Again":

Flip the candy yum
That's the fucking bombest
Lean all on the square
That's a fuckin' rhombus
Again on "Juice" when he spouts the line that everyone likes to go around mimicking: "I got the Juice! (Juice, Juice, Juice, Juice)". There's a sticky quality to his flow. You wanna go around repeating 'em. You wanna chuckle when you think about missing "Cocoa Butter Kisses." And this is the sign of a dude who's in control...One who's leading a Chicago crew making A LOT of noise. But before i bring it all back home, there's another dude who's also the focus of this post

Vic Mensa

Man...it's kinda crazy to think that both of these dudes who put out the hottest independent hip-hop shit of the year are from the same city and the same crew. While there's a ton of similarities: Indie status, some common producers, collabos and the Black Lipped bastard himself, it's the difference in their styles that make them a unified force

Where Chance can appeal to our soft spots, on Innanetape, Vic comes to getcha from the start. "Orange Soda" opens up with a fiery hook and you know that dude means business:

To get you what you need
Make you love it, make you want it
Cause baby you are so amazingThis is shit that transcends our conventional notion of hip-hop. There's an aura that Vic projects that he manages to reign in with the producers he works with. He's so comfortable in the beat and he plays with well others, despite always stealing the show. Just listen to him and English singer Eliza Doolittle bouncing back and forth on "YNSP." Droppin bombs like:

Ain't shit change but everythang
Wonder how I stay afloat
When the pressure on my name could probably make a levee sinkI laugh at how fluent his flow is. This is some top dog shit right here. Like on the church choir inspired beat produced by the venerable Hit Boy on INNANETAPE's closing track, we see Vic's intensity. The same intensity he flashes on the hook for "Time is Money":

Make money, but the money you make don't make you
Make money, but the money you make don't make you
Make money, but the money you make don't make youThat's some real shit right there. Being an underground dude, this appeases a lot my "direction of hip-hop" qualms for sure. He keeps his head about him and I just wanna hear more of it. Dude is collaborationg across the board and is even tabbed to tour with Disclosure in 2014. Swoon

Two Heads Are Better Than One

I'll admit it...originally, the idea for this post was to just be about Chance. I've spent a lot more time with Acid Rap this year (largely because it came out first). But the point I wanna drive home here is that together Chance and Vic are unstoppable. A homie texted me last night said Vic came out on stage during Chance's hometown show and they killed it. There's so much energy coming from Chicago right now on the strength of these two cats. It's fucking beautiful. It's what i want out of hip-hop today. It's Chance & Vic recognizing that versatility is the future

Mark my words, when hip-hop starts consistently crossing over into collaborations with electronica and rock artists, it's gonna change the game. Chance the Rapper & Vic Mensa are traditional MC's at their core, but they "get" the potential for this future of hip-hop and when I look into a crystal ball, I see them
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Peep the archives of all of the albums reviewed up to this point

#13 is droppin' tomorrow!