From 'Acid Rap' to 'The Big Day,' Here's a Ranking of Chance The Rapper's Albums

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Merry Christmas Lil Mama is a low-stakes, high-reward bargain for Chance the Rapper and Jeremih. The double disc holiday mixtape that the two Chicago artists put together is exactly what its name suggests: An ode to their home city by way of Christmas classics and newly created jingles that play beautifully during the holiday season. Jeremih is an underrated vocalist, and his elite crooning is paired perfectly with Chance’s ability to fuse biblical lore with fun wordplay works perfectly for a Christmas mixtape. With a balance between covers of holiday classics and new songs, all iterations of Merry Christmas Lil Mama are an enjoyable listen with sprinkles of bars in between the caroling.

One of the reasons why Chance the Rapper garnered such an intensely loyal fanbase through the blog era is because they were largely his age when he came out, and thus grew up with him through each project. This would end up being to his detriment when it came to The Big Day. Chance was an irresponsible 20-year-old when he released Acid Rap, and so was most of his audience when they listened to it, but one of the reasons why his “first album” wasn’t well received was because most of his listeners were still relating to the Chance that was on acid, not the 26-year-old who was now married. The Big Day is also a sonic departure from its predecessors like Acid Rap and Coloring Book, where it never establishes its true identity. It toys with different concepts like family, legacy, and longevity, but that message didn’t land with its listeners because they hadn’t reached that point in their lives yet. Despite its bright spots, The Big Day falters because it didn’t meet the lofty expectations that Coloring Book created for Chance after its success.

Chance the Rapper and Lil B’s Free (Based Freestyles Mixtape) works because the beat selection on the tape is ridiculous and it legitimately sounds like both blog era rappers are actually freestyling throughout the entire project. In the modern rap era, the definition of a  “freestyle” has changed drastically over the years, from rappers actually spitting off the top of the dome to now crafting “freestyles” with pre-written verses that are sometimes borrowed from unreleased songs to flex on radio and other rap cyphers. Before Chance changed the complexion of the rap scene with his gospel-leaning Coloring Book, his 2015 mixtape with the Based God reflects the power of improvisation and collaboration. Each track on Free is reminiscent of the freestyles of old because they sound authentic, with B and Chance talking between their verses as if they’re trying to find their train of thought before the hook ends. The structure of each song is sloppy and sometimes nonsensical, and they should be. Chance the Rapper is uniquely creative and Lil B is uniquely elusive, which makes Free feel as rare as it is innovative. 

We all did stupid things when we were young, but only Chance the Rapper was able to turn a 10-day suspension in high school for getting caught with weed into the bedrock of his illustrious career. 10 Day is a product of youthful recklessness mixed with risk-free experimentation that could only be born from the mind of a high schooler with nothing but free time and limitless imagination. Despite his age, standout tracks like “Brain Cells” exhibit Chance’s wisdom beyond his years, while others like “Hey Ma” show inspiration from his fellow Chicago idol, Kanye West in the way he puts on for their city and shouting out other hometown legends like Derrick Rose. 10 Day is how Chance graduated beyond local talent shows and poetry slams and started to grow notoriety in his city. This project made him a fixture in Chicago and it was because Chance had an unwavering faith in his musical identity. Chicago drill was slowly on the rise in 2012, and instead of capitulating to the dominant sound in his area, Chance looked inward and tapped into the teenage angst and unwavering commitment that only lives in an artist who believes in themself. It would turn out that a 10-day suspension Chance the Rapper’s career 10 years forward, and then some. 

Coloring Book is an amalgamation of Chance’s life experiences—from a Christian upbringing to his “coming to Jesus” moment that completely shifted the trajectory of his musical catalog. After coming off the high that was Acid Rap, despite the themes being different, Coloring Book is the sonic evolution of the Chicago rapper’s breakout mixtape.

The subject matter may be polarly opposite to Acid Rap, but in many ways, Coloring Book is the evolved version of the critically acclaimed 2013 mixtape. Utilizing more expensive-sounding production (thanks to Kaytranada, The Social Experiment, Kanye West, and more), features from his new A-list artist friends like Lil Wayne, Future, and Justin Bieber, and the creative freedom of an independent artist with resources, Chance made a gospel album that could still top the rap charts. With songs that interlope gospel hymns like “How Great,” to unbashful rap records like “No Problem” and “Mixtape,” Coloring Book is the first “mixtape” to win a Grammy and is a reflection of Chance the Rapper’s spiritual growth and maturation in real-time. But what truly makes the project special is that you don’t have to believe in the Holy Spirit to feel Coloring Book. You just have to believe in Chance. 

Acid Rap is a defining pillar of the blog era, a key to the development of the modern Chicago and Midwest sound, and arguably one of the greatest mixtapes of all time. It was all created in Chance the Rapper’s backyard—no big budget, no big-name features, no industry backing, just some kids from Chicago with a tab and a dream. The most impressive testament to Acid Rap’s success and longevity is that it’s homegrown, and like its creator, is a living testament to the power of community.

Despite popular belief, Chance did not make Acid Rap entirely off acid. “I had to come to myself and realize and remember that I was not making those songs off acid,” Chance tells Complex. “I may have found some beats I liked off of acid, but it was me making the songs.” And those songs aren’t all as psychedelically bright and vibrant as “Good Ass Intro” and “Juice.” The records that the 20-year-old rapper created with fellow Chicago collaborators Nate Fox, Peter Cottontale, Vic Mensa, Noname, Saba, and more reflect all sides of their city, including the plights they faced. Tracks like “Acid Rain” and “Paranoia” find Chance diving deep into the violence in Chicago and the death of his friend Rodney Kyles Jr. in 2011. Other songs like “Everybody’s Something” find the now “Christian rapper” questioning his faith because of these tragedies.  

Acid Rap is as much a reflection of the Windy City as it is of the acid rapper, and it also influenced the Chicago soundscape despite coming out parallel to Chicago drill boom of the early 2010s. It’s a mixtape that listeners associate with the recklessness of their youth, but unlike reminiscing on those college years, Acid Rap doesn’t evoke any negative feelings when listening back to it a decade later. Chance has grown beyond Acid Rap now, but it will always be the project born in his community of Chicago that helped him create a larger one outside of the city.