There were a lot of acts that I was interested in catching at Coachella, and Chance the Rapper was definitely one of them. As he was forced to cancel is weekend two performance due to the flu and tonsillitis, I was grateful I got to catch him perform the first weekend.
I have a twitter account (@methodman13) and I hand picked accounts to follow for music news. Sometime in 2013, I noticed that Complex Magazine’s twitter handle had changed its avatar to the cover of a mix-tape by a rapper I had never heard of. Complex was pushing the mixtape hard, and after a couple of weeks of ignoring the various tweets they shot out with links to the free mix tape, I finally caved and downloaded it. It was “Acid Rap” by Chance the Rapper, and I was glad I set aside my music snobbery to download it because it was an amazingly well put together mixtape and is definitely one of my favorite hip-hop albums of 2013 .
Call it Psychedelic Hip-Hop/Alternative Rap/Underground Rap … call it whatever you want, it’s melodic music that tells stories as eloquently as they come. Sure, the album relies on a lot of samples and interpolations (as is the trend for mix-tapes), but it doesn’t take away from what Chance adds to those familiar melodies and rhythms.
The surprise of the set, though I was already ushered out of the photo pit by the time, was Justin Bieber’s cameo for hist duet with Chance called “Confident”. I wasn’t as excited as some others about the guest appearance, and truthfully, I don’t think that the audience was all to into it if the luke warm (to say the least) reception was any indication, but it did have the internet buzzing with gossip.
I’m a fan of Chance The Rapper’s current output and musical style. If he does, indeed, intend to give his music away for free and only charge his fans to watch him perform, I’ll be one of the first in line to purchase a ticket to his next show in Los Angeles.
I wasn’t able to find a setlist online, so if any of you Chance the Rapper fans know what songs were performed the first weekend of Coachella, I’d love to know so I can add it to this entry.
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