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According to Rolling Stone, Coloring Book is a gospel-rap masterpiece, and in my opinion, the Chance the Rapper’s latest mixtape is exactly that.
Like his contemporaries, such as Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper is acknowledging another aspect of African-American culture—–gospel music. Gospel music has been a beacon of hope for blacks that traces back to the pain suffered during the slavery era. Singing those gospel songs served as a reminder for slaves that freedom would come eventually. That is the same spirit that is felt as one listens to Coloring Book. The line that truly emphasizes that spirit is “I don’t make songs for free; I make them for freedom. Don’t believe in kings; believe in the kingdom” in “Blessings”.
Chance the Rappers has no problem with acknowledging God in his album;Coloring Book is filled with songs that artistically praise God such as “Blessings”, “Angels”, “How Great”, and “Finish Line_Drown” (which features Kirk Franklin).
Freedom. That is what Chance was pleading for in his mixtape. Coloring Bookis a call to action for freedom in the city of Chicago. And the call could not be more time appropriate. It comes at a time where the Chicago Police Department has been plagued with systemic racism, according to a task force report. It comes at a time where the city is prevalent with senseless shootings on a daily basis. And Chance has demonstrated that God is the answer to that freedom in Coloring Book.
God is not the only answer, though. Music can be used to spark change. That is why the mixtape opens up with “All We Got”, emphasizing the importance of music.
Chance the Rapper was also pleading for freedom in his personal life. That vibe was felt with “Smoke Break” featuring Future and “Summer Friends” featuring Jerimih.
Coloring Book is about making energy with different colors in this book called life. It can be the color of love which is shown with “Juke Jam” featuring Justin Bieber. It can be the color of freedom. It can be the color of anger or it can be the color of spirituality. But as long as it has color, that is all that matters. Thus, Coloring Book is a work of art.