Today,Chance the Rapperannounced he would be embarking on a 15-city tour in the fall. The journey, which begins on September 26 in Houston, Texas, is called the And We Back Tour—a fitting name, considering it marks a major return to the stage for the Grammy Award-winning artist. His last album,Coloring Book,was released nine years ago to mixed reviews due to its startling lyrical and stylistic departure from its predecessors. Having alienated many of his early fans and fallen out of the contemporary cultural canon,will this tour revitalizeChance the Rapper’s career, or will it solidify him as a relic of abygone era?
Can Chance Recover from His Last Few Flops?
Although Chance was one of the most popular rappers of the mid-2010s, taking over fan playlists and selling out arenas worldwide, his last few recordshaven’t seen the same successas hisAcid Rapera.Coloring Book,released in 2016, alienated longtime fans for eschewing Chance’s distinctivehip hopandR&Benergy in favor of gospel. Furthermore, the 2019 studio albumThe Big Daycentered around his upcoming nuptials and was panned by fans and critics alike for beingso cheerful that it verged on childishness.
By now, Chance has earned a reputation as a happy rapper, his tracks associated with youthful, carefree days, therefore excluding him from discussions about “serious rap.” His last few releases have also been so consistently dismissed for their themes and tone that he’sexited the culturalzeitgeist, a remnant of a more idyllic past. The And We Back Tour may signal Chance’s intention to bring back 2010s energy, but will his fans be so willing to return to the past?
Chance the Rapper’s Upbeat, Pop-Friendly Style Diverts from Today’s Hip Hop Norms
When Chance was at his height, he transitioned from anindiedarling into a mainstream sensation with hits likeSurf(released withDonnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment) and theAcid Rapmixtape. As the rapper progressed in his career, he continued to solidify his reputation as a generally optimistic rapper,focusing on themes likelove,friendship, and having funrather than on the political and even violent themes associated with rap during the 1990s and early 2000s. CitingKanye Westas one of his main influences, he distanced himself from gangster rap by writing about other topics andmelding rap with genres such as R&B and soul.
His upbeat rhythms and buoyant lyrics fit in well during the notoriously cheerful “stomp clap” era of 2010s music. Now, however, that attitude is addressed with equal parts ridicule andnostalgia, dismissed for what’s now considered naïve optimism. Chance’s music, which only grew increasingly jovial and was criticized in 2016 for being saccharine,might be out of step with contemporary tastes. In an era during which even the slightest hint of sincerity is scorned as “cringe,” Chance the Rapper’s signature style is a relic of a simpler, more socio-politically stable time.
Furthermore, hip hop has been through a change or two since Chance the Rapper was last on the scene. Whereas pop-infused rap was all the rage in the mid-2010s,the 2020s have been dominated by drill and trap—a return to the very thematic and stylistic elements that Chance once bucked against. While Chance might be ready to pick up where he left off, it’s entirely possible that his fanbase has grown up and moved on, or that he’ll findGen Alphaaudiences unwilling to receive the message that their elders once so readily accepted.
That said, we don’t know what the content or style of this new album will be, and Chance has been through quite a bit sinceColoring BookandThe Big Day.The idyllic marriage he rapped about on the latter has tragically ended in divorce, andthe artist has had several years to reflect on his style, observe contemporary trends, and adapt. Just asThe Strokesrocketed back onto the rock scene in 2020 after a seven-year hiatus, Chance the Rapper might take over the airwaves yet again with a mature, nuanced sound that both honors his signature style and feels relevant to the times.
