For those dialed in in the early 2010s, there’s no doubt that Chicago contemporary independent hip hop trailblazer Chance the Rapper‘s masterful second mixtape, 2013’s Acid Rap, was his critical breakout and broader introduction to the music world at large. But for the general public, equally incredible, platinum-certified, Grammy-winning follow-up, Coloring Book, in 2016, is the record that truly made him a star. Also technically a mixtape (though it really pushed the bounds of how huge a mixtape could become), the star-studded album, which took on the gospel rap bent that has informed the rapper’s subsequent work, features huge guests like Kanye West, Young Thug, Francis and the Lights, Justin Bieber, and 2 Chainz, landed multiple hit singles, and made Chance- then in his early 20s- into a major touring artist.
Chance would go on to release his debut studio album, The Big Day, in 2019, and independent follow-up, Star Line last year, but never quite recaptured the critical high or rabid fan response of those ealier efforts (I, for one, think the negativity around The Big Day was excessive, and Star Line definitely feels like a return to form, though I won’t dispute Acid Rap and Coloring Peak are Chance’s best). So it should be no surprise, then, that for Coloring Book‘s monumental 10th anniversary, The Rapper is hitting the road to celebrate, performing that landmark album (which, in hindsight, still remains one of the absolute best records of the 2010s) in full, at intimate venues.
Though no stranger to the area, famously performing at and attending Bonnaroo several times in the 2010s (famously earning him the “Mayor of Bonnaroo” nickname), it’s actually been more than a decade since Chance played Nashville proper (a year before Coloring Book was even released), after a couple of would-be arena shows were cancelled at the turn of the decade. Which makes his Music City return tonight, Aug. 30, to headline The Ryman Auditorium, with support from La Reezy, all the more special. To see such a fantastic artist perform arguably his best album in a space like the Mother Church? That’s a show-of-the-year contender. And, amazingly, there are just a few tickets left right here!
Chance the Rapper and La Reezy perform tonight, Aug. 30 at The Ryman Auditorium. The show is all ages, begins at 8 p.m., and tickets are available for $62.75-114.61.
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