Chance The Rapper Projects: His Solo Work, Ranked

Over the past decade, Chicago artist Chance The Rapper has released five mixtapes and one studio album. With these projects, Chance received critical acclaim and commercial success. He has since become one of the most well-known names in hip-hop and mainstream culture. Along with his music, Chance The Rapper is also highly involved in political activism and a coach on The Voice. Chance is a multi-faceted creator and artist. Here's a look at Chance's four solo projects, ranked.

After the worldwide success of his previous project, Coloring Book, fans were excited about Chance's first-ever studio album. However, The Big Day fell far beneath the standards the Chicago rapper set for himself with his previous three mixtapes. The Big Day came three years after Coloring Book, and much had changed in Chance's life. The most significant change, which the album is centered around, was Chance's marriage to his long-time partner Kirsten Corley.

Chance's marriage is at the center of the project, as it inspired the album title and content throughout. The Big Day includes a star-studded lineup of features including John Legend, MadeinTYO, Da Baby, Megan Thee Stallion, Gucci Mane, Lil Durk, Nicki Minaj, and Shawn Mendes. With these features and a clear direction for the project, it seemed The Big Day was poised to be Chance The Rapper's greatest album to date; however, this was not the case.

The idea of an album about marriage was unique and captivating to many fans. However, much of the content came off as corny and overly sentimental. This was evident in the song "I Got You (Always and Forever)." The instrumental is reminiscent of '90s rap ballads, yet it missed its mark. Lines such as "We treat the bad advice like bad breath / Either give a compliment or a couple mints, depends what we have left," is one of many that left fans rolling their eyes.

Along with this, much of the album feels jumbled and out of place. Evidence of this appears on the title track, "The Big Day." The majority of the song is about the wedding itself. However, an expletive-riddled rant begins in the middle of the song and throws off the entire vibe. Other tracks such as "Hot Shower" show Chance at his absolute corniest. DaBaby delivered a nice verse. Despite this, it was not enough to save it from Chance's verse or chorus.

While The Big Day is definitely Chance's worst project, there are still a few highlights from the album. The opening song "All Day Long" is a funky track where Chance delivers. "Sun Come Down" shows him at his most vulnerable over a stripped-back beat. Megan Thee Stallion also delivered a legendary verse on "Handsome." Despite this, the album in its totality missed the mark and ranks as Chance's worst project to date.

While Chance The Rapper broke into the national Hip-Hop scene with Acid Rap, his first mixtape, 10 Day was an early display of the Chicago rapper's unique sound and style. The title of the mixtape is in reference to a ten-day suspension Chance served after being caught with marijuana on his high school campus. During his suspension, Chance recorded the entire project. 10 Day contains many glimpses of Chance's eventual greatness. In addition to this, it also contains moments that depict the rapper's newness at the time.

Similar to Acid Rap, 10 Day is jazzy, soulful, and heavily inspired by gospel music. The project's lyrical content surrounds Chance's adolescence and experiences with drugs. His youthful nature almost possesses the project and reflects his age at the time. At times, the project is highly nostalgic and introspective. At others, it is angry, loud, and laced with teenage angst. Much of Chance's musical content is highly reflective of his life experiences, and 10 Day is no different.

Highlights of the album include "Brain Cells." The song features a jazzy instrumental as Chance delivers his signature whimsical flow. In the chorus, Chance raps that he "burned too many brain cells down," in reference to his drug use at the time. Along with this, Chance raps about his experiences with his family, his life in Chicago, and his place as an adolescent.

Another highlight of the album is the song "Prom Night." The instrumental of the track is extremely soulful as Chance raps about adolescent love and nostalgic memories of his family. "Prom Night" is one of the earliest examples of Chance's vulnerability on the mic. Along with this, the final track "Hey Ma" is a heartfelt message to his mother. Kanye West's classic "Hey Mama" heavily inspired the song.

Tracks such as "Juke Juke" and "Fuck You Tahm Bout" show some of the flaws in Chance's music at the time. Despite this, 10 Day is a unique and inspired debut project. The soulful and playful sound of the album carried into Chance's next project Acid Rap. While it may not be Chance at his best, 10 Day served as a sign of things to come.

Chance's third mixtape Coloring Book is the rapper's most successful and critically acclaimed project. The mixtape includes features from Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Justin Bieber, and Future, just to name a few, and was a testament to how far Chance had come in only three years. Coloring Book won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 2017. With this, it became the first streaming-only project to do so. While it may be Chance's most critically successful project, it falls at No. 2 on this list due to the greatness of Acid Rap.

Despite this, nothing can be taken away from just how good Coloring Book is. The mixtape is soul and gospel-heavy and bends genres in a way only Chance The Rapper can. Perhaps the most well-known song on the project is "No Problem" which features Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz. "No Problem" is probably the best example of Chance's ability to enmesh gospel music with the trap sound. Along with a captivating verse and chorus by Chance, the song features top-tier verses from two of Hip-Hop's greatest.

Another standout from Coloring Book is "Same Drugs." The song calls back to many of the themes of Acid Rap. It also shares an introspective view of Chance's artistic and personal maturity. Along with this, Chance speaks about his desire to stay independent in the highlight song "Mixtape." The track is the most trap-heavy of the album and features verses from Lil Yachty and Young Thug.

Other highlights from the album include "Juke Jam" and the final track, "Blessings." "Juke Jam" is a slow, vibe-heavy track featuring Justin Bieber and Towkio. The song shows Chance's versatility as he primarily sings throughout it. The outro, "Blessings," feels like Chance's response to his music industry success. It is highly nostalgic and also ends with a gospel choir. As mentioned, Coloring Book is a stellar project and only falls at number two on this list due to the greatness of No. 1.

The mixtape that skyrocketed Chance The Rapper into Hip-Hop's upper echelon is still the Chicago artist's best. Acid Rap served as one of the most refreshing projects of 2013, and its sheer charm is still undeniable. As the title mentions, Chance's experiments with psychedelic drugs heavily inspired the project's sound. Acid Rap almost feels like a drug trip, yet it is also nostalgic and introspective and contains themes surrounding religion and family.

The uniqueness of Acid Rap places it above any of Chance's other projects. The mixtape begins in a whirlwind of emotion as the first two tracks, "Good Ass Intro" and "Pusha Man," are fast-paced and display Chance at his most whimsical. However, the third track, "Paranoia," is atmospheric and shows Chance's mixed feelings about his drug use and also speaks about political issues in his world.

The fourth track, "Cocoa Butter Kisses," stands out on the album. The song returns to the fast-paced nature of the first two tracks, and yet like "Paranoia," it is heartfelt and emotionally charged. In "Cocoa Butter Kisses," Chance speaks about his relationship with his family and how it deteriorated as his drug use increased.

The mixtape continues its sudden pace as it ties in the "high" one feels while intoxicated with the lows that come about as a result. Childish Gambino, Action Bronson, and Ab-Soul deliver back-to-back-to-back features on the songs "Favorite Song," "Nana," and "Smoke Again," respectively. Acid Rap then becomes most introspective with the song "Acid Rain." "Acid Rain" is perhaps the most vulnerable track on the project as Chance delivers his true feelings about his drug use and his dreams of becoming more of both an artist and a man.

The mixtape ends on a high note with "Everything's Good (Good Ass Outro)," as Chance neatly wraps up most of the feelings he expressed throughout the project. A decade later, Acid Rap has stood the test of time and ranks as one of the greatest mixtapes ever produced. The project rightfully catapulted Chance The Rapper into the mainstream. It is also the greatest testament to Chance's distinct sound. Because of this, Acid Rap ranks as Chance The Rapper's best project to date.