It’s not every day a brand new rapper with less than 10,000 followers on Instagram can drop a debut album with not one, but three Chance The Rapper features. Of course, thanks to those features, as well as appearances from Jeremih, Joey Purp, Kami, and Chance’s brother Taylor Bennett, Chicago rapper Reeseynem may see his follower count shoot up when fans get a listen to his new mixtape Only On The Weekends.
Of the three Chance The Rapper appearances — one of which is shared by fellow Windy City superstar Jeremih, who features on two tracks as well — fans may be most familiar with “What’s The Hook?” which debuted back in August and which the two rappers performed during Chance’s guest role on MTV’s Wild’n Out. Here’s the video:
Reeseynem also popped up in a video Chance shared to his Instagram featuring an updated remix of the All That theme song, dancing in the studio with Chance and a few other friends.
So, he’s clearly been hanging around his hometown’s more famous resident for a while, but Only On The Weekends is Reeseynem’s (ahem) chance to get his name out there and show the world what he can do. From the first track “First Day Out,” it seems like he was previously signed to a recording contract but has decided to follow his Chicago compatriots in going independent.
Like some of the other Cubs fans releasing independent hip-hop — think Joey Purp, Saba, Supa Bwe, and Taylor Bennett — Reeseynem embraces a joyful, upbeat sound with colorful melodies and slick references to the city’s musical history from house music to juke jams. A significant chunk of the album relies on 808-laden production, but with much brighter, synth-driven instrumentation than most straightforward trap music.
Chance, meanwhile, drops his signature vocals on “First Day Out” and “Put It On Me,” an ode to big ol’ booties. Only On The Weekends is a smart, fun introduction to Chance’s latest protege to jump in the game, and Reeseynem is definitely a name to watch out for. If Chance’s next phase involves helping launch the next wave of Chicago talent to the mainstream, he’s off to a great start.
Get Only On The Weekends here.
