You’d be hard pressed to find a more fiercely independent artist out there than Chance The Rapper. The Chicago native has made major waves for his decision to forego the major label system and give his music straight to the fans without filter. The tactic has paid off in a huge way. He’s arguably one of the biggest names in music at the moment and all his three of mixtapes 10 Day, Acid Rap and Coloring Book have been lavished with critical acclaim. The most recent one scored three Grammy’s, including Best Rap Album at this year’s ceremony. Now he’s thinking of changing things up.
In a wide-ranging interview with Complex, Chance talked about what he’s currently thinking of doing with his next project. And no, it’s not another mixtape, but apparently a proper album. “I think I might actually sell this album,” he said. “That’s, like, a big step in itself. I kind of hate the fact that I can’t chart, really.”
“The way they have the streaming sh*t set up is weak as f**k. It’s unfair. 1,500 streams is the equivalent to one [album sale], and that’s just that’s unfair. Nobody listens to their songs [1,500] times when they buy it—f**k outta here! So, it makes it hard. I can’t really compete with other people. Not that the charts matters at all, but like, come on. Anyways, I think having it for purchase would be dope. Also, this is all hypothetical. There is no album. I can feel fans squirming in their chair, like, ‘Oh sh*t, he’s changing!’ This is an idea.”
He also elaborated on the famous line in his Coloring Book song “No Problem” where he raps, “If one more label tries to stop me / It’s gon’ be some dreadhead n***as in your lobby,” explaining some of the obstacles that have been thrown in his way. According Chance the major labels have, “Push[ed] me out of headline positions, so that their artists could be a headliner or, like, not cleared songs. Certain songs didn’t get cleared; the samples that were good to go didn’t get cleared.”
Whatever Chance plans to do with his next project, you can certainly expect that the choice will be made entirely on his terms.
