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Acid Rap

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Acid Rap
Mixtape by
ReleasedApril 30, 2013 (2013-04-30)
Recorded2012–2013
StudioSoundscape, Force One, Seven, & Classick in Chicago
Genre
Length
  • 53:52
  • 50:15 (2019 re-release)[1]
Producer
Chance the Rapper chronology
10 Day
(2012)
Acid Rap
(2013)
Surf
(2015)
Singles from Acid Rap
  1. "Juice"
    Released: January 31, 2013
  2. "Acid Rain"
    Released: February 22, 2013

Acid Rap is the second mixtape by American rapper Chance the Rapper. It was released on April 30, 2013, as a free digital download. In July 2013, the mixtape debuted at number 63 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, due to bootleg downloads on iTunes and Amazon not affiliated with the artist.[2] The mixtape has been certified "diamond" on mixtape site Datpiff, for garnering over 1,000,000 downloads.[3] It was rereleased on streaming services on June 21, 2019, alongside his 2012 mixtape 10 Day. A 10th anniversary Complete Edition was later released, including the full version of "Juice", which previously wasn't available for streaming due to sampling issues.

Background and production

[edit]

Chancelor Bennett has admitted that LSD was used during the production of this mixtape. Bennett has said, "[There] was a lot of acid involved in Acid Rap. I mean, it wasn't too much – I'd say it was about 30 to 40 percent acid... more so 30 percent acid."[4] He has also made it clear that LSD's involvement was just a small factor in the making of the mixtape. Bennett has said that, "It wasn't the biggest component at all. It was something that I was really interested in for a long time during the making of the tape, but it's not necessarily a huge factor at all. It was more so just a booster, a bit of fuel. It's an allegory to acid, more so than just a tape about acid."[4]

Bennett used artists and producers from Chicago who he had also worked with before. The acid jazz sound of the mixtape can be attributed to the collaboration of artists and producers from multiple genres.[5] Bennett has said, "People that I worked with on other projects from multiple genres just came together to make a dope tape." Bennett attributes most of the funky or jazz sound to Peter Cottontale saying, "Peter Cottontale is a really sick jazz pianist."[5]

Bennett describes Acid Rap as more of a music based album and less of a story-based album when compared to his previous mixtape. When asked to compare 10 Day to Acid Rap Bennett said, "Acid Rap is just a whole different monster; it's me as an adult making great music instead of a kid trying to explain a story. It's less of a conceptual project. It's still very cohesive, storytelling-wise, and its own project. But it's more music-based than story-based this time. I'm still telling the story of what it's like coming out of high school, not going to college and my experience with LSD. The new music that I started listening to has got a really heavy Acid Jazz base to it. It's just really good songs; it's a collection of great songs, which is exactly what #10Day is. But it's more of just a really good album than a story."[6]

The cover art for Acid Rap was based on a real picture taken at South by Southwest, an annual conglomerate of film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. The picture was taken by Brandon Breaux, who also designed the cover art for Bennett's previous mixtape 10 Day.[7] The picture happened by chance, according to Beaux, "I had made these Tie Dye tank tops before we went to SXSW and I gave them to Chance… In the back of my mind I'm like I hope you wear this."[8]

Release

[edit]

Acid Rap was released as a mixtape and not an album. Bennett has said "One of my biggest talents is performing live.[6] and considered live performances and selling merchandise a more important source of income than recorded music, which he wanted to release for free. More recently he has also rapped about his hatred for record labels on "No Problem".[9] Bennett being unsigned also gave him the ability to collaborate with any available artist.

On June 28, 2019, Bennett officially released the mixtape onto streaming services along with his prior mixtape 10 Day.[10] The track "Juice" didn't have its sample cleared and is instead replaced by a 30-second voice memo by Bennett. It was later included in a 10th anniversary Complete Edition.

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.1/10[11]
Metacritic86/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
The A.V. ClubA−[14]
Consequence of Sound[15]
Fact4/5[16]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)A−[17]
Pitchfork8.4/10[18]
PopMatters8/10[19]
Rolling Stone[20]
Spin8/10[21]
XXL4/5[22]

Acid Rap was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the mixtape received an average score of 86, based on 21 reviews.[12] It was also nominated for Best Mixtape at the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards.[23] The mixtape was ranked at number two on Spin's list[24] and number 26 on Rolling Stone's list of the 50 best albums of 2013, and first on their list of best mixtapes of 2013.[25] It was the second most downloaded mixtape on MixtapeMonkey.com.[26] It was also ranked at number 12 on Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2013.[27]

President Barack Obama added the song "Acid Rain" to his 2016 summer playlist.[28]

In 2019, Pitchfork listed it 84 on its top 200 albums of the decade.[29]

Track listing

[edit]

Credits adapted from Tidal and the album's vinyl liner notes, and reflect the 2019 re-release.[30]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Good Ass Intro" (featuring BJ the Chicago Kid)
  • Chance the Rapper
  • Peter Cottontale
  • Cam O'bi
  • Ponce
3:59
2."Pusha Man" (featuring Nate Fox)
2:19
3."Paranoia" (featuring Lili K. and Nosaj Thing)
  • Chance the Rapper
  • Nosaj Thing
4:35
4."Cocoa Butter Kisses" (featuring Vic Mensa and Twista)
  • Chance the Rapper
  • Cam O'bi
  • Peter Cottontale
5:07
5."Juice"
  • Chance the Rapper
  • Fox
3:35
6."Lost" (featuring Noname)
  • Chance the Rapper
  • Fox
3:04
7."Everybody's Something" (featuring Saba and BJ the Chicago Kid)
  • Chance the Rapper
  • DJ O-Zone
4:36
8."Interlude (That's Love)"
  • Chance the Rapper
  • Göransson
2:29
9."Favorite Song" (featuring Childish Gambino)
  • Chance the Rapper
  • Fox
3:05
10."NaNa" (featuring Action Bronson)
3:20
11."Smoke Again" (featuring Ab-Soul)
  • Chance the Rapper
  • Blended Babies
4:32
12."Acid Rain"
  • Chance the Rapper
  • Jake One
3:36
13."Chain Smoker"
  • Chance the Rapper
  • Fox
3:30
14."Everything's Good (Good Ass Outro)"
  • Bennett
  • Osteen
  • Chance the Rapper
  • Cam O'bi
5:33
Total length:53:50

Notes

  • "Paranoia" was included as a hidden track following "Pusha Man" for the original mixtape release, with Nosaj Thing's contributions receiving no credit. The 28 seconds of silence that separated the two tracks was omitted entirely on the 2019 streaming re-release and vinyl release. The 2023 'complete edition', released on streaming services to commemorate the mixtape's tenth anniversary, restores 15 seconds of silence between the two tracks.
  • "Juice" was replaced by a 30-second voice memo for the 2019 streaming re-release and was omitted entirely on the vinyl release. After clearing the requisite sample, the song made its streaming debut on the 2023 'complete edition' release.[31]

Samples

Production personnel

[edit]
  • Brandon Breaux – artwork
  • OJ Hays – "Acid Rap" typeface
  • Elton "L10mixedit" Chueng – engineering, mixing, mastering
  • Na'el Shehade – engineer, producer
  • Alex "PapiBeatz" Baez – engineering
  • Andrew Barber – Founder of Fake Shore Drive
  • Su$h! Ceej – Member of Two-9, producer ("Pusha Man")
  • Peter CottonTale – Music Director, Producer ("Good Ass Intro," "Cocoa Butter Kisses")
  • brandUn DeShay (Ace Hashimoto) – producer ("NaNa")
  • J.P. Floyd – Trombonist, featured artist ("Good Ass Intro")
  • Nate Fox – Member of the Social Experiment, featured artist ("Pusha Man"), producer ("Juice," "Lost," "Favorite Song," "Chain Smoker")
  • Alex Fruchter – Founder of Closed Sessions
  • Rich Gains – Member of Blended Babies, producer ("Smoke Again")
  • Ludwig Göransson – producer ("Interlude [That's Love]")
  • JP – Member of Blended Babies, producer ("Smoke Again")
  • Kiara Lanier – singer, featured artist ("Good Ass Intro")
  • Lili K – singer, featured artist ("Good Ass Intro," "Pusha Man")
  • Mike Kolar – engineer, owner of Soundscape Studios, founder of Closed Sessions
  • Vic Mensa – rapper, featured artist ("Cocoa Butter Kisses")
  • Cam O'bi – producer ("Good Ass Intro," "Cocoa Butter Kisses," "Everything's Good [Good Ass Outro]")
  • Stefan Ponce – producer ("Good Ass Intro")
  • Nico Segal – Trumpeter, member of the Social Experiment
  • Twista – rapper, featured artist ("Cocoa Butter Kisses")
  • Austin Vesely – director ("Juice," "Everybody's Something," "NaNa")

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[32] 26
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[33] 63
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[34] 19
US Billboard 200[35] 5
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[36] 3

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Acid Rap by Chance the Rapper on Apple Music". Music.apple.com. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  2. ^ "Chance the Rapper, with 'Acid Rap' Mixtape, Meets the Legal Black Hole Around Unsigned Artists (From the Magazine)". Billboard. 2013-08-14. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  3. ^ "Datpiff Acid Rap". Datpiff. 2014. Retrieved 2015-08-21.
  4. ^ a b Alexis, Nadeska. "Chance The Rapper: There Was 'A Lot Of Acid Involved In Acid Rap'". MTV News. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  5. ^ a b BackRoomsBasements (2013-04-29), Chance The Rapper talks Acid Rap, SXSW, Violence in Chicago + more, archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2019-03-17
  6. ^ a b "Chance The Rapper Talks The Chicago Scene & His "Acid Rap" Mixtape". HipHopDX. 2013-05-03. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  7. ^ "The Artist Responsible For Chance The Rapper's Meme-Inspired Abstract Art". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
  8. ^ "Here's the Original Photo That Inspired Chance the Rapper's 'Acid Rap' Cover". Genius. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
  9. ^ TR (2016-05-16), Chance The Rapper - No Problem (feat. Lil Wayne 2 Chainz) Explicit, archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2019-03-17
  10. ^ "Chance the Rapper's Mixtapes Are Now Streaming, Coming to Vinyl". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  11. ^ "Acid Rap by Chance The Rapper reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Reviews for Acid Rap by Chance the Rapper". Metacritic. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  13. ^ Thomas, Fred (April 30, 2013). "Acid Rap - Chance the Rapper | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  14. ^ Rytlewski, Evan (May 14, 2013). "Chance The Rapper: Acid Rap". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  15. ^ Kivel, Adam (May 8, 2013). "Album Review: Chance The Rapper – Acid Rap". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  16. ^ Kalev, Maya (May 14, 2013). "Acid Rap". Fact. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  17. ^ Christgau, Robert (June 2013). "Chance the Rapper/Homeboy Sandman". MSN Music. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  18. ^ Weiss, Jeff (May 7, 2013). "Chance the Rapper: Acid Rap". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  19. ^ Tryneski, John M. (June 20, 2013). "Chance the Rapper: Acid Rap". PopMatters. Archived from the original on August 22, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  20. ^ Rosen, Jody (May 8, 2013). "Acid Rap". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  21. ^ Soderberg, Brandon (May 2, 2013). "Chance the Rapper, 'Acid Rap' (Self-Released)". Spin. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  22. ^ C. M., Emmanuel (May 13, 2013). "Mixtape Review: Chance the Rapper, Acid Rap". XXL. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  23. ^ "Here Are The BET Award Nominees". Complex. 2013-08-22. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  24. ^ "SPIN's 50 Best Album's of 2013".
  25. ^ "50 Best Albums of 2013". Rolling Stone. December 2, 2013.
  26. ^ "MixtapeMonkey Charts".
  27. ^ "The Top 50 Albums of 2013". Pitchfork.
  28. ^ Obama, President (2016-08-11). "Been waiting to drop this: summer playlist, the encore. What's everybody listening to?pic.twitter.com/mqh1YVrycj". @POTUS44. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
  29. ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. 2019-10-08. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  30. ^ "Acid Rap / Chance the Rapper – TIDAL". Tidal. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  31. ^ Caraan, Sophie (2023-04-25). "Chance the Rapper Announces 'Acid Rap' 10th Anniversary Show". Hypebeast. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  32. ^ "Chance the Rapper Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  33. ^ "Chance the Rapper Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  34. ^ "Billboard Canadian Albums". FYIMusicNews. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  35. ^ "Chance the Rapper Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  36. ^ "Chance the Rapper Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
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