''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 album debuted at number 63 on the ''Billboard''
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...
, due to bootleg downloads on
iTunes and
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
not affiliated with the artist. The mixtape has been certified "diamond" on mixtape site Datpiff, for garnering over 1,000,000 downloads. It was rereleased on streaming services on June 21, 2019, alongside his 2012 mixtape ''
10 Day''.
Background and production
Use of LSD
Chancellor Bennett has admitted that some
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...
was used during the production of this mixtape. Bennett has said, "
here
Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to:
Software
* Here Technologies, a mapping company
* Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here
Television
* Here TV (form ...
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."
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."
Cover art
The cover art for ''Acid Rap'' was based on a real picture taken at
South by Southwest, an annual conglomerate of film,
interactive media
Interactive media normally refers to products and services on digital computer-based systems which respond to the user's actions by presenting content such as text, moving image, animation, video and audio. Since its early conception, various f ...
, and
music festivals and
conferences
A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic.
Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main ...
that take place in mid-March in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
. The picture was taken by
Brandon Breaux, who also designed the cover art for Bennett's previous mixtape ''
10 Day.'' 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."
Production
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.
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."
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."
Release
''Acid Rap'' was released as a
mixtape and not an
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
. Bennett said, "One of my biggest talents is performing live.
" This gave him the idea to make his money by selling merchandise and performing live. Along with these reasons, he also chose to release his music as a mixtape because he wanted to create free music. More recently he has also rapped about his hatred for record labels in one of his more recent songs, "No Problem"''.'' Bennett being unsigned also gave him the ability to collaborate with any artists of his choosing. Collaboration was a main factor in the production of ''Acid Rap'' and that is another reason why Bennett decided to remain unsigned.
On June 28, 2019, Bennett officially released the mixtape onto streaming services along with his prior mixtape ''10 Day''. The track "
Juice
Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such as ...
" didn't have its sample cleared and is instead replaced by a 30-second voice memo by Bennett.
Reception
''Acid Rap'' was met with widespread critical acclaim. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the mixtape received an
average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
score of 86, based on 21 reviews.
It was also nominated for Best Mixtape at the 2013
BET Hip Hop Awards
The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and w ...
. The mixtape was ranked at number two on ''
Spin''s list and number 26 on ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
''s list of the 50 best albums of 2013, and first on their list of best mixtapes of 2013. It was the second most downloaded mixtape on MixtapeMonkey.com. It was also ranked at number 12 on ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
''s Top 50 Albums of 2013.
President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
added the song "Acid Rain" to his summer 2016 playlist.
In 2019, ''Pitchfork'' listed it 84 on its top 200 albums of the decade.
Track listing
Credits adapted from
Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
and the album's vinyl liner notes, and reflect the 2019 re-release.
Notes
* "Paranoia" was included as a
hidden track following "Pusha Man" for the original mixtape release, with
Nosaj Thing
Jason W. Chung (born January 27, 1985), better known as Nosaj Thing, is an American artist, record producer, and DJ based in Los Angeles, California. He has produced tracks for Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper, Kid Cudi, Julianna Barwick, and i ...
's contributions receiving no credit. The twenty eight seconds of silence that separated the two tracks is omitted entirely on the streaming and vinyl releases.
* "Juice" is replaced by a 30-second voice memo for the streaming re-release and is omitted entirely on the vinyl release.
Samples
* "Good Ass Intro" contains a sample of "Intro", written by
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
; and embodies portions of "
Faithful", written by
Lonnie Lynn,
John Stephens,
Dewayne Julius Rogers Sr. and West.
* "Pusha Man" contains a sample and embodies portions of "Modaji", performed and written by
Dave Grusin
Robert David "Dave" Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television, and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record w ...
; and contains an interpolation of "Pusherman", written by
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music. .
* "Lost" contains a sample and embodies portions of "Brother's Gonna Work It Out", performed and written by
Willie Hutch
William McKinley Hutchison (December 6, 1944 – September 19, 2005), better known as Willie Hutch, was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s.
Biog ...
.
* "Everybody's Something" contains an interpolation of "Diana in the Autumn Wind", written by Roger Kay Karshner and
Chuck Mangione
Charles Frank Mangione ( ; born November 29, 1940) is an American flugelhorn player, voice actor, trumpeter and composer.
He came to prominence as a member of Art Blakey's band in the 1960s, and later co-led the Jazz Brothers with his brother ...
; and contains a sample and embodies portions of "Fall in Love", performed by
Slum Village and written by
James Yancey, R.L. Altman and Titus Glover.
* "Favorite Song" contains samples and embodies portions of "
Clean Up Woman", performed by
Betty Wright and written by
Willie Clarke and
Clarence Reid.
* "NaNa" contains samples from "Red Clay", written by
Freddie Hubbard and performed by
Jack Wilkins
Jack Rivers Lewis (born June 4, 1944), known professionally as Jack Wilkins, is a jazz guitarist.
Career
A native of New York City, Wilkins grew up listening to his parents' music, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Billie Holiday. He ...
.
* "Chain Smoker" contains samples from "
Long Red
"Long Red" is a song recorded by Leslie West for his first solo album ''Mountain'' (1969). He performed it with his band Mountain at Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held dur ...
(Live)", written by
Felix Pappalardi
Felix A. Pappalardi Jr. (December 30, 1939 – April 17, 1983) was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bassist. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain, whose song "Mississippi Queen" peaked at ...
, John Ventura,
Leslie Weinstein and Norman Landsberg.
Production personnel
*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
Ludwig Emil Tomas Göransson (; ; born 1 September 1984) is a Swedish composer, conductor and record producer. He has scored films such as ''Fruitvale Station'', the ''Rocky'' franchise entries ''Creed'' and ''Creed II'', ''Venom'', and ''Tene ...
– Producer ("Interlude
hat's Love)
*JP – Member of Blended Babies, producer ("Smoke Again")
*Kiara Lanier — Singer, featured artist ("Good Ass Intro")
*
Lili K
''Lili'' is a 1953 American film released by MGM. It stars Leslie Caron as a touchingly naïve French girl whose emotional relationship with a carnival puppeteer is conducted through the medium of four puppets. The film won the Academy Award for ...
— Singer, featured artist ("Good Ass Intro," "Pusha Man")
*Mike Kolar — Engineer, owner of Soundscape Studios, founder of Closed Sessions
*
Vic Mensa
Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...
— Rapper, featured artist ("Cocoa Butter Kisses")
*Cam O'bi – Producer ("Good Ass Intro," "Cocoa Butter Kisses," "Everything's Good
ood Ass Outro)
*Stefan Ponce – Producer ("Good Ass Intro")
*
Nico Segal
Nico Segal (born June 25, 1993), formerly known by his stage name Donnie Trumpet, is an American trumpeter and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. He is part of the hip hop collective Savemoney with Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa, among ...
– Trumpeter, member of the Social Experiment
*
Twista
Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (formerly Tung Twista), is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastes ...
— Rapper, featured artist ("Cocoa Butter Kisses")
*Austin Vesely – Director ("Juice," "Everybody's Something," "NaNa")
Charts
References
External links
Official ''Acid Rap'' download and stream
{{Authority control
2013 mixtape albums
Albums produced by Jake One
Albums produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League
Chance the Rapper albums