Chance the Rapper, a Chicago native, has released two highly acclaimed mixtapes on his journey to fame. 10 Day was the first tape he released, inspired by a 10 day long suspension during his senior year. But it was his following project, Acid Rap, that would propel Chance into the national spotlight.

Although both tapes were contrived by the same artist, and are both beaming successes, there are certain aspects of Acid Rap that set it apart from 10 Day.

Before hip-hop became a part of his life, Chance listening primarily to jazz and soul music. Jazz and soul inspired many chords, riffs and vocals that complimented Chance’s loosely passionate verses in Acid Rap. In fact, he would even burst into a vocal line in the middle of a verse. This concoction of jazz-soul and hip-hop was much more interesting than the often one dimensional 10 Day.

Another progressive facet of Acid Rap was the production value. Chance enlisted the talents of several new producers including DJ Ozone, Cam for J.U.S.T.I.C.E. league, Nate Fox and more. Not only were the beats more diverse and cognitive with the lyrics, the sound quality was higher than his debut mixtape. The production of Acid Rap helps to give it a nocturnal and cerebral tone, which is what I believe Chance hoped for.

However, many recurring themes between both projects keep Chance’s style alive. Aside from his famous adlib, he continually creates songs showing his vulnerability and then covering it up with intimidating lines about life in Chicago. This constant back and forth gives insight into Chance’s mind, which seems like that of a kid who just grew up too fast. He is also very nostalgic, making that blatantly clear in both tapes with songs like “Acid Rain”, “Long Time” and obviously “Nostalgia.”

Both 10 Day and Acid Rap are worth the free download, but Acid Rap tops 10 Day by a long shot. However, this shows that Chance is growing and I wouldn’t be surprised if he continued to do so.