Chance the Rapper, who has built a career based on independence from major labels, is also known for releasing his first three mixtapes – not albums – for free.
Last November Chance announced that he is working on what he is calling his debut album, and it seems like he might put this one up for sale.
“I might actually sell this album. That’s like, a big step in itself,” Chance told Complex in his cover story.
Chance believes that selling the album may help him achieve more success on the Billboard charts, which gives more importance to sales over streams. “I kind of hate the fact that I can’t chart, really. I can chart, but the way they have the stream s—t set up is weak as f—k. It’s unfair. And, you know, I don’t know if it’s— it’s like 1,500 or 1700 streams is the equivalent to one unit, and that’s just, you know—that’s unfair. Nobody listens to their songs 1,700 times when they buy it, f—k outta here. So, it makes it hard. I can’t really—I can’t compete with other people. Not that the charts matter at all, but like, come one.
He emphasized, however, that nothing yet is set in stone. “I think having it for purchase would be dope. Also, I’m talking about… this is all like, hypothetical. There is no album. I don’t have something sitting… I can feel, like, fans squirming in their chair like, ‘Oh s—t, he’s changing!’ This is an idea.”
Still Chance promises that his next project, which he has already started recording for, will be much different from his first three mixtapes. “I think whatever this album it, it would just be—it wouldn’t be so centered. Acid Rap and 10 Day and Coloring Book was like a trilogy in itself. One aesthetic, one goal, and this is like whatever my next thing is, it’ll be, I think, just a bit bigger. Like maybe it’ll… there’ll be some type of visual component to it. Like it’ll be a movie, or it’ll be a play or some type of tour.”
See Chance the Rapper’s full cover story over at Complex.
