10 Years of Coloring Book: Chicago’s Own Chance the Rapper Takes Over BMore with a Sold-Out Show

A Decade of Faith, Growth and Coloring Outside the Lines

I still remember the first time I heard Coloring Book from top to bottom.

I was listening to the opener, “All We Got,” looking up the lyrics in real time and getting chills.

“I get my word from the Sermon, I do not talk to the serpent…”

Even then, I knew I was listening to something different: an artist who was socially conscious and fully understood himself as a spiritual being navigating the human experience.

Ten years later, Coloring Book is still easily one of my top five hip-hop projects released by any artist over the last decade. And to this day, I don’t think Chance the Rapper gets nearly enough credit for what that project represented, both creatively and within the music industry.

As the trailblazing and multi-platinum-selling independent artist that he is, Chance helped lay the groundwork for a new era of music consumption and distribution with a project that challenged what a mixtape release could look like outside of the traditional system. But beyond the business of it all, Coloring Book introduced me to a version of hip-hop that felt like a Gospel hybrid in so many ways.

It was spiritually rooted, deeply personal, and full of life, all while being backed by the kind of top-tier production you would expect from an A-list hip-hop album.

And somehow, the music still gives me chills in the present day.

Not just “All We Got,” either. “Same Drugs,” “Blessings,” “Angels,” and “Summer Friends” have always had that same effect on me too. I’ve teared up listening to those songs more times than I care to admit. Ten years later, it still finds the same emotional nerve.

That is the power of a truly timeless mixtape.

Growing Up With Chance

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of an artist who hasn’t even reached 40 yet feels surreal, but also incredibly special.

It means we have essentially watched Chance grow up in real time. We’ve witnessed the victories, the creative highs, the personal changes, and all the vicissitudes of life that come with navigating independent artistry, adulthood, marriage, fatherhood, as well as divorce.

And fortunately for Chance’s fans, he has never completely hidden those ebbs and flows.

Instead, he has allowed us to intentionally accompany him throughout his growth and artistic journey in a way that feels unique. Whether you connected with every era or not, there has always been an honesty in the fact that Chance the person and Chance the artist have continued to evolve right in front of us.

**A Coloring Book Celebration in Baltimore**

Chance’s Baltimore stop took place at Nevermore Hall, one of the city’s newest and most spaciously intimate venues, located near the Inner Harbor in the Power Plant area.

This was also my second concert at Nevermore Hall this month. Earlier in August, I was there for a sold-out KenTheMan show, and now, at the end of the month, I found myself back for another sold-out night with Chance the Rapper.

For a venue that I had never experienced before this month, I’ve now gotten two completely different concert experiences there, both packed to capacity and full of energy.

Chance performed fan favorites including “All We Got,” “Summer Friends,” “Blessings,” “Mixtape,” and “Juke Jam.”

But the most moving moments of the evening were undeniably “Same Drugs” and his performance of his verse from what remains one of his most celebrated features, “Ultralight Beam.”

During those songs in particular, there was not a single closed mouth, dry eye, or unraised hand in the room. I’ve never been this emotional at a rap concert before, and I attend A LOT of rap concerts.

When the bassline to “Ultralight Beam” dropped, I’ve never seen so many people go into secular praise and worship in a concert venue so quickly. The whole show felt less like a reunion rap concert and more like a revival service.

And when Chance dropped the beat and went straight into the second verse of “All We Got” after “Ultralight Beam,” rapping, “I get my Word from the sermon, I do not talk to the serpent…” I, along with everyone in my immediate vicinity, LOST IT.

Ten years later, Coloring Book still sounds like faith, nostalgia, joy, growing pains, and gratitude all existing in the same body of work. And judging by the energy inside Nevermore Hall, I wasn’t the only one who remembered exactly where I was when those songs first found me.

Some albums age. Others evolve with you. Ten years later, Coloring Book has somehow managed to do both.

The care, consideration, social responsibility, and musicianship woven throughout Chance’s artistry represent so much of how I hope the future of hip-hop continues to sound and feel. If Chance is still able to release meaningful music, perform it for sold-out rooms, and leave a lasting imprint on his community as a now-veteran in the rap game and a point of reference for independent artists, then I still believe hip-hop is in good hands.

Growth, range, and authenticity will always outlast the moment.

Art over algorithms. Culture over clout. And taste over trends.

Always, in all ways.The Urban Media Enthusiast