The importance of the 'Acid Rap' visual.
Presented by go90
There's no denying the importance or relevance of Chance The Rapper's Acid Rap mixtape. The project, which dropped nearly two and a half year ago, is still considered a fan favorite and has helped launch Chance's career. It has achieved Diamond status on Datpiff, which means it has received over 1,000,000, downloads on their site alone, along with the individual songs tallying over 100 million streams on Soundcloud.
Acid Rap is the most recent and critically acclaimed solo project from the Chicago-raised artist, and it's still the main focus of his performances across the globe including the stages of major festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, and much more. To enjoy Chance's live performance, download go90 to watch his 11/7 performance in Miami, featuring records such as 'Paranoia' and 'Sunday Candy.'
During such a delicate part of his career, Chance has been able to keep his position as one of the most talented up-and-coming artists, predominately because of the longevity of Acid Rap. The project holds some iconic tracks including the Childish Gambino-featured 'Favorite Song,' 'Cocoa Butter Kisses' with Vic Mensa and Twista, and 'Juice.'
Despite holding around a dozen memorable tracks, one of his most vital records may be 'Smoke Again' featuring Ab-Soul. The song stands as an anchor for the then-follow up to his bubbling 10 Day mixtape. It helped Chance capture an audience that he would eventually capitalize on when Acid Rap released a week later.
At the same time, we were working to get our audience prepared for the next era of ILLROOTS. As a part of the promotion for our new interface and the rollout of our new interactive tools, we launched several pieces of original content. One of our favorite and most recognizable releases was the 'Smoke Again' music video. The partnership was extremely organic, considering we debuted Chance's initial release, his acclaimed 10 Day Mixtape.
We directed the music video entirely, which was edited by frequent collaborator Dylan Knight. The shoot helped direct attention to Chance's campaign as it arrived just a few days before the debut of Acid Rap. 'Smoke Again' remains a fan favorite during shows, adding an unparalleled energy to Chance's set. The video evoked the same energy that could only come from such a fun song and a trusted partnership.
The video showcased some of Chance's amazing dance moves, while giving fans an honest portrayal of his undeniable and infectious positive attitude. It also captures a hazy verse from TDE's Ab-Soul, who contributed one of the most memorable appearances across the entire project.
The video, which marked such an important time for ILLROOTS and Chance The Rapper, quickly climbed its way up to 1,000,000 views, and currently has over 3 million on YouTube.
You can revisit the music video above, and stream Acid Rap here. Uzi also captured some extremely rare and unique behind-the-scenes footage from this shoot, which gives fans an inside look at Chance The Rapper, Ab-Soul, Sir Michael Rocks and others involved in the making of the video, peep here.
Check back in with us at ILLROOTS as we look to keep you updated on the release of Chance's forthcoming solo project. His new single 'Somewhere In Paradise' can be streamed on Chanceraps.com.
