In the last six months, Chance the Rapper has covered the “Arthur” theme song, brought out Justin Bieber at Coachella, and shared the stage with R. Kelly at Lollapalooza, and he will cap off his remarkable year with a new album.
The Chicago MC, who remains independent, and his band the Social Experiment, are readying a series of new projects to be released over the coming months, reports Billboard.
The first, entitled Surf, will be available for free by the end of the year, and will showcase his trumpet player Nico Segal aka Donnie Trumpet. According to Chance, it marks his most prominent showing since 2013’s critically-acclaimed mixtape Acid Rap.
He has been in the studio with Frank Ocean, J. Cole, Migos, Rick Rubin, Emily King, and Francis and the Lights’ Francis Starlite.
“It’s a big step for all of us all putting our heads together and letting Nico hold the reigns and carry it,” said Chance. “There’s a lot of great instrumentation. A lot of input from cool writers.”
Following his festival run including performances at Coachella, Lolla, and Made in America, he is prepping a new live show for 2015 that was inspired by The Lion King musical.
“My new shows are almost like watching a movie. It’s like going to a play or something,” he said.
Listen to Chance’s satirical song, “No Better Blues,” which he wrote as a response to negativity.
