In a weird turn of events, Chance the Rapper’s debut studio album The Big Day isn’t quite getting the warm embrace that he or much of the general public would have anticipated. In addition to not topping the Billboard 200 chart in its first week as many predicted — reaching No. 2 with 108,000 equivalent album sales isn’t bad at all, though — the actual reaction from critics and fans alike has been, well, tepid to say the least.
The mixed feelings towards his new LP haven’t gone unnoticed by the GRAMMY-winning Chicago MC, and he’s responding to the backlash directly to his fans on Twitter.
I’m getting this crazy feeling that people want me to kill myself ?
— The Big Day out now (@chancetherapper) August 5, 2019
The first tweet is rather triggering, especially using language such as “people want me to kill myself.” However, he goes on to assure us that he’s in no way suicidal.
That’s not my vibe at all, but i feel the push.
— The Big Day out now (@chancetherapper) August 5, 2019
Instead, his thoughts are more geared toward a feeling that people want him to feel “ashamed” for either not meeting expectations, not delivering a sound (or maybe too similar) in comparison to his previous mixtapes like 10 Day, Acid Rap or the award-winning Coloring Book.
And I feel like even more than that, some people want me to feel ashamed.
— The Big Day out now (@chancetherapper) August 5, 2019
It’s not hard to understand that an artist, particularly a musician, can be in the eloquent words of Erykah Badu, “sensitive about their shit.” So may be the case for Chano when it comes to The Big Day.
Shame is heavy yo. And feeling shame for something that you were once prideful about is super heavy.
— The Big Day out now (@chancetherapper) August 5, 2019
Like can really push me to one side or the other. And thats super raw to me. Cause I’m sure there’s other people that get their fuel from music
— The Big Day out now (@chancetherapper) August 5, 2019
Thankfully he’s not letting the burden of critique get the best of him. Instead, he’s using the time to be with family and hopefully focus on the positive side of dropping new music and setting up a successful supporting tour.
So for anybody out there thats texted me the past few days, I appreciate you. And I’m happy being able to spend time with my family and do alot of the things I used to do before I got so wrapped up in making this project
— The Big Day out now (@chancetherapper) August 5, 2019
In the age of social media, sometimes a good Twitter rant is needed to get it all out; being a top-selling rapper that’s used to being universally loved and now experiencing a bit of negative feedback doesn’t make you immune from the emo vibes, unfortunately. We feel you, Chance.
And I wanna let some of these feelings go cause thats whats twitter is for. For people to say exactly whats on their hearts
— The Big Day out now (@chancetherapper) August 5, 2019
Overall, this experience of not being “the favorite” at the moment has helped him understand what truly matters:
That I LOVE my wife
— The Big Day out now (@chancetherapper) August 5, 2019
Does Chance the Rapper deserve the flack that he’s getting for ‘The Big Day’? Sound off with your thoughts over on our Facebook and Twitter!
