Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter, actor & activist Chance the Rapper returning for an official sophomore effort. Becoming an overnight sensation in 2012 towards the end of my freshman year of high school with his debut mixtape 10 Day, he would eventually follow it up the next year with one of the best mixtapes of the previous decade: Acid Rap. Coloring Book had a more admirably Christian message to his music & The Big Day became one of the worst albums of the 2010s, looking to bounce back on Star Line.
“Ride” featuring Do or Die & Twista on the remix after the intro made for a cloudy trap opener with everyone talking about getting your brothers ride & them having your back moving forward whereas “No More Old Men” works in some strings to assure that he’ll live until his hair turns white. “The Negro Problem” goes for a boom bap vibe instrumentally talking about Afrocentricity leading into the “Drapetomania” featuring BabyChiefDoit dabbling with trap a bit to go crazy.
Vic Mensa reunites with Chance on the autobiographical “Back to the Go” referencing Black Sabbath fronted by the late WWE Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne alongside fellow WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg’s revived Death Row Records leading into “The Highs & Lows” featuring Joey Bada$$ consciously blending jazz rap, boom bap & neo-soul for them to talk about taking the ups & the downs. The neo-soul/Afrobeats hybrid “Space & Time” sings to be freed of his ex really loved him while “Link Me in the Future” talks about waiting on forever.
“Gun In Yo Purse” featuring TiaCorine & Young Thug starts the 2nd half of Star Line with the trio hopping over a trap beat to suggest that things will get worse sometimes while “Tree” featuring Lil Wayne might’ve been my least favorite single amongst the handful that we got awkwardly mutating pop reggae & pop reggae for both of them to talk about weed. “Burn Ya Block” takes a shot at hip house looking to see the block on fire while “Letters” returns to the Christian hip hop vibes of his last couple projects.
To get the 4th quarter going, “Speed of Light” fuses these choir vocals & EDM drums together for an uplifting track about society wanting to hold each other down while “Pretty” talks about self-love. “Just a Drop” featuring Jay Electronica finds the pair tackling religious themes once more expressing their need for water to cleanse their spirits & “Speed of Love” laments on his failed marriage, asking when or if a real connection will come to find him. “Child of God” starts the deluxe run to soulfully talk about self-discovery & self-affirmation while “Wraith” featuring Vic Mensa felt a tad bit mediocre compared to “Back to the Go” earlier, even with it’s minimally abstract lyricism.
“A Bar About a Bar” was a stronger attempt at Chance abstractly holding it down by himself while the footwork-driven “Yah Know” talks about mobbing in discreet. Gospel, jazz rap & chipmunk soul back the conscious subject matter of “Buried Alive” reflecting of a dark place he was at in his life while my favorite bonus track of the bunch “Together” produced by DJ Premier talks about his Chicago upbringings. “Stars Out” balances trap & jazz rap well thanks to Dominique Sanders doubling down on people turning their backs on them because of The Big Day while “Bad Boys 2” featuring Joey Purp homages the Michael Bay film of the same name. “3333” responds to the low ticket sales of his Minnesota State Fair performance while “Quiet Storm” airs his frustrations with the world these past 7 months.
Needless to say: A lot has happened to Chance the Rapper these past 6 years & Star Line makes his official comeback with what The Big Day should’ve been the summer prior to the COVID-19 pandemic changing our lives permanently. His consciously poppy lyrics takes the lessons he’s learned all this time head-on carrying over the predecessor’s secondary influences of neo-soul, jazz rap, chipmunk soul & trap to hit the targets better regarding their incorporations. I’d lastly be remised to point out the Christian hip hop & contemporary R&B elements being replaced in favor of boom bap & jazz rap, calling back to his earlier days.
Score: 3.5/5
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