Chance the Rapper built his reputation on mixtapes that were as inventive as they were joyful, combining deep personal reflection with genre-bending creativity. By the time The Big Day arrived in 2019, anticipation was enormous: this was Chance’s first official studio album, a highly publicized celebration of love, marriage, adulthood, and the triumphs of his life so far. The stakes were high, and the result is a record that mirrors its own ambition—grand, sprawling, and occasionally uneven.
The album opens strong with “All Day Long” (featuring John Legend), an energetic burst of rapid-fire raps, funky beats, and an undeniably infectious chorus. It sets a celebratory, almost cinematic tone that carries into “Do You Remember,” where Death Cab for Cutie’s soft, melancholic textures lend a surprising warmth. Here, Chance’s wedding theme feels intimate and genuine, a rare moment where his optimism and sincerity perfectly align with the instrumentation. Similarly, “Eternal” captures the vintage Chance vibe—playful, relaxed, and steeped in familiar grooves that feel lived-in and effortless.
However, the cracks in The Big Day quickly emerge. Tracks like “Hot Shower” veer into cartoonish territory, with Chance leaning too heavily on exaggerated delivery and a beat that feels unfinished; only DaBaby’s verse injects real vitality. Songs such as “I Got You (Always and Forever)” and “Roo” collapse under messy production choices, with buried vocals and unfocused arrangements that suggest Chance is juggling too many ideas at once. By the album’s midpoint, its 22-track length begins to weigh heavily, with pacing that can feel meandering.
Yet amidst the bloat, The Big Day still offers moments of genuine sincerity. “We Go High” and “5 Year Plan” explore spirituality and introspection, even if their pacing and production occasionally dull their impact. “The Big Day” (featuring Francis and the Lights) aims to be the emotional centerpiece, with washed-out beats and layered acoustic guitars underscoring Chance’s ode to marriage. The intention is heartfelt, though the track now carries a bittersweet irony in light of Chance’s later divorce. Similarly, “Found a Good One (Single No More)” and “Sun Come Down” echo this tension: anthems originally meant to celebrate love now carry an unintended weight of irony.
Where the album excels is in collaborations that amplify Chance’s natural charisma. “Handsome,” with Megan Thee Stallion, is breezy and playful, with Megan’s sharp verse stealing the spotlight. “Big Fish” thrives on Gucci Mane’s smooth presence, while “Slide Around” sees Nicki Minaj polishing Chance’s playful flow with her signature flair. The finale, “Zanies and Fools,” stands as one of the album’s clearest successes—a soulful, Afrocentric track with urgent raps from Chance, a reinvigorated feature from Nicki Minaj, and an overall sense of vibrancy and authenticity that feels like classic Chance at his best.
The album’s interludes—“Photo Ops,” “4 Quarters in the Black,” and “Our House”—feature voices like John Witherspoon and Keith David, adding star power and personality, but they also contribute to a sense of bloat on a record already struggling with length. At 22 tracks, The Big Day overstays its welcome, offering moments of joy, flashes of brilliance, and bursts of sincerity, but also filler, indulgence, and half-realized ideas.
In hindsight, The Big Day isn’t the disaster some critics initially proclaimed. There are lush production touches, infectious hooks, and genuine emotional peaks that capture Chance’s charm. But the album is inconsistent—sometimes cartoonish, sometimes over-polished, and often weighed down by its own ambition. Songs like “Let’s Go on the Run” and “Ballin Flossin” illustrate the tension perfectly: lively beats paired with awkward flows or underwhelming features create an uneven listening experience.
Ultimately, The Big Day is an ambitious celebration that mirrors a lavish wedding reception: moments of fun, bursts of beauty, and genuine emotion abound, but so do filler, awkward speeches, and overlong interludes. Chance’s intentions are clear, heartfelt, and joyful, yet the execution occasionally undermines his vision. It’s a record more fascinating for its ambition and glimpses of brilliance than for its consistency—a sprawling, colorful, and sometimes chaotic snapshot of an artist at a crossroads.
NOTABLE TRACKS:
All Day Long (feat. John Legend)
Handsome (feat. Megan Thee Stallion)
Zanies and Fools (feat. Darius Scott & Nicki Minaj)