Everyone likes music, and it is extremely common for college students to hang some sort of poster that represents the music that they enjoy. But the posters go deeper than just commemorating the album or its artist. These works of art, just like writing, often have deeper meanings within them that tend to be significant. The artist’s implication can either specific to him/her/them or applicable to society, and the album artwork tends to addresses a social matter or issue. Chancellor Bennett, better known by his stage name, Chance the Rapper, is a rapper from Chatham, Illinois in the south side of Chicago. Recently, he took the music world by storm when he released his third mixtape, Coloring Book. It received a large amount of critical acclaim and Chance got shout-outs from various other recording artists and famous people, including Lin-Manuel Miranda. As meaningful and deep as the music is, the album cover has just as much importance. An album that fits into this idea of having artwork that has deeper meanings is Chance the Rapper’s third mixtape, Coloring Book.

The album cover features Chance in his signature hat, a black, flat-brim hat with the number 3 on the front, indicating this is his third mixtape, or “Chance 3” as it is often referred to. He is also wearing a white t-shirt and a blue-ish sweater, with a pink sky behind him and stars shining in the sky. Chance is shown looking down, smiling at what he sees. There are multiple different ideas as to what the deeper meaning can be here, but one stands out more than others. After recently having a daughter, Chance has become very involved socially in helping clean up Chicago. Along with multiple other social events to help better the city of Chicago, Chance was the co-founder of a program called Warmest Winter 2016, where 1,000 jackets that could be converted to sleeping bags were given to Chicago’s homeless. In a line from one of the songs on his mixtape entitled “Angels (feat. Saba),” Chance raps, “Clean up the streets so my daughter can have somewhere to play” (2016). Chance has worked hard in order to better Chicago so his daughter does not have to have the same experiences and grow up in the same dangerous environment as he did. After seeing all that he has done to help make Chicago, especially the south side, a better place to live, Chance smiles, looking down at his city and all that he has done for it. Another line from “Angels (feat. Saba)” is “I got my city doing front flips, when every father, mayor, rapper jump ship” (2016). This refers to how although fathers leave their kids and wives or girlfriends, and mayors (specifically Rahm Emanuel), or rappers like Kanye West, often “forget where they came from” and leave Chicago, Chance does not. He is proud to call Chicago his home and will not “jump ship.” From up above, he smiles down on his beloved hometown, a place that he loves and often raps out, and a place he has worked so tirelessly to improve.

What truly makes this a special album cover is that it clearly has more than one deeper interpretation. Instead of seeing Chance looking down at his beloved city and all he has done for it, he is rather looking down at the “rap game,” a term used by rappers to compare themselves to other rappers. Chance has had a meteoric rise to fame, while giving all of his music away for free. Because of him, free music can now be Grammy nominated, proving he has a tremendous influence in music and has risen to the top tier of rappers today. However, Chance did not start out at the top. He started out, like so many others, at the bottom. His first mixtape, 10 Day, was written and recorded in 10 days while Chance was suspended from school. In this mixtape cover, he is looking up with a blue sky. Due to the fact that this is Chance’s first mixtape, he appears to look up to the other rappers that are above him in the “rap game,” admiring them and yearning to be on the same level as they. In 2013, Chance released his second mixtape, Acid Rap. In this album cover the sky is purple, and Chance is looking straight ahead. Here, Chance is on the same level with many other rappers, and instead of having to look up to them or look down upon them, he can look other rappers right in the eyes because he is their equal. Finally, there is Coloring Book, where Chance is looking down on everyone else. He has risen from the bottom of the “rap game” to the top, above everyone else. Chance is now on an echelon all by his own above all other rappers, and therefore has to look down to see them. He smiles while looking down because he most likely realizes his position of importance and is proud of himself and all that he has accomplished.

Coloring Book does an amazing job in proving that not just writing or music on an album has a deeper meaning, but also the album artwork itself. Chance, however, is able to strongly portray two deeper meanings from this artwork, and possibly even more.

Pictured above is all three of Chance the Rapper’s mixtape covers. (From Left to Right): 10 Day, Acid Rap, and Coloring BookPictured above is all three of Chance the Rapper’s mixtape covers. (From Left to Right): 10 Day, Acid Rap, and Coloring Book

Pictured above is all three of Chance the Rapper’s mixtape covers. (From Left to Right): 10 Day, Acid Rap, and Coloring Book

Pictured above is all three of Chance the Rapper’s mixtape covers. (From Left to Right): 10 Day, Acid Rap, and Coloring Book
