This cover art is one of the most recognizable pieces in the last year. Chancellor Bennett, better known as Chance the Rapper, out of Chicago, released Coloring Book, his third mixtape on May 12 of this year, and it immediately became a smash hit. In terms of rap albums, Coloring Book has been said to be in league with good kid, m.A.A.d city, Live. Love. ASAP, and Watch the Throne for modern rap albums. Chance has become one of the premier rappers of his time due to his experimental sound and genius lyrics, and he has done all of it without the help of a record label. It is important in the study of Chance to know his disdain for the music industry. This mixtape cover epitomizes this contempt Chance has for big labels.

Chance has dropped three mixtapes, 10 Day (2012), Acid Rap (2013), and this year Coloring Book. All of Chance’s covers feature a portrait of himself in front of a colorful backdrop. All of the covers were designed and painted by Chicago artist Brandon Breaux. The cover of Coloring Book is his most visible sign of disdain for the music industry. Unlike his first two mixtapes, Chance does not put the name of his work on the cover. This is a huge middle finger to the music industry, which makes money off of name-recognition. To me, this “silent protest” against the music industry is a nod to Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd was a frontrunner in disdain for the music industry, and they, like the art of Coloring Book, did not display the title of the album on most of their covers. But, unlike Pink Floyd, Chance has never signed a record deal. 

According to Breaux, he wanted Chance to be looking down for the painting, so the rapper was given his daughter to hold. Looking down is an extremely powerful image. To me, this image shows the audience that Chance is on his way up to becoming one of the greatest musicians of all time. He is looking down at artist who cannot have the amount of creative control he enjoys by producing his own songs. In Blessings, a song from Coloring Book, Chance tells the audience, “I don’t make songs for free, I make ‘em for freedom, don’t believe in the king, believe in the kingdom.” That is the idea behind the cover art put into words.

Because Chance does not have a record label, he was, up until 2016, unable to win a Grammy. Up until this year, stream-only albums were not considered in the premier music award show, but many think this changed entirely because of the influence of Chance the Rapper. Such change could not have been made without an artist as powerful as Chance. This power can be seen in the cover art of Coloring Book. Chance is looking down at something, which puts him in the position of power. The colors in the background incite feelings of passion. Altogether, this cover makes the audience think of Chance as almost superhuman, a hero. And from the way critics have acclaimed his work, he might just be.

The cover art for Coloring Book is just as recognizable as the songs in the mixtape. Being from the Chicagoland area, this image is plastered everywhere. There is a huge billboard when one is entering the south side of Chicago, Chance’s neighborhood, on the Dan Ryan Expressway that is just the cover art for Coloring Book. People have the hat with the iconic “3” on it. I cannot think of another album that has become more of a city icon than Chance’s third album. The city has bonded over it. It is extremely difficult to walk through Chicago without seeing the cover art or hearing some of the iconic hits penned by the hometown kid. We take pride in Chance. Coloring Book has become as iconic as the Chicago flag. Chance has become as much a Chicago idol as President Obama. All this and Chance is only 23 years old.

Chance has a problem with record label, and this can clearly be seen in the cover art of Coloring Book. Without such a strong image behind it, the music itself would not have become as iconic as it is. Some say that the songs in this album are less “Chance’s style” but the cover art is definitely what Chance is all about. A strong image is an extremely important part of an album, and Coloring Book would be incomplete without an image as powerful as it has. Without this image, Coloring Book would have been “just another rap album.” But Chance will now always be associated with this cover. Coloring Book has immortalized Chancellor Bennett.