Think Christian: A Faith and Pop Culture Podcast · Think Christian

Cheering for Chance the Rapper's Comeback

·30 min

Josh Larson says he has been getting squirrely waiting for the new Chance the Rapper mixtape. He notes that it was supposed to be out any day, but people have been hearing that for a while. Four singles since March have kept interest alive. Larson brings back TC contributor Claude Acho to cheer on Chance and talk through where he is in his career. He even jokes that the mixtape may show up the day after the episode is published. The conversation then settles into what the new music is saying. Larson calls Chance one of the most theologically intriguing artists in hip-hop today. Claude responds by hearing sincerity in the music's return to memory and family. When they get to "Together," the song opens into a crowded home world of aunts, uncles, kitchens, basements, catfish, and the ordinary work of keeping a family together. Claude lingers there because it sounds like remembrance rather than pose. He hears in it a kind of happiness that lives inside struggle. He imagines how someone who had climbed commercially and then crashed might find comfort in going back to those scenes. Josh presses the theological frame further. He hears a gospel-oriented concern for what really matters behind material wealth. That leads him to Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount. The repeated CBA line becomes another anchor point. They identify it as community benefits agreement. In the song, it points toward plans that help small businesses and job seekers in economically depressed areas. That keeps the music tied to public responsibility. Josh and Claude agree that Chance is not asking listeners to ignore injustice. The point is to remember what has value while still fighting what harms families and neighborhoods.

As heard by us

A Chance the Rapper check-in centered on family memory, faith, and community concerns.

Josh Larson and Claude Acho use a long-awaited Chance the Rapper mixtape to open a measured conversation about where he stands after four singles since March.

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Why you'd press play

You get a Chance the Rapper update that cares about theology and actual lines.

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