Despite mounds of evidence to the contrary, Chi-Town superhero Chance the Rapper refuses to call any of his previous releases “albums.” They’re mixtapes, dammit. He said what he said.
I mean, sure. They’re all monetized, courtesy of their availability on streaming services, all have infiltrated the Billboard charts, and all feature original compositions, but were any of them albums? Of course not.
And Coloring Book—the most album-esque non-album in his catalog—was an Album of the Year nominee at the BET Awards, was nominated for Outstanding Album at the NAACP Image Awards, and took home the Grammy for Best Rap Album in 2017, but it’s not an album either. Nope. You heard Chance. It’s a mixtape, dammit!
So what makes The Big Day, the 26-year-old’s highly anticipated upcoming release, any different? The Acid Rap spitter made a pitstop on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday night to explain exactly that.
“I haven’t sold my projects before. All my mixtapes were free,” Chance told the audience. “This is my debut album, so there’s a pre-order and I told Jimmy to pre-order my album. And he was like, ‘If you say the release date on my show.’”
So there you have it. Not only has Chance resurrected Wendy’s spicy chicken nuggets from the grave, but we’re finally—finally—getting his debut “owbum.”
But when exactly?
“The Big Day 7/26 PREORDER @ Chanceraps.com 💿💿 #owbum,” he tweeted to his eight million followers.
Let us hope and pray that his release date doesn’t in any way infringe upon this Hot Girl Summer.