STAR LINE

In hindsight, Chance the Rapper's ascent to superstardom post-Acid Rap was one of the last instances of a blog-era darling catapulting themselves to music's A-list. After solidifying his spot with 2016's Coloring Book, the first streaming-exclusive album to win a Grammy, he was inescapable, landing roles in Disney movies, hosting the first season of Netflix's Rhythm & Flow, and becoming one of the few people to be both host and musical guest on SNL.Unfortunately, that stop on SNL was in promotion of Chance's much-maligned 2019 outing, The Big Day, the record that abruptly ended his prolific run. While generally well-received by major publications upon release, fan pushback was scathing, and the onslaught of memes and jokes at its expense was rampant. The album's reception was so detrimental to Chance's career and reputation, that he went from being one of the biggest rappers of the 2010s to not being mentioned at all.Throughout the last couple of years, Chance has quietly been mounting a comeback. Since 2022, there has been a consistent output: features, singles and snippets letting fans know that the spark is still there. With the release of Star Line, Chance has finally returned — and with an effort at that. It may not reach the highs of Acid Rap or Coloring Book, but it's still a solid outing and a much-needed return to form for an artist many had cast aside.Chance is acutely aware that this album is an opportunity to reclaim his fans as well. There are several references to this album being a return or resurrection for Chance, even opening the album with the line, "Surprise, it's the boy who lived." It's evident even to him that this is a moment to prove that he's still the artist many fell in love with in the mid-2010s, making the most of almost every opportunity here with a confident — albeit relatively safe and sanitized — tracklist.At his best, Chance the Rapper is Lil Wayne's most earnest, wholesome son. His flow is malleable, his energy high, and his personality and charisma are undeniable. He floats through verses with ease while touching on matters close to his heart, such as love, family, friends, god and unity. A song like the Jamila Woods-assisted "No More Old Men" is quintessential Chance — especially the second verse, where he paints a picture of his childhood, as well as his relationships with the male role models in his life, highlighting the importance of caring for oneself and improving the odds of growing old enough to become the next generation's elders. It's touching and thoughtful, capturing a certain nostalgia whilst simultaneously looking ahead.The album's Jazmine Sullivan-featuring closer, "Speed of Love," is another beautiful showcase of Chance at his best. Penning verses full of deeply personal prose, meditating on loss, his struggles with drug addiction, going bankrupt and losing it all, he looks forward with the realization that the driving force in his life has always been love. In someone else's hands, this would be an outright corny song, but there is a sincerity to every word he strings together that makes it work. This is true of nearly every other highlight here, from the love letter to Chicago that is "Ride" with Do or Die to the reflective "Back to the Go" with Vic Mensa.Unfortunately, at his worst, Chance finds himself approaching something new in a manner that feels so forced that he becomes impossible to take seriously (see "Drapetomania" with BabyChiefDoit and "Burn Ya Block"). His earnestness never wavers in these moments, but these few songs have a performative, theatre kid-esque quality to them that makes them impossible to connect with.He struggles on the opposite end as well, with a couple of instances on this album that retread waters that are a bit too familiar. The most evident moment is "Just a Drop," which falls completely flat. The instrumental is unengaging and generic, and Jay Electronica's guest verse feels phoned in, underwritten and poorly mixed. Chance himself is admittedly a bright spot on the track, but the sum of its parts feels like an ill-advised attempt at recapturing the magic of the pair's Coloring Book collaboration, "How Great."Star Line is not a perfect project, but it's a massive step up from the blunder that was The Big Day. With the highs far outweighing the lows, Chance sounds like he's firmly back in his element and enjoying making music again. This is a valiant return to form for an artist whose meteoric rise was punctuated by as quick a fall. While it may not reach the heights of Acid Rap or Coloring Book, it doesn't feel as far removed — and, in some moments, indicates that those heights are still within reach.