Chance the Rapper recently addressed his fans’ anticipation for his upcoming project, emphasizing that Star Line is more than just the album. In fact, it’s not one at all.
The Chicago-based artist expressed a desire for his audience to understand and acknowledge the unique nature of his forthcoming work in a brief Instagram Live. Chance started off the stream by essentially demanding they change the way they’re asking for the music.
“All right, so this was the main point I was trying to make,” Chance started off. “Stop calling it the album. And I don’t mean that in an ungrateful way. I’m grateful that people are putting in my comments, ‘Drop the album.’”
Chance made it clear that the constant reference to Star Line as an album doesn’t sit well with him. He said he wouldn’t release the project until fans start referring to it by its intended name, despite his readiness to share his work.
“I’m not going to drop the album until y’all start calling it Star Line,” he said. “I’m not going to drop the project. I got so much s##t ready. But I hope that y’all understand that. I understand how all this stuff works. ‘Drop the album.’ That’s for all the other artists. That’s for all everybody else, whose work I also appreciate. But what I’m doing is something different. It’s something very specific. It’s called Star Line.”
The Acid Rap lyricist added, highlighting his dedication to the Star Line concept, noting its recurring presence in his discourse over the past few years.
“I’ve been saying one specific phrase for coming up on two or three years now,” he said. “I’ve been saying Star Line. You see the star, n####’s asleep, but he got the star on his shoulders. He carrying it.”
Chance also expressed that the mislabeling of Star Line as an album leads to confusion: “When y’all say the album, it confuses me. It confuses me. It makes me think that everybody doesn’t [know what’s going on].
He believes that proper acknowledgment from his fans will motivate him to release the project sooner. “If y’all say he drop Star Line enough, it’s going to make me drop Star Line,” he hinted.
As Chance concluded his session, he revealed he’s operating independently on this release, underscoring the personal investment and effort he’s putting into Star Line.
“That’s why it’s a rollout, because I’m doing this s##t dolo,” he said. “I’m doing this s##t by myself. I mean, I’m doing it with the team, but it ain’t nobody invested that’s like, gotta make it work. You know what I mean? It’s like I’m that person. So I got Star Line. That’s all I got for y’all. I don’t got the album. Whatever the album is, I don’t know what the album is. I know about a Star Line, you hear me? And that’s on everything.”
The emphasis on proper recognition for Star Line comes in the wake of Chance’s previous project, The Big Day. Released in July 2019, the album was met with mixed reviews and was colloquially dubbed The Owbum by fans, referencing Chance’s enthusiastic pronunciation during promotional efforts.
Despite debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 with 108,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, The Big Day‘s sales and reception didn’t match the heights of his earlier mixtape, Coloring Book.
Critics pointed to its sprawling length and perceived lack of cohesion as factors contributing to its lukewarm reception. This experience may be influencing Chance’s current meticulous approach to Star Line, ensuring it resonates with his audience as intended.
