Chance The Rapper boasts one of hip-hop's best 2025 comebacks in STAR LINE, his new album that follows up 2019's divisive The Big Day. While he's not at the same commercial peaks he enjoyed in the 2010s, his commitment to an independent grind and direct connection with fans continue to reap rewards.
Kurrco recently caught some early first week sales projections for STAR LINE on social media, which sit at 22K album-equivalent units sold for a number 18 debut on the Billboard 200. 2016's Coloring Book debuted at number eight with 38K based purely on streaming, whereas The Big Day sold 108K for a number two debut.
But the comparison game only gets you so far if you don't consider the Chicago rapper's past few years. Following a lot of criticism for the 2019 album and loosie after loosie, many folks didn't expect him to come back. But STAR LINE is more than the sum of its parts, which include excellent cuts like "Just A Drop" alongside Jay Electronica.
In many ways, Chance continues to do what he always does, which is very heartening to see. Fans are really enjoying and connecting with this new album from what online reception indicates, so we'll see how it all ages.
Read More: Chance The Rapper "STAR LINE" Review
Chance The Rapper STAR LINE
However, this period also held many personal reflections for Chance The Rapper. For example, during a recent interview with Rory and Mal on their podcast, he addressed his relationship with Kanye West.
"I haven’t talked to him in a long time," the "Space & Time" MC shared. "He’s one of the most influential people in my music. He was at my wedding, our kids have hung out together. I’ll always love Kanye, but just being honest, I haven’t talked to him in a while. I got friends that I haven’t talked to in five or six, seven years. It’s not like I’m anticipating some conversation, some thing where it’s like, ‘Alright, now is my time to fix you and tell your a** what you’ve been tweaking on.’ No s**t like that. [...] I let people be people. I’m always going to have my own opinions and I'ma always state my opinions."
