FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Music

Breaking Down Chance the Rapper’s Four New Songs

"I Might Need Security," "Work Out," "Wala Cam," and "65th & Ingleside" came out on Wednesday evening.

After telling the Chicago Tribune that he had a new album on the way, then swiftly retracting the comment on Twitter a few hours later, Chance The Rapper has released an EP's worth of new songs anyway. "I Might Need Security," "Work Out," "Wala Cam," and "65th & Ingleside" came out separately on Wednesday evening, and they mostly hit familiar notes.

"I Might Need Security" samples a Jamie Foxx bit—"fuck you, fuck you, fuck you" in falsetto—but it's more confrontational than comic. Chance calls for the resignation of loathed Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, tells everyone that he purchased Chicagoist (which we'll have to discuss at some point), but concludes, bizarrely, that the real antagonists are kids on Twitter: "My enemy lives in his mother's basement."

Advertisement

He's more upbeat on "Work Out," picking up the thread he dangled out on Coloring Book. It's a mom-pleasing song, ready to be played at church without being cleaned up: "But I must confess, I must confess / For every single ex, I want the best / I really wish you nothing but success / I know it's gonna work out."

He brings in Supa Bwe for "Wala Cam," a bouncy track that mostly works as a summer jam, touching on Instagram smarts dance prowess. It's mostly notable for Supa Bwe rapping, "I just want some head, want some low-key guillotine." In this context, no matter how "low-key" it might be, "head" and "guillotine" do not belong together.

"65th & Ingleside" is the best of the four. Unlike "Work Out," his insistence that "everything's gonna be okay" doesn't seem so certain—or at least he knows it'll take some work. It's a love song for his new fiancé, but it's just as much a reaffirmation of Chance's creation myth. "I didn't have a glove to pitch in / I didn't have a pot to piss in," he raps. "Then one day Donald took me on tour / Young broke Chano ain't broke no more." As always, Chance is more compelling when he's mixing sweet and sour, even when the aftertaste is all sugar water.

Follow Alex Robert Ross on Twitter.