Chance The Rapper – “YAH Know” (Feat. King Promise)
For a while, Chance The Rapper has been promising a new album called 2000, which was evidently delayed for sample-clearance issues. Chance’s next project is now called Star Line Gallery, and it’s not clear whether it’s the same project as 2000 or something else entirely. For a while, Chance has just been releasing new songs a track or two at a time. We last heard from Chance in June, when he got together with Joey Bada$$ to release the single “The Highs & The Lows.” Today, Chance has followed that one with another single, and his latest is a collaboration with the Ghanian singer King Promise.
“YAH Know” is pretty much exactly the kind of thing that Chance The Rapper should be doing right now, at least in my opinion. The song mostly avoids the cornier sides of the whole Chance presentation, but it’s still the kind of song that only Chance could’ve or would’ve made. The song rides a fast, choppy Chicago house/juke beat, and it also chops up gospel. Chance raps intricately written lines very, very quickly, and he gets into matters of Black pride and history without being preachy. I don’t know why the song needed to be six minutes long, but it’s good.
In Chance’s recent singles, he’s been spotlighting the work of Black artists. The “YAH Know” cover art comes from Mía Lee, who unveiled the cover art at MOCA in Los Angeles and who stars with Chance in the “YAH Know” video, which Chance directed himself. It’s a cool video with a whole lot of amazing footwork. Watch it below.