Gospel and praise have been seeping into hip-hop for years, but Chicago’s Chance the Rapper made the link between sacred and the secular pretty overt on his Grammy-winning 2016 album “Coloring Book.”
Listen to “Blessings,” with its refrain of “When the praises go up, the blessings come down.” There are jubilant vocal choirs adding a gospel fire to many of the tracks. But beyond that sense of tradition, “Coloring Book” is also wildly abstract in places, like on the autotuned weirdness of “Summer Friends,” featuring Francis and the Lights and Jeremih. The guest appearances demonstrate Chance’s collaborative versatility, like on the infectious “No Problem” featuring Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz or the much more spongy “Mixtape” with Young Thug and Lil Yachty.
Chance’s hometown pride and his righteousness extend beyond his rapping; he donated $1 million to Chicago public schools this spring. If every multimillionaire who claimed to care about America did something similar, it would be a very different world.
Chance the Rapper performs at Xfinity Theatre, 61 Savitt Way, Hartford, Friday, July 21, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $65 and up, livenation.com.
