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Between the Bars

IGH! IGH! IGH! IGH! If you have listened to Chance The Rapper before, you will surely
recognize this ad-lib. Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, better known by his stage name, Chance
The Rapper, is a young hip hop artist from Chicago, Illinois. Following his 10-day suspension
from high school, he released 10 Day, a mixtape that put him on Complex magazines 10 New
Chicago Rappers to Watch Out For. In 2013, his second project, Acid Rap, was nominated for
Best Mixtape at the BET Hip Hop Awards. It is no surprise this project brought him the majority
of his fame today. Chance stands out as a rapper because of his unique use of syncopated
beats, complex word play, and use of sung vocals in addition to his rap verses. His lyrics address social issues within Chicago, his personal growth, and a sense of pure happiness and
love through the use of metaphorical story telling as well as references to recreational drugs
such as marijuana and LSD. His style of music is best seen in his song Pusha Man (ft. Nate
Fox & Lili K.), which includes a hidden track called Paranoia.
The first song in Acid Rap is Good Ass Intro. Chance raps over the ecstatic beat with
an explosion that engages the listener from the first line. As you probably guessed, it is a good
ass intro to the tape. He continues the album with Pusha Man, which has a similarly happy
and carefree beat. He starts out the song referencing his 10-day suspension and how it didnt
benefit him in anyway. He explains that it did him no good in his life and that he is still the same
high school senior with the same damn ad-lib. On almost every track that Chance produces or
is featured in, including the entirety of Acid Rap and 10 Day, you can hear his distinct ad-lib
IGH! that no other rapper uses. Its his way of letting listeners know that they are listening to
Chance the Rapper.

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Ten. Damn. Days.
And all I got to show for it is shoes and shows and chauffeurs with road rage

One factor that makes Chance stands out from other rappers is his use of alliteration.
Notice that his second line has the words show, shoes, shows, Chauffers. His flow stems
from patterns in his word play and double entendres. Usually athletes wear letterman jackets,
but in this song, Chance says he wears one even though he never went to practice. He is referring to his success in life despite getting suspended in high school and attending college for just
a single day.

Ill take you to the land, where the lake made of sand
And the milk dont pour and the honey dont dance
and the money aint yours

A land flowing with milk and honey is the phrase used in the Book of Exodus to describe to Moses the paradise that was Israel. But for Chance, his land is not a paradise, but a
place where crime and killings happen regularly. This is the first reference on the tape to the
gang-ridden part of his hometown of Chicago. The honey not dancing is a reference to the
movie Honey.
A pusha man is someone who sells drugs and in the next lines Chance talks about his
life being a red pill, a famous reference to the movie The Matrix, in which the main character
must choose between taking a red pill or a blue pill. If he takes the red pill, he stays in the harsh
reality of the world. If he takes the blue pill, he enters a false reality and believes whatever he
wants to believe. Chance knows he is within reality right now but his hand full of Advils is his

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desire to take anything from Advil, Oxycoton, and Xanax to cope with the stresses of everyday
life. This brilliantly leads up to his next lines.

Im the new Nitty, fuck it Nitty the old me

So Ima tell the buyer what Nitty told me IGH?!

A Nitty is another slang term for a drug dealer. Here, Chance conveys two messages.
The first is that he used to buy drugs from a dealer but now he uses so much that he himself is
the new dealer. The second is that he supplies the drugs to the buyers, where the drugs are his
music and the buyers are his listeners and fans. The vocals in the background of this verse
gradually gets more high pitched until you hear Chances IGH! and the beat cuts to just instrumentals for the chorus. Another one of Chances ad-libs is him singing Na na na na na na
na na to whatever beat he is rapping over, which he picks up half way through the chorus. In
fact, the ninth song in Acid Rap is Na Na (ft. Action Bronson). His out-of-place singing is a representation of how carefree and unique Chance is.
In his second verse, Chance talks about his success and how people are starting to recognize him on famous magazines. He even says shes a fiend for the D a reference to how
many girls want to have sex with him.

Rastafari them shottas yes

House safari, mi casa, yes
Poppy fields of that popeye
She came to party, she popped a Molly
Said come to papa, she said papa, yes

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In the beginning of this stanza, he changes his flow to a reggae vibe to portray his influence from Rastafari music, even using the word Shottas, which is the Jamaican word for
gangsters, The use of words poppy, Popeye, party, and papa is another example of his
use of alliteration. He also makes another reference to his drug use using the word popeye,
which represent drugs, such as Molly (MDMA), that make your pupils dilate. Additionally, Popeye is a cartoon show in which the main character, Pop-eye, eats spinach to gain strength.
Chances spinach is his fields of marijuana, which he points out is very strong and potent. The
song ends with the chorus.
While listeners may think the song is over, Chance actually includes a secret track at the
end of Pusha Man called Paranoia, which starts playing after 29 seconds of silence. In an
interview with Sway in the Morning, he says that the silence is incredible for ones acid trip.
Paranoia begins with a dull and offset beat that gives the listener a sense of uneasiness, a
sharp contrast to the upbeat music of the previous songs. The chorus describes Chances paranoia as he rides through Chicago, the dangerous city he grew up in.

Move to the neighborhood, I bet they dont stay for good, watch
Somebodyll steal daddys rollie, call it the neighborhood watch

These two lines of his first verse describe how corrupt Chicago is. Chance says that if
somebody moves into the ghetto, they wont stay for long because theyll get scared when
somebody steals their fathers Rolex watch. A neighborhood watch is comprised of a group of
people that watches out for illegal activities occurring within a community. Chance makes the
ironic statement that the only thing close to a neighborhood watch in Chicago is the Rolex that
the hood stole from a resident. He goes on to explain that he will escape the ghetto when he

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makes enough money; however, he is so young and vulnerable that he feels the only thing to do
until then is to pray for better days.
In his next verse, he asks the listener Where the fuck is Matt Lauer at? and requests
Katie Couric to come to the hood. Chance is addressing the fact that while society recognizes
the issues around ghettos, no one does anything to help the situation. By asking news reporters
like Matt Lauer and Katie Couric to come to Chicago, he is making the point that media does not
want to report stories about the truly horrifying things occurring within America but would rather
leave the suffering population to be simply another statistic of death rate. Additionally, Where is
Matt Lauer is a segment that is frequently covered by The Today Show. Matt Lauer certainly
isnt in Chicago, probably [because he is] scared of all the refugees.
As the beat slows down, Chance softly sings the breakdown verse I know you scared.
You should ask us if we scared too. This gives the listener a chance to really hear his words,
which gives them more meaning. In addition, this breakdown is symbolic of the blue pill that
Chance mentioned in Pusha Man. Although he accepted his false reality, the drugs are wearing off and he is left scared and aware of the true dangers surrounding him. He begins the last
verse as the beat picks up again.

It just got warm out, this this shit Ive been warned about.
I hope that it storm in the morning, I hope that its pouring out.
I hate crowded beaches, I hate the sound of fireworks.
And I ponder whats worse between knowing its over and dying first.

As summer approaches, the weather gets warmer and everyone hangs out in the
streets. Summer is also the time when murder and crime rates peak. Chance hopes for a rainy
storm the next morning so nobody goes into the streets and dies. He hates crowded beaches

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because it reminds him of summer and the sound of fireworks reminds him of gunshots, which
triggers his paranoia. The last line forces the listener to question themselves about death.
Chance acknowledges that while one can live life expecting death, he doesnt know if this is
worse than living a false reality and dying abruptly. This brilliantly references the choice between
the red pill and the blue pill again. He concludes the song by repeating the breakdown verse
while the music fades away.

I know you scared.

You should ask us if we scared too
If you was there
Then wed just knew you cared too

Pusha Man is one of many songs that makes Chance a truly unique and incredible
artist. His mis-matching beats, sung vocals, and carefree attitude is oriented towards learning to
be an individual person, loving one another, and being happy in life. While many mainstream
rappers seemingly talk about getting rich, having sex with lots of girls, and doing lots of drugs,
Chance forces the listener to question their morals and to be more aware of people who dont
have as fortunate lives as most do in America. His use of alliteration, double entendres, and
metaphors makes for poetic verses that draw the listener in immediately. As an independent
artist, Chance does not charge people for his music. Instead, he uploads it all for free on his fan
website as well as on SoundCloud. His urge to spread his messages surpasses his desire for
money, showcasing the genuine guy he is.

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References
ABourneWinner. Chance The Rapper Opens Up About His Acid Use & Lying About Being
Biracial. Online video clip. Youtube. June 20, 2013. Web. 05/12/15.
Briscoe, Tony. (2015, March 9). Chance the Rapper hosts open mic night.
Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-chance-the-rapper-openmic-nostalgia-20150306-story.html
Drake, David. (2013, September 17). The Making of Chance The Rapper's "Acid Rap.
Retrieved from http://www.complex.com/music/2013/09/chance-the-rapper-acid-rapmaking-of/
Morris, Andy. (2013, December 16). GQ&A: Chance The Rapper. Retrieved from http://www.gqmagazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2013-12/17/chance-the-rapper-acid-rap-interview
(2013, May 14). Pusha Man/Paranoia Lyrics. Retreived from http://genius.com/Chance-therapper-pusha-man-paranoia-lyrics