In the summer of 2017, I stood waiting to see Chance the Rapper perform at Boston Calling.

As the crowd poured in, three drunk and aggressive college students shoved past me. All three of them were draped in fraternity letters, with matching fitted snapbacks. "F**kin move!" one of them cursed as they plowed through, "I said all of you f**Kin' move!"

It was a dissonant moment of aggression considering who we were mutually waiting to see. Chancelor Johnathan Bennett has always been relentlessly optimistic in both his music and personal life, and I'm certain he would have been disappointed by the altercation had he witnessed it. But, as Chance took the stage and dove into "Angels" off 2016's Coloring Book, I was surprised to watch the three men emotionally sing along, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders. They screamed every word at the top of their lungs. They looked at each other with boarish appreciation. "Wear your halo like a hat, that's like the latest fashion! I got angels all around me they keep me surrounded!" At that moment, I understood the importance of an artist like Chance The Rapper.

As a member of the 2014 XXL Freshman Class, Chance rose alongside hard-hitting trap rappers like Lil Durk, Kevin Gates, Lil Bibby, and Vic Mensa. But unlike his colleagues, Chance's goofy demeanor, combined with his soulful and heartwarming lyrics about love and the glory of God, painted him as a different breed of artist. In short, Chance The Rapper had made jubilance cool. Even these three rude frat boys couldn't resist his charm. They were filled with childish glee.

This past March, Chance took to social media to tell the charming story of how he met his wife and recounted in touching detail how he slowly fell in love with her. The series of posts made national news and gave his fans a unique look into who Chance was as a person. It's rare for rappers to be so vulnerable; many of today's biggest rap stars tend to keep their fans at arm's length when it comes to their personal life.

As a result of this special relationship with fans, when The Big Day didn't release precisely at midnight, fans reacted as if they had been betrayed by a close friend. Then, around noon, it appeared out of nowhere. Chance fans immediately deemed the project a classic just from the setlist alone. The album is a staggering 22 tracks, with a wide breadth of features from Ari Lennox and Megan Thee Stallion to Death Cab For Cutie and Shawn Mendes. The Big Day appeared to be exactly what the title suggested.

But as Aesop once noted, "It is possible to have too much of a good thing," and The Big Day's relentless enthusiasm can be suffocating, at times even corny. "Hey there, lovely sister, won't you come home to your mister?" Chance mutters on the cringe-worthy "Let's Go On a Run." "I've got plans to hug and kiss ya, I've got plans to hug and hug and hug you!" Additionally, despite a well-placed feature from Ben Gibbard, "Do You Remember" tries too hard to evoke nostalgia. "Do you remember how when you were younger, the summers all lasted forever?" Gibbard sings. "Days disappeared into months, into years, hold that feeling forever." Yikes.

The Big Day succeeds when Chance loosens up and just has fun. "Handsome" is a playful bout of braggadocio, with Chance's exuberance oddly complementary to the lyrical prowess of Megan Thee Stallion. "Big Fish" is another endearing concoction of humor and swagger, with Chance casually rapping things like: "I swear my story just like Big Fish, I've seen hoes I was always just like 'Which? Which?'" At other moments, the optimism does strike chords. "I Got You (Always and Forever)" is whimsical and makes perfect use of Ari Lennox's pristine voice, and "Roo" is enjoyably impish: "I'll leave you inside the freezer and let you chill for the weekend, but forget over the weekend and come back inside in a month." As lethargic as the listener is by track 25, Chance's self-reflection on "Zanies and Fools" is a welcome look inward, with Chance and Nicki Minaj offering some of the strongest lyricism of their careers.

Given all that fans now know about Chance, every misstep made on The Big Day is easily forgivable. To believe Chance doesn't believe every single word he says would be a fallacy; at no point does the listener suspect Chance of being inauthentic. The Big Day is an imperative album in 2019, and while it doesn't strike every chord, its formidable number of features and overall runtime is a grand statement to the friends Chance cherishes most: his fans. "I really truly did this for y'all," Chance said during his album release party at Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago. "As long as our relationship stays mutual, this can go on forever."

The Big Day

MUSIC

Bon Iver Delves into God and Climate Change on New Singles from Their Album "i,i"

They also released the album's track list and two lyric videos.

Bon Iver

Bon Iver is returning with their fourth studio album, i,i, to be released in August. In anticipation, they've released two singles, "Faith" and "Jelmore."

This comes on the heels of two previous releases—the sparkling, electric "Hey Ma" and the more abstract "U (Man Like)" (feat. Moses Sumney). To create i,i, Justin Vernon amassed some of music's best architects of visionary folk-pop, including features from James Blake, The National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner, Velvet Negroni, Marta Salogni, and many more.

So far, the existent singles have blended recollections of Justin Vernon's folkier "Holocene" days mixed with some of the electronic experimentation from 2016's visionary 22, A Million. True to form, though his stylistic choices have changed, Vernon continues to set himself apart from the rest with his ability to evoke specific emotions and scenes with abstract words and unconventional arrangements. In a way, he uses his voice and his lyrics as another instrument; and, like a cello or a guitar, it doesn't deliver sentences that have meaning in a literal sense but instead manages to touch on a more spiritual, universal plane.

Whereas these emotions were almost always fraught in his earlier compositions—from For Emma, Forever Ago's desperate gloom to 22, A Million's panicked ecstasy—"Faith" is all about joy. It's a pure-hearted, gleaming tune that brushes close to pop in its glossy cohesiveness. Beginning with a synth that sounds like sunlight streaming through a window in the morning, it crescendos into waves of droning bass and delicate guitar. "We have to know that faith declines," sings Vernon over a choir of angelic backing vocals. "I'm not all out of mine."

Bon Iver - Faith - Official Lyric Videowww.youtube.com

"Jelmore," on the other hand, is a starkly pessimistic song that directly contrasts "Faith." Over a disorienting loop of woodwinds, Vernon delivers a clear warning about climate change. "We'll all be gone by the falling light," he says. "How long / will you disregard the heat?" Just like any climate report, it's somewhat difficult to listen to, with its offhand mentions of gas masks and general feelings of abandonment and because the message it delivers is almost too blindingly disconcerting to look at full-on.

Bon Iver - Jelmore - Official Lyric Videowww.youtube.com

These two songs, with their opposing perspectives, present the spectrum of the modern human experience, in all its euphoria and pain. That may be the purpose of i,i: So far, it seems to be about universal experiences and connection to something much greater than oneself, be it God or the suffering planet or both.

The album's tracklist is below:

o1. 'Yi'

02. 'iMi'

03. 'We'

04. 'Holyfields,'

05. 'Hey, Ma'

06. 'U (Man Like)'

07. 'Naeem'

08. 'Jelmore'

09. 'Faith'

10. 'Marion'

11. 'Salem'

12. 'Sh'Diah'

13. 'RABi'

Judging by these song names, it seems that Vernon is continuing along the religious themes he began to traverse in 22, A Million—only this time, perhaps in a less hectic way. Whereas that album was all about mashing abstract sounds and disparate symbolism into chaotic, collage-like hymns, it seems that i,i will be slower and more meditative, more of a brew than a zombie-like patchwork.

A press release for the album explained that, actually, i,i represents the completion of a cycle of seasons, which is perhaps the source of its more reflective qualities. "From the winter of For Emma, Forever Ago came the frenetic spring of Bon Iver, Bon Iver, and the unhinged summer of 22, A Million. Now, fall arrives early with i,i," the release read.

Though it may represent the conclusion of a calendar year, i,i also seems to represent a new chapter of Vernon's understanding of life. If 22, A Million saw God through a kaleidoscope, i,i seems set on removing all blinders and lenses and looking over the big picture, as if from above. Vernon also affirmed this in an interview. "It feels like when you get through all this life, when the sun starts to set, and what happens is you start gaining perspective," he said. "And then you can put that perspective into more honest, generous work."

MUSIC

Bon Iver Makes Fans Cry Again

His two new tracks aren't revolutionary, but they're gonna make you cry.

When Bon Iver released For Emma, Forever Ago in 2008, it captivated listeners with its soft melodies and solemn introspection.

As time has gone on, Justin Vernon has continuously found a way to dive deeper into that well of untamed emotion, and through each release he's maintained and expanded upon his poetic yearning and hushed brooding. "It's as if he's trying to inhabit the in-between spaces separating musical expression and private rumination, exposing his regrets without relinquishing them," wrote Pitchfork.

Vernon's music has always been a catalyst for my emotional breakdowns, for the days I just want to sink into myself. "Holocene," "715 – Creeks," "For Emma," "Wash," and "29 #Strafford APTS" are just a few of the tracks that have been there to pull me down deep into an emotional swamp, reassuring me along the way that loud, aggressive sobbing in my neighborhood Starbucks is totally acceptable—even encouraged. Cathartic and dismantling, his falsetto is like a superpower, chipping away at listeners until they're raw. No one can escape it, and that's why when Vernon released "Hey, Ma," and "U (Man Like)," I waited until I was completely alone in my bedroom to listen.

"Hey, Ma" is laser-focused, with Vernon trimming the hedges and honing the glitchy tones of 22, a Million while leaning back into the soft-spoken folk of his first two releases. His ambient storytelling is still present, but this time around it takes its most palpable shape, with Vernon cooing to his mother, "Full time you talk your money up, tall time to call your ma, hey ma!" The second single, "U (Man Like)" is a brazen call to action from Vernon, as he asks for his fellow man to step up. "How much caring is there of some American love when there's lovers sleeping in your streets?" Compared to the existential questions Vernon has asked in the past, both tracks are thematically conspicuous and relatively grounded, previewing a new Bon Iver who's more concerned with being a better person in this realm than finding his place in the universe. The results are two songs that are catchy but manage to instill a feeling of hope and reflection. Yes, they will also make you cry.