When he was slated to appear on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Chance The Rapper was originally going to perform an unreleased Colouring Book track, "Grown Ass Kid." As we found with a last-minute poem at his Tiny Desk Concert, Chance likes to switch things up.
He's been in the studio "cooking up yammers — they're honestly great," so instead of something old, he offers something fresh, channelling his early, open-mic days. Featuring the R&B singer Daniel Caesar, the song-so-new-it-doesn't-have-a-title does the thing that Chance does so well: starts small and personal, reflects not only on himself but how success changes the world around him ("I think my little cousins they want their cousin back / The automatic quarterback that doesn't rap"), but expands it to the pains of the American dream, knowing that the "day is on it's way / It couldn't wait no more / Here it is."
Chance also spoke with Colbert about the difference between politics and legislation, his civic engagement and education non-profit Social Works, his faith ("singing is praying twice") and sang a little of the hymn "This Is The Day."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.