The Big Day
by Chance the Rapper
  • Record Label: N/A
  • Release Date: Jul 26, 2019
User Score
3.7

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 325 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 84 out of 325
  2. Mixed: 54 out of 325
  3. Negative: 187 out of 325

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  1. JeffryBezos
    Jun 25, 2023
    0
    The biggest disappointment I have ever went through. I have never wanted to gauge my ears out more listening to an album.
  2. Hounddog118
    Aug 17, 2022
    0
    Just bad. That’s it. There’s nothing else to really say about it. Absolutely brutal on the ears.
  3. Nateblum7
    Aug 8, 2021
    10
    Madvillany. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. To Pimp a Butterfly. The Big Day. Ready To Die. What do all of these albums have in common? Instant classics that surpass the tests of time. Top tier hip-hop albums that all have a mission and execute them perfectly. Flawless features, a perfect tracklist, and all around, some of the best music a human can make.
    As I look through the    Madvillany. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. To Pimp a Butterfly. The Big Day. Ready To Die. What do all of these albums have in common? Instant classics that surpass the tests of time. Top tier hip-hop albums that all have a mission and execute them perfectly. Flawless features, a perfect tracklist, and all around, some of the best music a human can make.
    As I look through the tracklist for Chance's magnum opus, I can't find anything that even resembles an issue. The absolute range of the features, spanning from Death Cab for Cutie and Shawn Mendes all the way to DaBaby and Megan Thee Stallion, is nothing short of stunning, and the sheer volume of just overall good music Chance is presenting is truly something special. The inclusion of the three skits, spaced perfectly across the album, was a great decision. Not only are they comedy gold, they help break up the music, so that less musically intelligent troglodytes can understand it better. As for Chance himself, he is arguably the best, if not a top three, rapper in the game right now. His ability to open this album on a somber note, heat up and get hype with the biggest hit "Hot Shower", and take a reflective note as he winds down with songs like "5 Year Plan" and Town On The Hill". The range and pure emotion Chance brings in, paired with the ability to turn up as well, makes The Big Day a bonafide classic, and does more than earn its spot among the all time greats. Chance truly put the whole game on notice with his skill, talent and versatility across The Big Day.    … Expand
  4. proreview0
    Apr 19, 2021
    0
    This album should have been called The Big atrocious mess

    FAV TRACKS: none.

    LEAST FAV TRACK: ALL
  5. chickensusu
    Feb 24, 2021
    1
    if you like this stay away from me 1/10
    if you like this stay away from me 1/10
    if you like this stay away from me 1/10
  6. Wrong_Opinions
    Dec 19, 2020
    0
    CHANCE THE RAPPER RAPS OVER BEATS AND RAPS ABOUT HOW MUCH HE LOVES HIS WIFE
    0/10 0/10 0/10 0/10 0/10
  7. SebbyPlaysMusic
    Nov 9, 2020
    1
    I really wanted to like this.
    But now I think I'm afraid of getting married because I don't want it to do to me what it did to Chance.
    There are a handful of sections within the 22 tracks where Chance shows a little bit of that quality that got him playing at Lollapalooza off of mixtapes, but he doesn't particularly excel at anything here in a comparable fashion to his higher quality    I really wanted to like this.
    But now I think I'm afraid of getting married because I don't want it to do to me what it did to Chance.

    There are a handful of sections within the 22 tracks where Chance shows a little bit of that quality that got him playing at Lollapalooza off of mixtapes, but he doesn't particularly excel at anything here in a comparable fashion to his higher quality work like Acid Rap, nor does he give the impression that he's trying to prove anything other than his flamboyantly monogamous dedication to his newlywed (or that he's not a kid anymore, I guess? Kind of comes off backhanded against people who aren't living exactly the way he does).

    Now I'm all for artists trying new things (as risky as it may be on an official debut album after you've built a rep), but this is basically taking his identity as an artist and a person away from the interpersonal connectivity of open, unreserved socialization (and hip-hop is generally a very socially minded genre) to... very strictly the commercialized wedding / family circuit.
    It's strange to me to even call this trying something new, because Chance sounds like the majority of his rhymes are just spur-of-the-moment expressions more than anything that had any concise planning attached to it outside of a song's general premise. I don't think these tracks really do anything that I haven't heard somewhere before, either.

    Every time I find myself starting to think I might end up enjoying a song to some degree, I end up facepalming for half the track as he says something that just makes the song irredeemable. I literally cringed at least once on almost every track here. ALMOST. There were a couple tracks where I wasn't thrown a major road block on the road to enjoyment, but I was still stuck in traffic somewhere I didn't ask to go to with a broken GPS. There were maybe three spots on the album where it seemed to have some sort of naturally effective dynamic with his delivery, but unfortunately, to me, it felt like bait to keep me trying to salvage some quality from this I can actually apply positively to my life or Chance's identity in any fashion. By the time I made it to the last track on the first listen, I legitimately couldn't deal with listening to the album anymore. When I was a kid, I went to a few weddings of Polish relatives, but I don't speak Polish, and I couldn't go anywhere for hours while everyone around me was extremely intoxicated and I was all alone; This album gave me the same exact feeling of disassociation.

    I really wish the moments that made me cringe were only once or twice per track; Almost every line in the first verse of the opening song just adds to the feeling of needing to cover my face and eventually just shout "WHY!?"
    But then the second verse is like... kinda alright. Maybe in comparison? I feel a bit too disoriented when I listen to this to really tell. Regardless, that's one of the highlights of the album. It's just not worth sitting through the bad parts to get to it, or through the good parts just to let them go sour almost every single time.

    Having to sit through 77 minutes of this over 22 songs made me start to feel like I fell into a black hole where positivity goes to eat itself; Nobody is this mindlessly happy. It's legitimately worrying me. Like... is he secretly being emotionally abused by his wife and he has to write these songs in order to continue to live? What is going on here?
    I never wanted to feel this concerned for another man's happiness! What the hell did this album do to me?

    If you never understood what it's like to have all your friends get married and stop hanging out: Here it is when Chance does it.
    I know there're going to be some people out there who enjoy this album.
    More power to you for having access to excessive levels of positivity that I wish I could harness.
    But there's no way you can convince me this album is in good taste. I'm really sorry about all of this.

    Chance, I know you're not reading this because my review reflects a really bad experience regarding something you love. But you really shouldn't take it too personally because you're already so much more fortunate than your critics, you know? You're obviously damn good at what you do, it's just...
    Music has many elements to it that make it enjoyable. You've been having mastered combining these elements, with interesting timing, melodic sense, vocal timbre (post-10 Days), honest expression, dope word-play, meanings worth thinking about that apply to how we interact with other people... All of that combined creates this depth that creates fantastic music that's worth listening to on repeat and potentially living by. I think that this describes how you are on Acid Rap. That is not what I'm getting here past only getting glimpses that you can be this person. I hope your expression stays true, just don't let success get in the way of having something to yearn for.    … Expand
  8. Kmi
    Sep 18, 2020
    3
    The Big Day is a messy project. Songs range from good to decent to Hot Shower (aka Hot Garbage). There's nothing about this project that really stands out. It feels incomplete and a little bland.

    Everything blends together with there being a whopping 22 tracks. By the end, you feel empty and you just wasted more than an hour of your life on a project that had no idea what it was going    The Big Day is a messy project. Songs range from good to decent to Hot Shower (aka Hot Garbage). There's nothing about this project that really stands out. It feels incomplete and a little bland.

    Everything blends together with there being a whopping 22 tracks. By the end, you feel empty and you just wasted more than an hour of your life on a project that had no idea what it was going for. The Big Day is not in the slightest bit cohesive and a lot of the time the album's not fully realized sound doesn't make up for it.

    One reviewer put it quite nicely:
    "On Coloring Book and Acid Rap, each song, strong or weak, had the verve of a fully realized vision. On The Big Day, Chance’s mixture of reflection and fun is translated in his reliably impressive wordplay and flows, but its production palette can feel confusingly packaged and at times lacking intention. The result is a somewhat flat record that contains shades of Chance’s supreme talents, but lacks the dynamism of his previous works. It is undoubtedly Chance’s big day. But it’s hard not to feel let down."    … Expand
  9. c3c3y0
    Sep 13, 2020
    4
    Just a few good tracks. The album is kind of a disappointment considering his talent.
  10. draediamond
    Aug 2, 2019
    6
    Great concept but bad execution. It's TLOPy in a way but it doesn't work. It's not that bad but it didn't live up to the hype of a Chance debut AT ALL. It's painfully mediocre at times but there are nice musical moments. When truly listening to this, Compare it to his contemporaries not to his other work because that's not fair.

    Summary: HUGE let down but after the dust settles, people    Great concept but bad execution. It's TLOPy in a way but it doesn't work. It's not that bad but it didn't live up to the hype of a Chance debut AT ALL. It's painfully mediocre at times but there are nice musical moments. When truly listening to this, Compare it to his contemporaries not to his other work because that's not fair.

    Summary: HUGE let down but after the dust settles, people will notice that it's not that bad. The album is simply too long too.    … Expand
  11. Kloot1rr
    Jul 2, 2020
    4
    Coming off of 2 brilliant releases, Chance drops a dud. Overfilled with tracks, features, and at times extremely corny lyricism, this album does nearly nothing for the listener. Chance really had something to say in his previous 2 projects, in this one it seems he would rather have a popular TikTok dance craze.
    Best Tracks: zzzzzzzzzz
  12. Joel_Freecheck
    May 29, 2020
    3
    A sleeper of an album. Nothing of note beyond a couple good lines. Chance needs to bring that talent back on his next record.
  13. SlushyCup
    Mar 30, 2020
    2
    Wow this album is something. It starts off alright, there tracks I would rather not hear ever again like *cough cough* "I Got You (Always and Forever)." It's like sorta hit and then miss with the first 12 tracks, but after "Big Fish".. wow does it just go into the worst 10 track run in hip-hop/rap ever. It just drained me so much, I would not like to revisit this album only if you paid me.Wow this album is something. It starts off alright, there tracks I would rather not hear ever again like *cough cough* "I Got You (Always and Forever)." It's like sorta hit and then miss with the first 12 tracks, but after "Big Fish".. wow does it just go into the worst 10 track run in hip-hop/rap ever. It just drained me so much, I would not like to revisit this album only if you paid me. "Hot Shower" funny enough is the only song which has replay-ability. Maybe like almost all 7 other of the first 12 tracks I kinda liked are? Kinda scared to check and find out what is to be honest. But yeah generally the album is 2/10. Not worth the hour and 17 minutes.… Expand
  14. dubsv
    Mar 8, 2020
    0
    chance sucks n shouldn't be considered an mc this is GARBAGE plz don't waste ur time
  15. calebcorleone
    Feb 4, 2020
    8
    The hate for this album is actually absurd. It's like a bunch of angry, lonely people got mad that he made an album about the love of his life. It's solid from top to bottom. Great production, some great songs, really polished, and moving in a lot of ways.
  16. coopsjt998
    Jan 19, 2020
    2
    TBD lacks an overall theme and features little to no continuity. A low effort output in both production and writing, as this record features some of the corniest bars on any album this decade. TBD truly lacks any depth or substance. A poorly mixed, poorly written, and poorly conceived record. Very few highs and many, many lows.
  17. oatyboaty
    Oct 28, 2019
    0
    aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
  18. Haakonw
    Oct 27, 2019
    2
    Chance the rapper was one of my favorite rappers prior to this album. I loved 10 days, Acid rap, and especially Coloring Book. Sadly he took the worst parts of Coloring book, and made it into 22 track bulk of boring content.

    There is to me not a single standout with this release, and the three songs i added to my playlist has since released been skipped. The instrumentals is bland,    Chance the rapper was one of my favorite rappers prior to this album. I loved 10 days, Acid rap, and especially Coloring Book. Sadly he took the worst parts of Coloring book, and made it into 22 track bulk of boring content.

    There is to me not a single standout with this release, and the three songs i added to my playlist has since released been skipped.

    The instrumentals is bland, the lyrics ranges from bland to super corny (the airdrop line in hot shower stands out here).

    Standouts: Dababy flows nice on hot shower, sadly the beat is super empty. Nicki Minaj also deliveres. Shawn mendes has a nice voice    … Expand
  19. Austinlarose
    Oct 23, 2019
    0
    Hot shower made me wish I was born with no ears. This album is yucky, would not recommend
  20. andyxx22
    Sep 17, 2019
    5
    i love my wife, i love my wife, i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, ii love my wife, i love my wife, i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,i love my wife, i love my wife,… Expand
  21. SovirakchhaiS
    Sep 11, 2019
    0
    I think this is one of the worst rap albums of all time. I have no other explanations. Just watch theneedledrop's review on it, BLUCK!
  22. brockcheese
    Aug 29, 2019
    7
    Not gonna lie. Chances worst album to date. Clearly he didn't spend enough time on this as the wedding was earlier this year. Still, any Chance is good Chance, but try harder next time.
  23. 1994brookie
    Aug 26, 2019
    0
    One of the worst albums I have ever heard. It took everything in me to even finish the record. Not sure what happened. Was his music always bad? Or was I just young and dumb with his previous projects? Save yourself some time and skip over this album. Not worth a listen.
  24. spenceryang8
    Aug 21, 2019
    0
    This album should have been called The Big Mess.

    FAV TRACKS: n/a

    LEAST FAV TRACK: FOUND A GOOD ONE (SINGLE NO MORE)
  25. jonojono
    Aug 20, 2019
    10
    so this album was actually really good but then i heard needledrops review and i believe its now a 0 out of 10. I do believe Chance did 9/11 thanks i didnt listen to the album and i give this one a meh out of good bye
  26. TheBasicFan
    Aug 18, 2019
    3
    This new chance album is boring, generic, lack lust and all around a major step back for the Chicago MC in terms of production, lyricism and conceptuality.
  27. WAIVTheRapper
    Aug 17, 2019
    0
    I don’t understand how this album has such a high praise From big media?!? Wtf! This album is repetitive, low quality production, lyrics weaker than my grandma, (surprised he didn’t actually use that simile considering the vast amount of terrible ones he used in this album!) as well as an album that just lacks focus.... one moment he is talking about his wife, then back to he is releasingI don’t understand how this album has such a high praise From big media?!? Wtf! This album is repetitive, low quality production, lyrics weaker than my grandma, (surprised he didn’t actually use that simile considering the vast amount of terrible ones he used in this album!) as well as an album that just lacks focus.... one moment he is talking about his wife, then back to he is releasing something important and has to be ready, then he married.... its all over the place... (other than the focus on loving his wife) if the lyrics “Life is short as a midget, but mine's a little LeBron” make you not wanna smash your head in a wall then this album is for you!… Expand
  28. Shaymooose
    Aug 17, 2019
    4
    We get it Chance. You love your wife.

    Best Tracks:All Day Long,Do You Remember,Eternal, We Go High,I Got You, Roo,Sun Come Down, Town on a Hill
    Worst Tracks:Hot Shower,Ballin Flossin,Get a Bag,Found a Good One
  29. MarshallCavalli
    Aug 16, 2019
    0
    This is a massive disappointment compared to his previous work such as Acid Rap and Coloring Book, which had a more unique and dynamic feel. This album struggles with many ideas and concepts that fails to achieve any meaningful purpose.
  30. GillyMorals
    Aug 15, 2019
    6
    Over all the album gets a C+ (or 6.15/10 more accurately) for the amount of emotion put into the project. It's not what a lot of people were hoping for, simply because of what came before it. I think it has very little potential, what it lacks isn't substance or grit but simple put it, appeal. Not many wanted to hear what this project had to offer and that's not bad just was not a massOver all the album gets a C+ (or 6.15/10 more accurately) for the amount of emotion put into the project. It's not what a lot of people were hoping for, simply because of what came before it. I think it has very little potential, what it lacks isn't substance or grit but simple put it, appeal. Not many wanted to hear what this project had to offer and that's not bad just was not a mass pleasing album.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

19
#19 Most Discussed Album of 2019
15
#15 Most Shared Album of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. The Wire
    Sep 13, 2019
    50
    This album finds itself wandering far too into pop territory, without the accompanying substance and adventure that made his preceding releases so refreshing. [Oct 2019, p.67]
  2. Sputnikmusic
    Aug 6, 2019
    80
    TBD, on the other hand, wrangles with value-laden mindlessness in a manner that is both fun and endearing. TBD succeeds, in other words, on the merit of its recontextualisation of current trends into a project that is equal parts soapbox and sellable product.
    Read full review
  3. AllMusic
    Aug 1, 2019
    80
    Occasional nearsighted lyrical perspectives and three or four excellent but inessential tracks keep The Big Day from quite reaching masterpiece status, but it's still the most grown up (and the most polished) rendering of Chance's eternally bright spirit in his catalog.
    Read full review
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