About “Coloring Book”

Coloring Book is Chance The Rapper’s third mixtape, which was released on May 13th, 2016. Originally thought to be named Chance 3, when the mixtape was released on Apple Music, the name was changed to Coloring Book.

The tape had been one of the most highly anticipated projects of the year due to the long delay between 2013’s Acid Rap and 2016. Between those years, Chance released a ton of projects and singles such as Surf with Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment, Free (BASED FREESTYLE MIXTAPE) with rapper Lil B, “Home Studio (Back Up In This Bitch),” and “No Better Blues,” among others.

In an interview with HOT 97, Chance spoke about the tape saying:

I’m working on a lot of music, a lot of individual projects right now, but my focus is eventually getting out of this trilogy of music that would be 10 Day, Acid Rap and Third Mixtape, and eventually get to a place where I can stand on top of something and be like ‘this is what I do! I’m not just rapping or rap, this is what I do.’ […] Here’s all the different pieces to it, it’s a project just like any other project but this one is… defining.

The tape debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 chart and made history by being the first project ever to land on the charts thanks entirely to streaming, with 57.3 millions streams (the equivalent of 38,000 units sold) on its first week.

The official singles for Coloring Book premiered on live TV performances, with “Angels” premiering on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and “Blessings” on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The only exception to this was “No Problem” which was premiered on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 Radio Show.