Chance the Rapper Says Negative Reception of ‘The Big Day’ Was a Blow to His Confidence

Even though Chance the Rapper’s 2019 debut album, The Big Day, was a chart-topping album, it was panned by fans.

The public’s reception of the album was a strike to the Chicago native’s confidence. So much so that he didn’t release an album until this year’s Star Line.

In a conversation with Cam Newton, Chance opened up about what really happened after The Big Day and how he bounced back.

“You want people to love your music,” Chance explained. “A little while after I dropped, I started to feel this intense criticism really only on the internet. And it took me a long time to recognize that part, but I felt it so intently that — and it was such a first-time feeling — that I…second-guessed myself for a second.”

COMPLEX SHOP: Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what’s next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.

The 32-year-old explained that the album criticism and personal issues made him “pull back a little bit in terms of…my creative output,” hence the six-year gap between his two albums.

“I think what really helped me get out of that was becoming creative again, but in a different lane,” he continued. “I started working with cameras, I started learning film and learning cinematography…basically putting myself through a fake film school.”

When he realized he had nothing to shoot, he began working on a music video concept titled “The Heart and the Tongue,” which arrived in 2021.

“Once I made that song and that video and put it out to be like, ‘Look at how good this video was,’ everybody was like, ‘No, look at how good them raps is, n***a. Keep rapping, n***a.’ And I had to keep rapping and keep making videos.”

In 2019, The Big Day debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. However, fans weren’t impressed, and he subsequently fell out of favor. While Star Line opened at No. 22 on the same chart, the album has received more positive praise from fans.