I've had my eye on Chance the Rapper for some time now; running from strength to strength, his singles and collaborations are diverse, fresh and consistent.
Only days after releasing a full mixtape with "cloud rap" artist Lil B, comes this subtle, gorgeous new track with Chicago rapper Noname Gypsy.
"Israel (Sparring)" is understated, delivered fairly slowly. The flow feels intimate -- not only lyrically but, somehow, physically.
Backed by a simple, warm jazz instrumental while the verses lazily float by up above, heavily referencing biblical and philosophical events (for a deeper analysis head to the Genius annotations). The intricate artwork attached to the single depicts the fight between Jacob, or Israel, and "the divine angel."
I'm a big fan of Chance's style; it's almost monotonous (but not in a hazy Earl Sweatshirt way), almost spoken word, and perfectly matched with Noname's similarly low key delivery. It's almost as though the pair are having a casual, perfectly choreographed conversation.
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