Chance The Rapper – “Burn Ya Block”

It’s been six years since his debut long-player Big Day dropped, but Chance The Rapper finally followed up with new album Star Line earlier this summer and while most of the fanfare has settled there’s been one track Digital High still can’t get enough of.

“Burn Ya Block” is a departure from the record’s introspective appeal and instead stands out as a comment on the larger Black experience, specifically referencing the recent spate of rioting in this country. Sparse synth-work and an almost tribal drumming dominate the sonic space, but the thought-provoker’s impassioned take on the mentality of those participants is the bona fide focus of the track.

Lines like “Red Summer, heads on a pike, pipe down. Hands on ya head, on the curb, bite down” and “Sundown town, you turn around, right ’round. Fight for your life, take it round by round” lean into the nuanced nature of societal unrest and emphasize this murky gray area of resistance.

Try this unrelenting listen out for yourself. You won’t soon shake.

Stream below, snag a copy courtesy of the independent act, and spread that social love:

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