Chance The Rapper has quietly announced a new mixtape called Star Line and teased high-profile collaborations with the likes of Lil Wayne, DJ Premier and Lil Yachty, among others.
The Chicago rapper shared the news in unusual fashion, changing his Instagram bio to read: “Working on my mixtape it’s called Star Line.”
He also posted a teaser clip on X (formerly Twitter) which featured cameos from Wayne, Preemo and Yachty, as well as Jermaine Dupri, T-Pain, Jazze Pha and Vic Mensa.
Chance then uploaded a preview of a new song called “Buried Alive” and asked fans if he should release a video for the track.
I’ll be ready to go pic.twitter.com/zYliNZJsjj
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 21, 2024
The Grammy-winner, who has been relatively quiet on the music front since he released his divisive album The Big Day in 2019, has been teasing a follow-up project for quite a while.
Chance previously said that his second studio album would be called Star Line Gallery. It is not known if the Star Line mixtape is the same project or a precursor to the album.
The 31-year-old did explain the historical significance of the Star Line title during a 2022 interview with Sway.
“I was inspired by Marcus Garvey in the early 1900s — 1919 through 1922 — so 100 years ago now,” he said. “He started and ran this very important, integral shipping line. He had a fleet of ships, these giant ocean liners which are the size of cruise ships, that he owned and funded with common Black folks’ money.
“But what he did with it was he created a trade route between the United States, all of the Black islands and the continent of Africa, and that created a network of people where people from all over the world were interconnected and working with each other and taking trips together, and created this connectivity that didn’t exist before.”
He added: “When I think about the Black Star Line and all the spaces that it’s been in, the Black Star is the representation of Ghana, in their flag, in the fabric of how their country was set up. They believe in global Blackness, Black connectivity and a free Africa.”
Chance previously revealed that he was aiming for a Spring 2024 release for the album, which he has also called “one of [his] proudest projects in terms of writing and artistic vision.”
