“I probably would have died”

Chance The Rapper has reflected on his past struggles with substance abuse during the time his ‘Acid Rap’ mixtape was released a decade ago.

In celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the mixtape, the rapper opened up to Complex about the creation of the project and its impact.

When asked what his life would have looked like had he not evolved as an artist after the release of ‘Acid Rap’, he shared: “I probably would’ve died, to be honest.”

He continued: “The way that I was living at that time, I had everything in excess. So right after I dropped the project, I went on a few tours where I didn’t really make any money. But then I went on my first tour, my headlining on tour, where I made some money. And I went and bought a crib or rented a crib, this fat ass mansion in LA.

“This is my first time living outside of my parents’ house in another city and having money and doing a lot of drugs, you know what I’m saying? A lot of Xans, you know what I’m saying? Too many Xans. And just becoming a different person, a lesser, lesser person than I am now. I think if I hadn’t had my spirit tugged on, literally, and a calling to become a better version of myself, then I would’ve died,” he added.

Chance The Rapper, real name Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, also discussed how he was glad that he left his acid use in that era as he felt he was becoming “basically the spokesperson for drugs.”

“I had to come to myself and realize and remember that I was not making those songs off acid,” he said.

He explained that the “lack of control,” the bad trips and not being able to “tell if it’s because of the acid or just it’s a bad day” played a major part in him giving up the drug.

‘Acid Rap’ was released in April 2013 and had features on it by artists such as Noname, Childish Gambino, Vic Mensa, Twista, Nate Fox and others. The project resonated with fans due to its reflection of the transformative years of self-discovery. “I feel like that’s what ‘Acid Rap’ is,” shared the rapper. “It’s a whole bunch of questions and as time goes on, you find some of those answers.”

Last month, Chance The Rapper shared an exchange between himself and the late Bobby Caldwell about sampling the singer for an unreleased track.The post was shared in light of Caldwell’s recent death as a tribute to the soul star’s influence, especially in the hip-hop world.

Chance The Rapper also performed ‘All Falls Down’ on T-Pain‘s Nappy Boy Radio Podcast last year and responded to claims he has fallen off in the rap world.