The downside to being a rapper is that pulling off covers is difficult. It's not like metal, where you can take any given song, down-tune your guitar and create something that sounds totally different. It's tough for rappers to make a rap sound different, hence all the remixes on the market featuring new verses from performers not featured on the original. The good news is that rappers have arresting enough personalities that, if they want, they can cover anything else and fans won't complain.
Such was the case when Chance The Rapper tried his hand with Coldplay's "Fix You" at a gig in Syracuse last week.
The performer, gaining renown thanks to his acclaimed Acid Rap mixtape from earlier in the year, has already featured in James Blake's "Life Round Here" single. The rapper acknowledged in an interview that he's a huge fan of Blake. He's also apparently a Coldplay fan.
A video that's popped up on YouTube shows a two minute clip of the performance. Chance's face and hand gestures indicate that he ain't joking around. As for his vocals...he certainly gets points for trying. The verses are a little tough to hear (the lyrics stream on a screen at the back of the stage, if you haven't heard the Coldplay version before), and the rapper pulls off a falsetto, even if he can't match Chris Martin's sustain on the note. But, then again, few can match Martin's falsetto sustain.
The song features live drums, thanks to the drum kit included on Chance's tour, and fans seemed to eat the performance right up. As mentioned before, the rapper is already developing a following, but he should try reaching out to Martin himself. It's not secret that the rocker and his wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) are pals with hip-hopper Jay Z, and the vocalist might be willing to make a headline grabbing guest appearance at Chance's next show.
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