Chase Vibe's "Black Heart Rockstar" Review
Cover art by: Ariel Cherry (@arielcherry)
Following his 2019 release “Love, Again” Chase Vibe shares his transparency of love and love lost. “Black Heart Rockstar” shows a different shade of the North Side native. His voice has acquired a bravado to it since his last release; a bravado indicative of pain. The sample size is small coming in at 4 tracks, but it is sufficient time to examine where this pain originates.
Chase Vibe wastes no time in getting into the subject matter; lending just enough time for the instrumental to set the atmosphere in the first track “Stages.” The opening track derives a double meaning from the title, Chase reminisces on the stages he used to rock with his accomplices, while also narrating heavy, cathartic experiences that pushed his life to new stages. He speaks about the death of his grandmother and the immense pain he had to conceal while making arrangements.
“Had to make sure everything was straight before I felt a thing/”
Helped carry out her body, and collapsed by the sink.”
This happened around the time “Love, Again” released, and he was receiving congratulations on the project while he was going through a devastating loss. Right away “Black Heart Rockstar” gives me my favorite track. The weight of this song mixed with the vivid narration makes this sorrowfully beautiful.
“Pray IV” has a bubbly-techno bounce to it. With a hint of autotune, Chase Vibe shares his grievances of loss. This time, he speaks on his relationship. On this track; Chase shows his remorse looking back. He prays for her and that her family is doing well, but also admits he should have prayed more while they were together; cause maybe she would still be here if he did.
“Oh Well” is the opposite side of the previous track. Melancholy with an upbeat pace, Chase Vibe continues sharing the loss of his partner. Instead of looking in hindsight; he slowly comes to acceptance and looks to move on; no matter how reluctantly.
“4 Dimensional” is an enchanting outro. Soft, lofty keys float over the auditory landscape of this instrumental. Birds and rivers accompany these lofty keys. In almost spoken-word; Chase Vibes gives detailed and intimate words that sound like a letter; a letter to his estranged partner. He brings up her family and gives his best wishes to them from across the country. The chorus is in a different world; it truly seems like it came from a different dimension as Chase Vibe’s voice floats and melds with another voice repeating softly:
“I’ll love you through 4 dimensions.”
Chase Vibe has gone through some hard trials since his last project release. These moments and the tragedies that occurred are responsible for “Black Heart Rockstar.” But Chase takes these hard moments and turns to his most trusted outlet, music. Everything that has happened since “Love, Again” may have made Chase Vibe jaded, but the essence of what his music portrays is still pure.
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Review by: Paul Thorson, Hip-Hop Writer @PaulyT03
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner @PlaylistTC
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