Although he has flown more under the radar the past couple of years, releasing singles like “A Bar About a Bar” and “The Highs & the Lows” in 2022, Chance The Rapper was once at the pinnacle of hip-hop’s mainstream.
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With his third official mixtape Coloring Book in 2016, which reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, he broke out from his “underground” label and became a household name in rap. Along with winning the 2017 Grammy award for Best Rap Album, the project landed at No. 12 on American Songwriter’s Top 50 Albums of 2016 list.
The tape’s most beloved single, “No Problem,” played a huge role in Coloring Book‘s success. With features from Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz, two of hip-hop’s most prominent characters at the time, the song peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 and took home the Grammy award in 2017 for Best Rap Performance.
The Writers of “No Problem”
It’s safe to say that “No Problem” was one of the most celebrated songs of not only 2016, but the entire 2010s decade. And while verses from Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz are notable and add a great deal of excitement to the record, the rest of the contributors to the song are not nearly as well-known.
“No Problem” contains songwriting credits for seventeen different people. Three of these obviously include the main artists Chance, Wayne, and Chainz, who each contribute a verse along with Chance’s standout You don’t want no problem, want no problem with me hook.
However, the first vocals heard on the entire song, recited You don’t want zero problems, big fella, are given by YouTube comedian Ha Ha Davis. Inspired by his many skits, this portion landed Davis more collaborations with Chance on “All Night” and “Blessings (Reprise),” as well as a spot on Snoop Dogg’s “Dis Finna Be A Breeze.”
The song’s piano player James Frances and its producer duo Brasstracks, comprised of Ivan Jackson and Conor Rayne, both also earned writing credits on the track. Brasstracks, a trumpet and drums tandem, has also delivered instrumentals for R&B stars like Anderson .Paak and Xavier Omär, as well as the iconic K-pop group BTS.
Background vocals on the hook from Cam O’bi, Jamie Woods, Rachel Cado, and Jonathan Hoard earned them writing credits as well. In fact, O’bi is a producer, singer, and audio engineer who has also worked with Lil Wayne separately, as well as J. Cole, SZA, and more.
The remaining writing credits on “No Problem” belong to Peter CottonTale, Conor Szymanski, theMIND, Lakeitsha Williams, Jeff Lane, and Ashwin Torke. CottonTale and Szymanski are both composers and producers, as the former has worked mostly with Chance throughout his career for songs like “Cocoa Butter Kisses” and “I Might Need Security,” while the latter has credits with Miley Cyrus and Lizzo.
theMIND, a producing staple in Chicago, has worked with other acts in the city aside from Chance like Noname, Saba, and G Herbo. And lastly, Torke is an audio engineer who has mostly contributed to music by indie pop artists like Clairo and The Wallows.
Overall, “No Problem” serves as an anthem for independent artists, evident in the If one more label try to stop me call-out in the song’s refrain. But, even if Chance used the song to take aim at record label giants, he still was able to rub elbows with some of the industry’s finest producers and songwriters to craft this classic.
Photo by Keeley Parenteau / Shorefire Media
