Chance The Rapper’s ‘Acid Rap’ Mixtape Hits The Billboard Charts After Being Sold Illegally

The rap world warmly welcomed the arrival of Chance The Rapper this April when he dropped his second mixtape Acid Rap, an exhilarating release that served as the announcement that Chance was here to stay for a while. And while the tape was released for free on his website, it recently hit No. 63 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart after selling 1,000 units in a week early July, Billboard reports. There's only one problem—no one is authorized to sell Chance's free tape.

Acid Rap was up for sale on both iTunes and Amazon—and is still available on the latter's website—but Chance, his manager Pat Corcoran, and his lawyers are attempting to have it taken down from Internet retailers. Normally, the issue would be handled by the RIAA, but since Chance remains independent and hasn't signed a deal with a record label, that protection is not afforded to him.

While Acid Rap is bound to wind up on plenty of year-end lists, Billboard's was not one that was expected. But, as he told Billboard, Corcoran took some positives from the situation, saying "How often does a bootleg hit a Billboard chart?"

Read Billboard's story here.