Everyone has a record that they can’t help but smile to. Personally, I can’t remember what mine was before this week; everything before Coloring Book, Chance The Rapper’s exuberant new mixtape, fades into greyness.

Coloring Book is that feeling when you throw open the curtains in the morning and let the sun flood in. It’s looking upwards at a flawless blue sky. For Chancellor Bennett, it’s the bliss of new fatherhood. It is joy unbridled, euphoria embodied. It is, in short, a masterpiece.

We’ve known that 2016 is Chance The Rapper’s year since The Life of Pablo. Chance’s verse on ‘Ultralight Beam’, the album’s transcendent opener, was triumphant: “This is my part/Nobody else speak” – it may go down as a Kanye West song, but Chance stole the show. Amazingly, Coloring Book, an album released by an record label-less artist, and available for free, looks set to steal the show from any of its contemporaries in a year in which hip-hop has been treated to major releases from the likes of West, Kendrick Lamar and Drake.

It’s no coincidence either that Chance released Coloring Book the same week that he vocally advocated for free music to be considered by the Grammys. His conviction in remaining without a major record deal is a recurrent theme throughout the record, especially on ‘Mixtape’, featuring Young Thug and Lil Yachty, both rappers who have found success by defying music industry convention.

It is surely a coup too, that this mixtape features so many of hip-hop’s heavy hitters; on the first two tracks alone, Chance hosts guest-spots from West, Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz. And yet, throughout, the sound remains his. There is never any question that this is a Chance The Rapper record; his inimitable vocal ticks and shrieks are interwoven with melodic singing and a supreme flow, that saw Chance earmarked as hip-hop’s hottest prospect since the release of Acid Rap in 2013.

The unavoidable undercurrent of Coloring Book is gospel. West described The Life of Pablo as “a gospel album with a whole lot of cursing”; Coloring Book goes beyond Kanye’s gospel-infused rap music, and showcases the real thing. This is an album heavily grounded in Chance’s faith, and he presents his faith in such an uplifting way that even an atheist will find himself touched. Chance’s vocals throughout are almost entirely devoted to his faith; “I get my word from the sermon/I do not talk to the serpent/That’s a holistic discernment” he raps on ‘Blessings’, punctuated by Jamila Woods’ hook, “I’m gon’ praise Him/Praise Him ‘til I’m gone”.

Thematically, Coloring Book shows just how far Chance has come since his debut mixtape, 10 Day, a small-scale tale of being suspended from high school and adolescent misdemeanour. Acid Rap saw Chance confess to “cigarettes on cigarettes”, and songs about being a ‘Chain Smoker’. Yet with Coloring Book, he laments that “we don’t do the same drugs no more”, backed by little more than a piano and, of course, a choir. It is testament to Chance’s lyrical dexterity and creativity that he can manufacture a delicate, poignant break-up song out of such a refrain.

‘Juke Jam’ is an album highlight, a sensual slow-burner which highlights everything that is good about Justin Bieber (glistening on backing vocals); ‘All Night’, supposedly the token club track, shakes its hips in an ode to Chicago house, thanks to an infectious beat from trend-setter Kaytranada. ‘How Great’, supposedly Chance’s favourite song on the record, features some spoken-word mystery courtesy of frustrating enigma Jay Electronica, whereas ‘Angels’ is an ode to Chance’s Chicago, a city that he has consistently sought to fix, campaigning for community outreach programmes and even managing to secure a temporary stop in gun violence last year.

It is that, the personal touch, which makes Coloring Book so special. Every track feels like it’s a unique chunk carved from Chancellor Bennett’s soul; it has an uncanny ability to create a genuine intimacy with its audience, while also elevating the listener to some higher plane with its ceaseless choral arrangements and Donnie Trumpet’s irrepressible trumpets. At the moment, I can’t stop listening to it. I can’t see that changing for the foreseeable future. It’s rare that a record brings with it such permanent euphoria. But, with Coloring Book, Chance The Rapper has truly blessed his listeners. For that, we should praise him; praise him ’til we’re gone.