Surf | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment | ||||
Released | May 28, 2015 | |||
Recorded | 2013–2015 in Los Angeles, California, Florida, CRC in Chicago, Illinois | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 51:54 | |||
Producer | The Social Experiment | |||
Nico Segal chronology | ||||
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Chance the Rapper chronology | ||||
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Singles from Surf | ||||
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Surf is the debut studio album by American band The Social Experiment;it was released exclusively on iTunes as a free download on May 28,2015. [1] The album highlights trumpeter Nico Segal,formerly known as "Donnie Trumpet," and was created by Segal along with his band of collaborators called The Social Experiment —a self-described group of bohemian musicians,consisting of Segal,Chance the Rapper,Peter Cottontale,Greg Landfair Jr.,and Nate Fox. The album was highly anticipated because of Chance's heavy involvement with the group,contributing vocals and some of the arrangements to the album. Surf was downloaded 618,000 times via iTunes in its first week,with over 10 million individual track downloads.
Surf was surprise-released as an iTunes Exclusive free download shortly before midnight on May 28,2015,after numerous delays. The album was originally to be released by the end of the year in 2014,but the release date was pushed back several times. Preceding the album were singles "Sunday Candy" and "Nothing Came To Me",neither of which showed any of the various features on the album –since Chance is technically part of The Social Experiment,he is not regarded as a feature. "Sunday Candy",an ode to Chance's grandmother,featuring vocals by Chance The Rapper and various uncredited singers including Jamila Woods,was followed by "Nothing Came To Me",an instrumental track accompanied by a "silent film" starring Cara Delevingne. [2] The Austin Vesely,Ian Eastwood and Chance The Rapper-directed music video for Sunday Candy was released on YouTube on April 12,2015. [3]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 8.1/10 [4] |
Metacritic | 86/100 [5] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
The A.V. Club | A− [6] |
Chicago Tribune | [7] |
Complex | [8] |
The Guardian | [9] |
NME | 8/10 [10] |
Pitchfork | 8.3/10 [11] |
PopMatters | 9/10 [12] |
Rolling Stone | [13] |
Spin | 7/10 [14] |
Vice (Expert Witness) | A [15] |
Surfwas met with widespread acclaim from music critics who praised its varied musical elements and aesthetic. At Metacritic,the album received an average score of 86,based on 17 critics. [5] In its first week,Surf was downloaded 618,000 times via iTunes,with over 10 million individual track downloads. [16] Critics highly praised the artful style,lyrics,production,and incorporation of dance,jazz fusion,and neo-soul elements in the music of the album. The album's diverse range of guest artists also drew praise;while no officially credited features were listed in the iTunes track list,Surf contains contributions from Chance the Rapper,BJ The Chicago Kid,Big Sean,KYLE,Jamila Woods,Noname,DRAM,B.o.B,Busta Rhymes,J. Cole,Janelle Monáe,Quavo and Erykah Badu,among others.
Surf has been ranked as one of the highest-acclaimed albums of 2015,according to review aggregator website Metacritic. [5] Robert Christgau named it the sixth best album of 2015 in his ballot for The Village Voice 's annual Pazz &Jop critics poll. [17]
Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank |
---|---|---|---|
Pitchfork | The 50 Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 21 [18] |
Stereogum | The 50 Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 16 [19] |
All tracks produced by 'The Social Experiment'. Although no features were listed on iTunes,many artists accompanied Nico Segal and The Social Experiment during the recording of Surf.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Miracle" |
| 4:11 |
2. | "Slip Slide" |
| 4:00 |
3. | "Warm Enough" |
| 3:22 |
4. | "Nothing Came to Me" |
| 3:30 |
5. | "Wanna Be Cool" |
| 3:28 |
6. | "Windows" |
| 3:57 |
7. | "Caretaker" |
| 1:35 |
8. | "Just Wait" |
| 3:47 |
9. | "Familiar" |
| 3:54 |
10. | "SmthnthtIwnt" |
| 1:51 |
11. | "Go" |
| 4:22 |
12. | "Questions" |
| 1:55 |
13. | "Something Came to Me" |
| 3:11 |
14. | "Rememory" |
| 2:34 |
15. | "Sunday Candy" |
| 3:46 |
16. | "Pass the Vibes" |
| 2:31 |
Total length: | 51:54 |
Notes
Acid Rap is the second mixtape by American rapper Chance the Rapper. It was released on April 30, 2013, as a free digital download. In July 2013, the mixtape debuted at number 63 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, due to bootleg downloads on iTunes and Amazon not affiliated with the artist. The mixtape has been certified "diamond" on mixtape site Datpiff, for garnering over 1,000,000 downloads. It was rereleased on streaming services on June 21, 2019, alongside his 2012 mixtape 10 Day. A 10th anniversary Complete Edition was later released, including the full version of "Juice", which previously wasn't available for streaming due to sampling issues.
We Went to Different Schools Together is the second album by Pittsburgh rock/pop band the Jaggerz, released in 1970. The album includes the group's only successful single, "The Rapper."
Kids These Days was a hip hop band from Chicago, Illinois. The band formed in 2009 while the members were teenagers and their debut album Traphouse Rock was released in 2012. Their split in May 2013 served as a launch pad for Vic Mensa and Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment, among others.
Convertibles is the debut studio album by American producer/rapper Chuck Inglish. The album was released on April 8, 2014, through Inglish's own Sounds Like Fun Records via Dave Sitek's Federal Prism Records. Co-produced by Inglish and Incubus' Mike Einziger, the 13-track project features collaborations with Chance the Rapper, Action Bronson, BJ the Chicago Kid, Ab-Soul, and Mac Miller amongst others, along with fellow Cool Kids member Sir Michael Rocks and Canadian electro funk duo Chromeo.
Fatimah Nyeema Warner, known professionally as Noname, is an American rapper. She began rapping and performing slam poetry in 2010, and gained wider recognition in 2013 for her appearance on the track "Lost" from Chance the Rapper's mixtape Acid Rap. She released her debut mixtape, Telefone, in 2016 to critical acclaim. Her debut album, Room 25, was released in 2018 and received further acclaim.
Mike Golden and Friends (MG&F) is an American independent band from Chicago, Illinois, United States, led by singer-songwriter Mike Golden. They started in 2009 when Mike Golden dropped out of Purdue University to pursue music on a full-time basis.
Preston Oshita, better known by his stage name Towkio, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. He was previously known as Young P, Preston San, and Tokyo Shawn. He is a member of the Savemoney crew. His debut studio album, WWW., was released in 2018.
Jamila Woods is a Chicago-based American singer, songwriter and poet. Woods is a graduate of St. Ignatius College Prep and Brown University, where she received a BA in Africana Studies and Theater & Performance Studies. Her work focuses on themes of Black ancestry, Black feminism, and Black identity, with recurring emphases on self-love and the City of Chicago.
Tahj Malik Chandler, better known by his stage name Saba, is an American rapper and record producer. He grew up in the Austin neighborhood of the West Side of Chicago. He is a co-founder of the musical collective Pivot Gang with his brother Jerrel Chandler, their late cousin Walter Long Jr, their high school friend Logan Yutters, Jevunte Wheeler (squeakPivot), and Jimmy. He is also one third of the supergroup Ghetto Sage, with Smino and Noname.
Joseph Davis, better known by his stage name Joey Purp, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. He is one half of Leather Corduroys. He is one of the founding members of Savemoney.
Coloring Book is the third mixtape by American rapper Chance the Rapper. It was produced by his group The Social Experiment, Lido, and Kaytranada, among others. For the mixtape, Chance also collaborated with musicians such as Kanye West, Young Thug, Francis and the Lights, Justin Bieber, 2 Chainz, Kirk Franklin, and the Chicago Children's Choir.
Nico Segal, formerly known by his stage name Donnie Trumpet, is an American trumpeter and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. He is part of the hip hop collective Savemoney with Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa, among others. He was a member of the band Kids These Days, which broke up in 2013, and currently performs in the band the Social Experiment.
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No Dope on Sundays is the debut studio album by American rapper Cyhi the Prynce released on November 17, 2017 through Sony Music. The album's release follows years of label disputes and series of mixtapes spanning his career. It features guest appearances from Kanye West, whom also executive produced the album, as well as Pusha T, Schoolboy Q, Travis Scott, 2 Chainz, Jagged Edge, BJ the Chicago Kid, Estelle, and Ernestine Johnson. Meanwhile, production was handled by Mark Byrd, Edsclusive, S1, OZ, Syk Sense, among others. Critical reception was generally positive, while commercial response was lukewarm.
Cameron Osteen, better known by his stage name Cam O'bi, is an American record producer, singer-songwriter and audio engineer. He has produced for Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa, Mick Jenkins, Noname, J. Cole, Bas, Saba, and Isaiah Rashad. His upcoming debut album is titled Grown Ass Kid.
Room 25 is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Noname. Recorded in about a month's time, the album chronicles the two years since the release of Noname's debut mixtape Telefone, most notably her move from Chicago to Los Angeles and an intense, short-lived romantic relationship.
The Big Day is the debut studio album by American rapper Chance the Rapper, released on July 26, 2019. The album follows several mixtapes by the rapper including the reissue of his collaborative Merry Christmas Lil' Mama in 2017, and was his first solo project since Coloring Book in 2016. The album was heavily influenced by Chance's marriage to his then wife. The album was lauded by most critics, but certain aspects of the work found limited commercial success. The album received widespread negative attention and backlash from fans on social media and other Internet communities citing inconsistencies of quality throughout the work. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, Chance's highest-charting entry to date. In November 2024, Rolling Stone ranked it at number 50 on its list of The 50 Most Disappointing Albums of All Time.
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