Released May 28, 2015 Producer The Social Experiment Release date 28 May 2015 | Length 51:54 Donnie Trumpet EP(2013) Surf(2015) Genres Hip hop music, Neo soul | |
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Recorded 2013–15 in Los Angeles, California, Florida, CRC in Chicago, Illinois Surf(2015) Free (Based Freestyles Mixtape)(2015) Artists Donnie Trumpet, The Social Experiment Similar Acid Rap, Coloring Book, 10 Day, Gahdamn!, Wav Theory | ||
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. The album highlights trumpeter, Nico Segal, and was created by Segal along with his band of collaborators called The Social Experiment — a self-described group of bohemian musicians, consisting of Donnie Trumpet, 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.
Contents
Release
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. The Austin Vesely, Ian Eastwood and Chance The Rapper-directed music video for Sunday Candy was released on YouTube on April 12, 2015.
Critical response
Surf was 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. In its first week, Surf was downloaded 618,000 times via iTunes, with over 10 million individual track downloads. 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 BJ The Chicago Kid, Big Sean, KYLE, Jamila Woods, Noname, D.R.A.M., B.o.B, Busta Rhymes, J. Cole, Janelle Monáe, Quavo and Erykah Badu, among others.
Accolades
Surf has been ranked as one of the highest-acclaimed albums of 2015, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. Robert Christgau named it the sixth best album of 2015 in his ballot for The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll.
Track listing
Although no features were listed on iTunes, many artists accompanied Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment during the recording of Surf.
Notes
Songs
1Miracle4:11
2Slip SlideBoB - Busta Rhymes - Janelle Monáe - 4:00
3Warm EnoughJ Cole - Noname3:22