Chance the Rapper released his new album "Surf" with his band Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment on May 29. Unsurprisingly, the full album was downloaded over 600,000 times in just the first week. This may be because of the addictive soulful instrumentals and the entrancing lyrics, or maybe its because the album was released on iTunes at an unbeatable price of zero dollars.
Unlike Chance the Rapper’s 2013 breakout album "Acid Rap," "Surf" was not created to raise Chance the Rapper, also known as Chancelor Bennett, onto a pedestal. In this album, Bennett used his newly found fame to bring in performers with different talents to create the ultimate collaborative LP.
Instead of using his recent exposure to underscore his own talent, he gives the spotlight to The Social Experiment and its trumpet player, Donnie Trumpet, also known as Nico Segal. Donnie Trumpet can be heard on all 16 tracks through his jazzy, pop instrumentals highlighted by many vocalists that support the breathtaking sounds of the trumpet.
Instead of lacing each track with a mind-blowing combination of rhyming words and tongue twisters, Bennett takes the role as the true emcee of the album, often spitting up sweet introductions and charming hooks while leaving the verses to his 20 featured guest artists.
Bennett invites headlining performers such as Big Sean, Janelle Monáe and Busta Rhymes and serves as a mediator to tie all of these diverse talents together.
The sound of "Surf" is slightly different from that of "Acid Rap," which embraces an extensive, uncanny mixture of genres such as soul, acid jazz, house, pop and blues.
However, "Surf" tends to boil all of those down into a graspable tone that can be recognized, still leaves room for listeners to wonder what genre they should type in on Pandora to find it.
Although the two albums are different, similar elements that made "Acid Rap" such a hit can still be identified. "Surf" still hold those elements of jazz, electronica and pop to create an album that is as cool as a summer breeze. It focuses more on the vibes of the listener instead of focusing too much on a particular message, which leaves a lot of room for audiences to identify with the album.
By embracing The Social Experiment and underplaying his own publicity, Bennett has truly taken part in something greater than himself to create something greater than before. "Surf" is definitely the kind of album you can start and let it play to the very end without even pressing skip. This album leaves fans dying to see what comes up next and which performers we can look forward to hearing in his next album.