#5: Surf-Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment

#5: Surf-Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment
***For those that love indie rap, funk, soul, jazz, hip-hop***
The Social Experiment- comprised of Chance the Rapper, Donnie Trumpet, Peter Cottontale, Greg Landfair Jr. and Nate Fox-deliver an instant classic with their debut album. Released as a free project on iTunes, Surf is a surprising journey, encouraging its listener to love others and enjoy the simplicity of life. The song “Slip Slide” is an infectious funk selection wh…ile the song “Pass the Vibes” is a nicely cut reggae song, both of which demonstrate the Social Experiment’s musical versatility. Some critics dislike albums with many features, but Surf’s features are well-placed and add to the album’s replay value. Big Sean and Kyle destroy their respective verses on “Wanna Be Cool”, and Noname Gypsy & J. Cole bring extra fire to the song “Warm Enough”. Lyrically, the Social Experiment and its guests turn the hip-hop culture on it’s head; most songs boast about not fitting in, praying, loving grandmothers, and not obsessing over $. However, some songs follow mainstream hip-hop culture lyrics, and these songs include explicit content-from swears to vulgar imagery. Consequently, Surf is enough of a ground-breaking project sonically & lyrically to break my top 5, but it’s imperfections here and there sink it to the #5 spot on the list.