It’s a social experiment, Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment that is. Chance The Rapper, 21-year-old Donnie, born Nico Segal, 27-year-old Nate Fox, 23-year-old Peter Conttontale (yes, like the rabbit) and Greg “Stix” Landfair Jr. compile the five-member unit on what’s to come; Surf. While we would like to think that Surf is a rap album coming from Chance, it’s not. Although he is a part of the process, the Chicagoan has decided to set aside his solo pieces of work, for the benefit of Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment – the band who began as Chance’s back-up in 2013. “Surf is a collaboration among friends of a like-mind. Everybody wants to compromise and everybody wants to work as a group,” Donnie tells Fader for their February/March issue. “It is an album that reflects the vision of Donnie Trumpet, with the assistance of the rest of us making those songs come to life,” adds another member.
Fader took to L.A. to hang with the group – minus Stix, who was back in Chicago – where writer Andrew Nosnitsky bore witness to the team jumping from making music in the studio to going out and having fun. “Every day I literally wake up and figure out when I’m gonna be able to go to the studio,” Chance explains. “And in the meantime, I’m trying to do some very fun shit.” The foursome pondered on Venice Beach for the basketball courts, but they decided it may be too packed with rapper, The Game and his entourage. Stay in it is.
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Chance continues on his claim to independent fame, but that hasn’t stopped some of the label’s leaders from scheduling meetings to deliver inside knowledge, which he admits he rarely ever uses for his everyday life.
“I’ve met with every A&R, VP of A&R, president of the labels, CEOs. I know all these people,” he says. “I’ve had a lot of advice from people [in the industry] who wouldn’t give me that same advice today. It’s not even that they have any ill will towards me because I didn’t take their advice at the time. They’re almost like, ‘Keep going. You’re in uncharted territory, and you’re helping to shed light on what [the future of the business] will look like, and we’re all curious.'”
Check out the gallery for the fun of The Social Experiment.
