Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment – Surf
Okay, so the headline to this post is slightly misleading; Surf isn’t technically a Chance The Rapper album, though he does feature prominently on the release in his role as vocalist and arranger.
Instead, what we get is a highly anticipated album led by Chance’s friend and frequent collaborator, Donnie Trumpet, which has been rumored to be on the cusp of release for nearly a year.
We’ve been catching whiffs of what Donnie Trumpet & co. have been cooking up via sporadic releases on Chance’s soundcloud page, though none of those previously released tracks made it onto Surf except for “Sunday Candy” which you can download a la carte and stream below.
“Sunday Candy” isn’t the best track on the album, but it does give you a taste of what to expect throughout Surf. It’s a record heavily focused on live instrumentation, but nearly impossible to pigeonhole into a genre, except to say it exists somewhere at the nexus of hip hop, soul, and jazz.
Big name guest appearances pop up throughout from the likes of Erykah Badu, Busta Rhymes, Raury, Big Sean, and Janelle Monae, among others.
While Surf may not be the best album of the 2015, it is one of the most interesting and unique and is well worth checking out.
Download Surf for free on iTunes.
Alo Wala – Vibrate To Win EP
Alo Wala is pretty much the literal embodiment of global bass. Comprised of Danish producers Julius Sylvest and Copyflex and Chicago-born Punjabi-Indian MC, Shivani Ahlowalia (that’s three continents already), the trio recently put out one of my favorite EPs of 2015..
“The Coconut Song” featuring Brooklyn Shanti is the most laid back track on the three song Vibrate To Win EP and also my favorite. I’ve been giving it a bunch of spins on my show for the past few weeks and the feedback from listeners on it has been incredible.
Shivani Ahlowalia has a precise flow that sounds like a cross between M.I.A. and Bahamadia and the minimalist production on “The Coconut Song” is super on point.
The other two tracks – “Vibrate To Win” and “Texi Mexi” bring more bass-heavy club vibes and are equally impressive in their own ways.
Alo Wala is definitely a group to keep your eye on moving forward. For now, the “Vibrate To Win” EP will have to do.
Stream and download the entire EP on Alo Wala’s soundcloud page.