Before the explosion his free album Acid Rap caused in early 2013, Chance the Rapper was a bubbling rapper whose name didn’t ring many bells outside his homeland of Chicago. His friends, obviously, were even more anonymous to the public eye, which is a statement that definitely doesn’t ring true today. Acid Rap was one of the most acclaimed, celebrated, and downright refreshing projects dropped in recent rap history, and Chance the Rapper to this day has yet to follow it up with any kind of solo project, paid-for single, or even any kind of record deal. Instead, Chance’s idea of consistency existed in touring his Acid Rap material as much as possible, collaborating and writing music for other artists, existing as an internet entity that exudes relevance without a label or management firms, but moreover, it existed in the idea of making music with his friends, and pushing his musical ensemble to the spotlight with him. Now, 758 days later, Chance’s horn-specialist Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment band (Peter Cottontale, Nate Fox, Greg “Stix” Landfair Jr., and Chance the Rapper) have released the long-awaited, frequently teased project, Surf.

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