Guest post by Benji Katz.

Title: Surf
Artist: Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment
Genres: Hip hop, Neo Soul
Audience: Parental Advisory – Explicit Content
Release: 2015
Rating: 4 out of 5

Most people don’t expect a Hip hop group to be led by a trumpeter. However, the debut album by Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment does little to conform to expectations. The group features artist Chance the Rapper as well as appearances by other industry giants including; Big Sean, Busta Rhymes, and Erykah Badu. While names like these garner attention on the billboard charts, the true backbone of this groundbreaking album is the whimsical R&B stylings of Donnie Trumpet and his band. Songs like “Sunday Candy” and “Wanna be Cool” shed Hip hop’s reputation of bravado, delivering catchy melodies and dare-I-say wholesome lyrical content. More obscure tracks on the album like, “Something Came to Me” showcase the band’s ability to experiment musically, proving that there are no limitations in the realm of Hip hop. Rap is infiltrating mainstream popular culture and with the stick-in-your head anthems of Surf, it is clear the genre has never been so close to Motown. Find this album online: iTunes (free download) or Soundcloud (free streaming).

Here are more albums that capture the Musicality of Hip hop available via Hoopla:

About Benji Katz:

Benji is a senior at Bowling Green State University, pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He enjoys reading poetry, studying history as well as listening to and playing music in genres ranging from Jazz to Rap to Rock n’ Roll.