Sometimes, all that is needed is time. In the decade since the Social Experiment released their genre-defying album Surf in 2015, the group of Chicago musicians—Nico Segal, Chance the Rapper, Peter CottonTale, Nate Fox, and Greg “Stix” Landfair Jr.—have kept busy. Racking up accolades and experience in lockstep, the Social Experiment has honed their respective skills and craft through various solo and group music projects, as a collective and in their individual practices. They have taken the time to grow rather than let time pass them by. All the while, and perhaps most impressive, they have remained friends. Through supporting each other professionally on the same stages or in the more private spaces of studios, to being constants in each other’s personal lives, they have prioritized authentic connection despite time’s ability to build space that is so often difficult to close up. At their October 2025 Surf anniversary show, where the Social Experiment performed along with a myriad of musicians—both building out the band and star-studded features, it was clear that time was on their side.

It’s easy to chalk up the sonic landscape of Surf as experimental with its vast range of musical influences from hip-hop to funk to gospel, but trumpet player and one of the Social Experiment’s founding members, Nico Segal, thinks of it more as an album that dared to be created even if they hadn’t felt quite ready at the time. In his process of preparing for the anniversary show, Nico talks about how, as he played through the music, it became a moment of reflection. He got to sit with a past self, a younger self, and take stock of where he was at. ”I got to see what I was excited about and where my musical taste buds evolved and changed,” he remarks.  Inevitably, there were moments he caught himself in gratitude as well as critique. He holds an appreciation for what the album was shaped into—fun and challenging, while holding contradictions and memories alike. But he also recognizes that there are songs that required him to stretch himself beyond what he knew he could do in sound creation, arrangement, production, and performance. It’s difficult for him not to wonder how the album would have sounded had it been made after the decade of experience time afforded him. But he isn’t held up on the what-ifs. Despite knowing they are more seasoned artists now with greater technical capabilities to play Surf, he sees that this album was created because of trust.

In the process of making the album, the Social Experiment grew stronger because of the musical risks they took. The genre-bending sounds that felt beyond their reach were realized through the group’s mutual assurance and confidence in each other. Nico credits so much of the album’s existence to his collaborators, especially Chance the Rapper. Although he sees the ways that the album could be “cleaner, more concise, more singable, less complex,” he knows that simply wasn’t meant to be. When creating this album, Chance would double down on the artistic leaps Nico suggested. He wanted to lean into the long instrumental moments that were layered and meandering. When Nico was unsure, Chance championed whatever eccentric moments Nico was drawn to. Where Nico was most critical of instrumental arrangements, Chance championed it the most, seeing the economy in risk-taking sounds that Surf is now known for. 

Nico points out that Nate Fox was designing the sounds themselves, Peter was heavy-handed in the arrangement and production of the sounds, and Chance had the audacity to seek out the wildest of features (many of which made the album’s final cut). Everyone was creating a sonic landscape that made certain vocal moments iconic. And perhaps what has led to this album’s time-tested success is that the album clearly rings as a collaboration. When listening to everyone’s various projects, it is clear that unique pieces of each are found in Surf. There is beauty in the personal and professional relationships, prioritizing everyone to display themselves in their most authentic form. This album was as much an exercise of trust and safety as it was an exercise of growth. Nico is steadfast in the knowledge that the Social Experiment reaching for ambitious, difficult pieces and pushing themselves to the edge of uncomfortability is something to be proud of.

And still, Nico knows he and his collaborators are now more ready than ever to venture forth in performing this album. He feels better equipped to play this album now, he tells me, explaining that at times, it’s uncomfortable to listen to a younger version attempt to make sense of the sounds they had created. But he’s a different trumpet player now. In his time since released Surf in 2015, he toured as a trumpet player for Chance’s Coloring Book tour the following year; formed and released three albums (2017, 2023, and 2025) with his jazz band, the Juju Exchange now comprised of him, Julian Davis Reid, and Nova Zaii; formed the duo, Intellexual with Nate Fox, and released a singer-songerwriter centric album in 2019; released a solo album, Tell the Ghosts Welcome Home, in 2023 wearing all hats at once; and has worked with an endless list of musicians in various capacities. Nico has been busy. 

Each pursuit has helped him hone in on craft through settling into the repetitive discipline demands of you to grow. He stresses that through the years, he has seen his musical endeavors and those of his collaborators as opportunities to learn. “Everyone who was a part of Surf is better for the time they continued on their own projects,” he says. Different parts of them were permitted to explore and exist. He holds deep love and compassion for a past version while standing firmly on the belief that he was capable of even more. That is what drives his discipline. There’s a specific clarity that only time can provide someone. When Surf was released, he had gone by Donnie Trumpet, a tongue-in-cheek stage name that he knew had lost its humor long ago. Now, despite all the complications and logistics of rebranding, he goes by Nico Segal—more sure of and closer to himself. 

It just feels right that this album was performed close to its entirety in Chicago for its tenth anniversary. Nico speaks on how Chicago is the literal birthplace of many in the Social Experiment, as well as the genesis of the album. “There are so many incredible ways the city has nourished my music-making. It really was the only place the show should happen, could happen…Chicago understands me the best,” he stresses. No other city made sense for the commemoration of the album’s milestone. Surf, above all else, is a celebration. The camaraderie of friendship, community, and pride in the city of Chicago rings true throughout the entire album. Each song flows, dare I say surfs, into the next, providing a sturdy landing pad to settle into the new multitudes that are to be experienced. Though one song may act as a bridge to the other, each song can hold its own as its unique rhythm and musicality ground it as a masterpiece of its own. As each feature makes their way to the stage, Joey Purp, Saba, DRAM, Kaicrewsade, Chris Robbin, Vic Mensa, Ephra, and Jamila Woods, I can’t help but think about the way they have all extended into one another through the years to make each other better. This is what it feels like to create in Chicago. 

It just feels right that this album was performed close to its entirety in Chicago for its tenth anniversary. There is a vast community of brilliant, talented minds willing and wanting to collaborate while crossing genre lines. Like Surf, each artist zeroes in on what helps them stand apart with the knowledge that collaboration and support are what will ultimately lead to a fruitful, sustainable journey as an artist. I am impressed with how that notion materialized in the selection of the openers. There is great breadth in genre that was showcased. From the soulful, seasoned O’My’s, a band that Nico credits much of his music learning from, to Nova Zaii’s, a current collaborator of his in the Juju Exchange, patented Portals instrumentation that he describes as electronically making music out of thin air, the celebration of a limitless Chicago was loud. And there was also a showcase of artists from Chicago’s StudioSHAPES, created by Renzell. The artists, Renzell, Lonzo, Rechoechi, Moyana, RHOME, Rich Robbins, Young(In), and myekehl aren’t new to the scene. They have each had their own successes in the city. But it feels extra special to see them, many of whom are collaborators, open for an album that has inspired them. The moment feels less like a passing of the baton to the next generation of Chicago artists and rather a warm welcome to share in the history that was forged that night. 

The album has endured time. As the show progresses, the energy in the room only crescendos. It’s difficult to put that feeling into words. I want to chalk it up to “you had to be there.” But if you weren’t, what was felt was freedom. And that is the result of collaboration, personal allowances to be uninhibited, the knowing that the discipline has steered you to exactly where you should be, and, of course, the deep friendship that has buoyed this city. Surf is an album of longevity. “I’m proud that we are still friends, that we want to perform music together, want to revisit this time in our lives and have a certain reverence for it and each other,” Nico says, with a kind of peace that is only possible due to the trust he holds with his collaborators, his friends. And the city holds that, reveres it, honors it. As every performer makes their way to the stage, the crowd meets them with unbridled applause and hollering. It’s a long-overdue celebration. 

Nico Segal & The Social Experiment: Celebrating 10 years of Surf Live at Metro was held on October 11, 2025.

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