Chance The Rapper abandoned rap, the coolest genre du jour, for the deeply uncool alternative: an experimental jazz collective of which he’s merely another voice. Surf set its sights higher than cool; it preaches a footwork gospel of self-love that just might fuck around and convert you into someone who likes themselves. Chance is the album’s pastor, conducting the spiritual flow, refocusing and refining his congregation’s worship, allowing an ever-flowing improvisation. Surf is a wave that should by all rights fold back into the sea, but his pop sensibilities thrust it forward, accumulating glorious, monstrous force until there’s no shore in sight. –Caitlin

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