* En anglais uniquement
Also known as the Social Experiment, Grammy-winning hip-hop producers and songwriters
Nico Segal and
Nate Fox are the pair behind
Intellexual, an atmospheric side project that adopted a more exploratory spirit than their prior work. Frequent collaborators with
Chance the Rapper, the Los Angeles-based duo issued an album in 2015 as the Social Experiment before adopting the moniker
Intellexual for their eponymous 2019 sophomore effort.
Following their breakthrough work with
Chance the Rapper,
Frank Ocean, and
Kanye West, Chicago-bred trumpeter
Segal and Rust Belt beatmaker
Fox recorded an album as Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment titled Surf. Issued in 2015, the set included contributions from
BJ the Chicago Kid,
Big Sean,
KYLE,
Noname,
DRAM,
Janelle Monáe,
Erykah Badu, and many more. After scoring Grammy Awards for their work on
Chance's 2016 mixtape
Coloring Book, the pair continued to produce.
Segal dropped his Donnie Trumpet alias after 2016, and the pair eventually switched names altogether to
Intellexual. With subdued and atmospheric production that incorporated inspiration from '70s singer/songwriters such as
James Taylor,
Carole King, and
Carly Simon, as well as footwork, bossa nova, and experimental jazz and neo-soul,
Intellexual recruited guests
Esperanza Spalding,
Vic Mensa,
DJ Spinn,
Raury, Knox Fortune, and others. ~ Neil Z. Yeung