Nico Segal

Nico Segal (born June 25, 1993),^[1] formerly known by his stage name Donnie Trumpet, is an American trumpeter and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. He is part of the hip hop collective Savemoney with Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa, among others. He was a member of the band Kids These Days, which broke up in 2013, and currently performs in the band the Social Experiment.^[2]

Nico Segal
Also known as	Donnie Trumpet (2006–2016)
Born	(1993-06-25) June 25, 1993 (age 30) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop jazz blues rock soul
Occupation(s)	Trumpeter, record producer
Instrument(s)	Trumpet
Years active	2009–present
Website	http://nicosegal.com

Musical career

2009-2013: Kids These Days

In 2009, the band Kids These Days was formed with Nico Segal, Vic Mensa, Liam Cunningham, Lane Beckstrom, Greg Landfair, Macie Stewart, J. P. Floyd, and Rajiv Halim. On June 28, 2011, they released an extended play titled Hard Times EP and a full length mixtape, Traphouse Rock, on October 30, 2012.^[3][4] On March 26, Nico Segal released his first mixtape Illasoul: Shades of Blue.^[5] In May 2013, the band broke up and Nico Segal released his solo extended play, Donnie Trumpet EP on June 28, 2013.^[6]

2014-present: the Social Experiment

At the end of 2013 Segal performed with Chance the Rapper and the Social Experiment along with Nate Fox, Greg Landfair Jr. and Peter Cottontale. He released his debut album with the band Surf on May 28, 2015. The album was released exclusively on iTunes as a free download and was downloaded over 618,000 times in its first week.^[7]

Segal contributed to Earth, a live album by Neil Young and Promise of the Real, released on June 17, 2016.

On November 9, 2016, after Republican nominee Donald Trump won the U.S Presidential election, Segal dropped the nickname Donnie Trumpet.^[8][9]

Discography

Studio albums

• Surf (2015) (with the Social Experiment)
• Exchange (2017) (with The JuJu Exchange)
• Intellexual (2019) (with Nate Fox)^[10]
• JazzRx (2023) (with The Juju Exchange)
• Tell The Ghost Welcome Home (2023)

Extended plays

• Hard Times EP (2011) (with Kids These Days)
• Donnie Trumpet EP (2013)
• The Eternal Boombox EP (2020) (with The JuJu Exchange)

Mixtapes

• Illasoul: Shades of Blue (2012)
• Traphouse Rock (2012) (with Kids These Days)

References

1. Powell, Shannon (June 13, 2013). "Nico Segal Talks Life After Kids These Days, Lifting Lauryn Hill And 'Donnie Trumpet' Mixtape". Vibe. Retrieved January 29, 2017. Donnie Trumpet is due on June 25, which is Nico's 20th birthday
2. Nosnitsky, Andrew. "Why Chance The Rapper Is Forgoing Solo Fame To Make Jazzy Songs With Friends". The Fader. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
3. Young, Alex (June 23, 2011). "Kids These Days – Hard Times EP". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
4. Richard. "Kids These Days - Traphouse Rock". DJBooth.
5. Monster (March 27, 2012). "Album: Nico Segal - 'Illasoul: Shades of Blue'". Pigeons & Planes. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
6. "Nico Segal (of Kids These Days) – Donnie Trumpet (FreEP)". 2DOPEBOYZ. June 25, 2013.
7. Edwards, Morgan. "Social Experiment Success: 'Surf' Downloaded 618,000 Times in First Week". Variance Magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
8. Segal, Nico [@nicosegal] (November 9, 2016). "So long Donnie Trumpet" (Tweet). Retrieved November 11, 2016 – via Twitter.
9. Roti, Jessi (November 23, 2015). "Nico Segal lets go of 'Donnie Trumpet,' calls for young people to stand up in Trump's America". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 29, 2017. Donnie Trumpet announced he was leaving that stage name behind — opting for his birth name Nico Segal in light of the presidential election.
10. Minsker, Evan; Strauss, Matthew (April 1, 2019). "The Social Experiment's Nico Segal and Nate Fox Announce New Album as Intellexual". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 1, 2019.