Earl Sweatshirt is an eighteen year old rapper from South Los Angeles who is a part of the popular rap collective Odd Future. Known for his raunchy, expletive, dark lyrical content Earl is one of the youngest yet most talented rappers in his group. Although Earl’s lyrics tend to offend certain people due to their graphic nature and the fact that he often paints pictures of rape, murder, and delinquent activity, it’s impossible to deny Earl’s natural talent and the fact that he’s an amazing rapper. His laid back, yet aggressive, monotone flow with a frankly amazing rhyme scheme grabs any true hip hop fan’s attention.
On his new album however it’s clear that Earl has done some growing up since his boarding school days. Earl is more lyrically sharp than ever with the same crazy flow we’ve grown to love. He specifically opened up about his issues about being a parent and how they affected him growing up and brought him to the success he’s achieving today. Earl even produced some of the tracks on the album really going the extra mile to step his music up and putting himself out there in the process. He really stepped it up this project with his production and overall song making skills.
Pre ft. SK LaFlare: A classic lyrical intro track with a dark melodic beat. SK LaFlare opens up with a fiery verse.
Burgandy: One of my favorite tracks on the album produced by Pharell of The Neptunes on which earl gets unexpectedly personal and introspective. He speaks on balancing life as a famous rapper and trying to maintain himself all the while trying to keep his priorities straight. Earl talks about being so busy making the very album I’m listening to, that he doesn’t have time to see his dying grandmother. An instant classic and favorite on this album.
20 Wave Caps ft. Domo Genesis: An aggressive braggadocious song featuring fellow crew member. An impressive beat with no hook and a lot of bars. Earl and Domo go in on this one.
Sunday ft. Frank Ocean: A reflective track with a mellow beat featuring friend of the Odd Future crew r&b crooner Frank Ocean. However Frank raps on this song and along with Earl speaks on failed relationships and drug use positive and negative effects on their lives. “And I don’t know why its difficult to admit that I missed you/ And I don’t know why we argue, and I just hope that you listen/ And if I hurt you I’m sorry, the music makes me dismissive”
Hive ft. Casey Veggies and Vince Staples: Another one of my favorite tracks on the album. Taking a turn away from the personal nature of some of the songs on Doris. This track is really menacing and lyrical with Earl speaking on coming from a rough city like L.A. Vince Staples delivers with a crazy street verse speaking on how tough he and his crew are.
Chum: The first single off of the album, this is really the first song Earl fans heard where he talked about his personal struggles growing up. He speaks on his father leaving him when he was young and being somewhat of a delinquent in his teenage years. “It’s been twelve years since my father left, and left me fatherless/ And I just used to say I hate him in dishonest jest”.
Sasquatch: Featuring Earl’s best friend and most popular collaborator Tyler The Creator. Tyler spits a funny verse talking about Chris Brown, Rihanna, and Gorditas.
Centurion: Another track featuring Vince Staples once again painting a picture of the dangers faced in the city.
523: An instrumental track produced by Earl under the moniker “ Randomblackdude”
Uncle Al: One of the shortest tracks on the album Earl goes in for a quick sixteen bars by himself and kills it.
Guild: Featuring Mac miller, a slow, heavy, calm beat. Both Earl and Mac alter their voices to sound deeper in a chopped and screwed style. They speak on how their daily lives have been affected by drug use.
Molasses: Another one of my favorites off of the album featuring RZA of the Wu Tang Clan. Also produced by the RZA who comes in on the hook for a classic mix of OF and Wu Tang with a 90’s and modern feel.
Whoa: Another funny and lyrical classic Earl track. Featuring Tyler The Creator who introduces the track by announcing that just because Earl made songs like “Chum” that are very personal doesn’t mean he’s going to change the classic raunchy OF style.
Hoarse: Featuring the jazz band BADBADNOTGOOD who has collaborated with OF in the past also featuring Frank Ocean on the hook. Earl raps in a quiet raspy voice over a smooth jazz like beat.
Knight: The final track off the album and another one of my favorites. Featuring Domo Genesis for the second time on the album Domo and Earl talk about achieving success despite not having their fathers in their lives.
Overall I really enjoyed listening to this album in its entirety. Earl has shown that its still possible to make a classic Hip Hop album and I can only hope other artist are inspired by what he did.
4/5 Stars
