“Sick!” is the latest album from Californian rapper Thebe Neruda Kgositsile, better known as Earl Sweatshirt. Earl has cemented himself as a renowned artist in the abstract hip-hop genre with projects like “Some Rap Songs” and “Doris” which have received critical acclaim for their innovative production and unconventional rapping. He’s also a member of hip-hop supergroup Odd Future alongside big names such as Tyler, The Creator, and Frank Ocean. Since his last project in 2019, Earl revealed on Twitter in July 2021 that he has a son, a huge change for the 27-year-old artist.

“Sick!” continues Earl’s streak of short but succinct projects, clocking in at just 24 minutes long. Despite this, this isn’t a record that you can “get” on first listen – this album requires multiple plays to fully appreciate due to the diverse interpretations that can be derived from the lyrical content. He discusses a multitude of different topics on the project, from the COVID-19 pandemic, his career and evolution as an artist, and his experiences with pain and trauma throughout his life. In classic Earl fashion, these ideas are expressed in hazy, poetic bars as opposed to directly rapping about them — he doesn’t shy away from leaving his lines open to the listener’s interpretation.

The beats throughout this record heavily utilize unusual samples and chilled-out rhythms — a few tracks even go drumless, with Earl’s voice standing solo alongside the atmospheric instrumentation. His flow is unconventional but effortless throughout the project, not too dissimilar to Madlib, with bars of fuzzy imagery and masterful wordplay laid out one after another. “Sick!” perfectly achieves an abstract and relaxed tone, being a great record to put on when you want to simply wind out and float to some great hip-hop.

“Sick!” is a very cohesive project, with tracks neatly segueing into each other and instrumentals that nicely complement the atmosphere of the album. While some songs feel particularly inconsequential — holding the same note throughout their entire runtime with no real variation (such as Lobby and God Laughs) — they don’t feel unnecessary or worthy of a skip as they add to the album’s merit as a whole.

The highlights on this album are “2010,” “Vision,” “Tabula Rasa” and “Fire in the Hole,” each with its own unique instrumental and lyrical content. “2010” sees Earl reflecting on his career over a sporadic organ sample, and “Vision” hits with an ethereal, psychedelic instrumental and great verses from featured rapper Zelooperz and Earl. “Tabula Rasa” is a barebones cipher-type track with amazing guest verses from the group Armand Hammer on top of a relaxed yet strangely claustrophobic soul sample, and “Fire in the Hole,” my personal favorite, samples a mellow soul track and finishes with a beautiful solo piano performance to close out the record.

Overall, Earl Sweatshirt’s album “Sick!” is an outstanding push forward in his discography, with great instrumentals, lyrical content, and overall atmosphere. If you aren’t used to more experimental hip-hop, this record may feel jarring at first – but give it some time, let the lyrics sink in, and you’ll learn to really appreciate Earl’s output. I give this album a solid 8/10, a must-listen for hip-hop heads.