Some Rap Songs
Earl Sweatshirt’s second album, 2015’s *I Don’t Like S\*\*t, I Don’t Go Outside*, is a masterwork of efficiency. At just 10 songs over 30 minutes, not a word is wasted nor a note held a second too long. Brevity, specifically, is a concept Sweatshirt cites in interviews as a guiding principle in his art, one he leans into even further on *I Don’t Like S\*\*t*’s follow-up, *Some Rap Songs*. At an even brisker 15 tracks in 25 minutes, the project is mineral-rich, Sweatshirt losing himself in a relentless pursuit of clever and complex bars. His rhymes are marvels of non sequitur, rarely tracking a theme or singular direction for more than a few lines, all delivered over subdued and unrelenting soul loops. The former Odd Future standout handles the bulk of production as well, though *Some Rap Songs* also includes contributions from frequent collaborators Denmark Vessey and Gio Escobar (of NYC art-jazz duo Standing on the Corner), among others. Vocal guests include two of Sweatshirt’s oldest inspirations—his mother, UCLA professor Cheryl Harris, and late father, South African poet laureate Keorapetse Kgositsile.
With his latest record, the onetime teen prodigy reemerges as the face of a new sound and scene that blurs the line between avant-garde jazz and hip-hop.
Earl Sweatshirt’s 2015 album I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside is one of the best rap albums of the decade, but it was a grower, claustrophobic and dissonant. Some Rap Songs aims higher and makes you work harder. That blurry cover and demurring title are no feint; he’s buried in the mix, his voice fighting against…
Don't be fooled by the title – Earl Sweatshirt's third album is dense, experimental and deeply fascinating.
Earl Sweatshirt's 'Some Rap Songs' is a claustrophobic and compelling story about finding one's self in the aftermath of loss.
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Recorded under the umbrella of Odd Future, Earl Sweatshirt's 2010 debut was that year's most divisive rap record.
'Some Rap Songs,' the brand new effort by Earl Sweatshirt, album review by Stephan Boissonneault. The full-length is now available by Tan Cressida/Sony.
Cut-up beats are a foil for candid reflections on the artist’s battles with drugs and depression, with moving moments of parental reconciliation