Rapper Of The Month: Earl Sweatshirt (Sept. '23)

     September saw Doja Cat teeter the line between rap and pop in a phenomenal way, Lancey Foux release an infectious rage tape, Nas & Hit-Boy bore us to sleep for the 3rd straight album, Drake fumble another album rollout, while FLEE and Cash Cobain push their own drill hybrids deeper into the DNA of an irrepressible east coast youth movement. Despite the new blood itching to seal itself into the world, and the legends clawing for relevancy, the maturing establishment has kept it’s heels in the ground. Blog Era darlings have either switched to alternate job fields or burrowed deeper into themselves creating music that expresses character and self with a freedom their predecessors did not. For Earl Sweatshirt the quest for self has always been paramount through honest emotion and hazy philosophy.

    The end of August began a month-long siege that bled through September with Earl Sweatshirt returning again with a new LP off the back of his wide-spanning Sick!. VOIR DIRE is a venture handled in full by longtime friend and your favorite rappers favorite rappers favorite producer The Alchemist, with the original version being an 11 track NFT only release through upstart Gala Music. Combining the new tracks that exist on the streaming version (which will be out October 6th) with the NFT only cuts comes a 14 track album of swift poetry matched alongside the warmest earworms of Al’s career. It stands tall as one of the best albums this year, and is pushing Some Rap Songs as the best album in his discography. Earl's a guide with his words, holding pockets of history and philosophy to your face, giving you a chance to dive into them if you so choose. You can accept his raps on their face as the musings of a stoned 20-something or you can join him on a quest for understanding the human experience. The long clamored for “Black Emperor” is properly titled “My Brother The Wind”, and fits in snuggly on a record that is equal parts otherworldly and loving to Southern California. Tributes to the late Drakeo The Ruler ("Free The Ruler"), former Voice of the LA Dodgers Vin Skully ("Vin Skully"), and plays on Kobe Bryant’s split career numerology (by way of Vince Staples on "The Caliphate") as well as thank you’s to his family ("27 Braids") makes this the most hospitable record in Earls catalog. Vince Staples is featured on two streaming version records, both of which could go down as his most bone-chilling performances to date. You can go the length of the album being lulled by Alchemists loops and Earls laid out delivery, catching stray bars but still feeling lost in the shrouds. It’s a hot shower while high, a dive in the ocean after a long run; welcoming to those looking for relief within their relief. 

    An eleven date tour with MIKE and Black Noi$e is on the horizon, while destabilizing music videos (for "Sentry" and "The Caliphate") bring a subtle touch of discomfort to an otherwise hypnotizing event. Every r/hiphop fan has begged for this album since Alchemist hinted at it many years back. “Making The Band (Danity Kane)” was an honorable mention for Song Of The Summer, and the DORIS 10 year anniversary concert was a sold out smash leading to the closest thing to an Odd Future reunion since the groups last performance together in 2015. Thanks to the easy math based on guesstimations and the fluctuating NFT market the duo has been estimated by The Fader to have cleared between half a million and a million dollars off the album before tour and a proper streaming release factor in. Though the idea of Web3 and NFT integrated music streaming is one with proper pushback (environmental factors, ease of access, the moral questions of alternate currency) the duo took a risk into a world that leads to a bigger gain for themselves as creators. More questions of whether this is a novelty, a jaded cash grab, or the future of musical commerce will be answered in time, but for now it works to bring to the world an album once thought to be lost in the annals of YouTube. Earl has been at the forefront of hip-hop in subtle ways, finding the brightest gems before they’re even shined (MIKE, 454, Mavi) and now his business is moving as fast as his taste.

Written By: Anthony Seaman (@soflogemstone on IG & Twitter)