Some Rap Songs - Earl Sweatshirt (REVIEW)

Some Rap Songs by former Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt is an abstract hip-hop album released in late 2018, and easily the most vulnerable of his albums (he has an EP that is MUCH sadder than this). Critic and fan reactions were quite polarizing during the album's release as it features strange sample chops and heavily monotone vocals. Some say it may take a few listens of this record for it to completely click, but that was not the case for me.

Now before I get into the technicalities of the album let me start off by saying this is my favorite album of all time, I just love how experimental Earl gets on this album. This is the piece of music that makes me say "I love music." and if I seem to ramble a bit during this review just know it's because of how much I love this album. It is absolutely beautiful that this soundscape even exists. 

With a track list of just 15 songs it seems almost impossible that this album has a runtime of under 30 minutes while still carrying thematic substance, however, Earl manages to work with what he has. The album itself has zero cohesion, there is no connection between tracks and there is no story being told. That is what is so great about it though, because even though none of the tracks work together as they would with any other artist's album, they still give you that same grief-stricken feeling that Earl talks about in each track. It feels as though he took a bunch of different ideas and themes to write about, recorded 30 or 40 of them, and then picked 15 of them at random.

The record itself is about Earl attempting to make his way through his struggles with depression, drug abuse, and the dark thoughts that may wander his mind. Alongside that, during the production of this album, Earl was left to deal with the loss of great friends and family members such as Earl's late father and South African poet Keorapetse Kgositsile and the death of fellow rapper Mac Miller, just months before the albums release. This great grief led to the making of the last two tracks, Peanut and Riot!

Accompanying the album's great themes and lyricism is stellar production and mixing done mostly by Earl (whose producer alter-ego, funnily enough, is RandomBlackDude) that features a jumble of eerie, yet satisfying sample flips. The production is the most important aspect of this album, the beats and samples almost swallow all of Earl's vocals, making you feel as though you are being drowned by your thoughts, much like he is. That isn't the only symbolism we hear though, we also hear many muffled scratches and cracking sounds throughout each track to add to the discomforting atmosphere. If you're a first-time listener of Earl the beats on each song may come off as a bit mediocre, as if Earl has no idea what he's doing when it comes to music (this is clearly disproven in Cold Summers and Riot!), but I think that the simplicity in the production is what really makes the album for me. 

Though the album as a whole is phenomenal and does everything it can to make you feel as defeated as possible, there is one track especially that I feel stands out against the others. As I've previously mentioned, there are only two tracks that were recorded after the death of Earl's loved ones. Peanut is one of them and is easily the saddest track on the album, and understandably so. The vocals on Peanut are almost incomprehensible, Earl slurs his words over a crackly and muffled instrumental while venting to us about his late father's death, it is heartbreaking. This track is my personal favorite on the album and one of my favorite tracks of all time.

If you are reading this review and haven't heard this album, please do yourself a favor and listen to it, you will not regret it. I feel as though everyone should hear Some Rap Songs at least once in their life, even if they don't think they'll like it. 

In my opinion, this album is easily a 10/10.