Earl Sweatshirt - Earl (2010)
Odd Future/OFWGKTA member Earl Sweatshirt was just 15 when this was recorded, and holy shit, this holds some seriously crazy lyricism about some seriously crazy shit! This album is like one big violent rape joke mixed in with teenage angst, and normally shit like that makes me want to shoot myself, if we're talking these dime-a-dozen horrorcore rappers on YouTube, but Earl Sweatshirt is somethin' somethin' special. Maybe it's the way he words the awful shit he says, or even just the way he says it, but the guy's got a talent for making you pay attention to his blood-filled stories of his supposed everyday life. The guy even implies Eminem's 2009 release "Relapse", a very gory and rape-y album, is his favorite album by him on a track, and it shows, because on this release, Earl wears that bloody, disease-ridden heart on his sleeve proudly.
Earl's flow is very MF DOOM and Nas influenced, mixed with lyrical content you'd find on old Eminem albums. This combined with Tyler, the Creator's production work, which I normally hate but have to admit is surprisingly good on this album, makes for a very interesting 26 minutes of music. The track "Kill" shows this in full-force with its minimalistic but menacing beat, serving as the perfect background music for Earl to talk about.. Y'know, killing people. God, was it that hard to figure out? At least "epaR" has a name that takes you a second, with a verse from Vince Staples about taking a girl from a liquor store in a second, but never gives you second-best! How many times can I say the word "second" in a single second?! 4 or 5! What was the age I was at when my father took me to a cemetery and told me that everyone I knew was eventually going to die and no amount of crying could stop that?! 4 or 5! There's no relation but DAMN!! THAT SHIT MESSED ME UP!!!
Anyway, back to this whole "music" shit: You won't get much other than standard horrorcore lyrically aside from the teenage-angst ridden "Luper", but what can you really expect from a 15 year old? You can't expect a good mixtape.. BUT YOU GOT THAT SHIT ANYWAY! Even if it's not the greatest shit ever, I consider it a bit of a classic with how it took the internet by storm, and also my awkward teenage hormones!! Was I angry or depressed?! BOTH. VIOLENTLY SO!! This is some shit to listen to while you're busy Googling "how to get high off of household products", trust me!!
7/10
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Feel free to download this FREE mixtape from DatPiff!
