Some Rap Songs | First Impressions of An Album by Earl Sweatshirt
Earl Sweatshirt invites us into the theater of his mind to view the instant classic that gives insight of where his mindset has been during a year hiatus from the spotlight.
Dim the lights, turn off your phones, enjoy this journey.
Some would say Some Rap Songs compares favorably to a short story with an intense cliff hanger. If the album feels short to you, that’s because it is. It’s only 25 minutes long but that’s by design. Earl experimented with this concept on an earlier project, Solace. Earl is known to subscribe to the concept of Brevity. But the genius thing is this album is put together in a way that you could put it on repeat and let it play itself through.When I reached the end of the album, it left me feeling as if someone just finished vomiting their emotions out to me and was waiting for me to respond.
After the first bite, it was time to sit back and digest this dense but compact piece of artwork. That left a bunch of Earl heads upset but I raise the question, isn’t that what we want? To consume content that leaves us wondering what just happened and what did you just experience?
Best Track
This album has something for every archetype of Earl Sweatshirt fan. If you’re a fan of the bars, you’ll gravitate towards Loosie and Azucar. The fans of the introspective Earl will find solace in Eclipse and Peanut. A popular option for the track that’s going to resonate with most of Earls fans from this album will be December 24; A track that had a low quality version leak a couple of years earlier. As for my personal favorite Early Man track, it’s the opener. Shattered Dreams sets the tone for the rest of the album. You know instantly that this isn’t going to be anything like his previous releases. And that’s okay. Growth is important for artists.
Least Favorite Track
The track that I felt could’ve been replaced with Run4YourLife is Ontheway! It fits in the album, and only has a run-time of 1:41. But on the first listen it just didn’t provide anything for me (after a few re listens, it still is just bland).
Production
Production felt like a 9/10. The samples and loops in Shattered Dreams lulls you into letting your guard down as Earl raps “Why nobody told me I was bleeding”. The piano on December elicits instant feelings of something that can’t be described. Sage Elesser should be mentioned as one of the the promising producers. His work on The Bends is stunning.
Replay Value
The album has a replay value of 10/10. But that’s not by accident. It’s easy to digest with only 15 tracks. Earl did a great job constructing the album in a way that you can put the album on repeat and let it seamlessly transition from Riot! back to Shattered Dreams. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
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