Earl Sweatshirt Evolves From Ghastly to Haunter on The Mint

It seems like the grimy, gloomy tone of Earl Sweatshirt is gone. Earl has evolved. Much like Ghastly, the beloved ghost Pokémon of yesteryear, Earl was a dark and ominous presence in the rap game. His deep vocals and sluggish flow showed a fragile yet confident soul; it allowed him to stand out from the overpopulated genre but still mix well with his contemporaries such as Vince Staples. And he stayed in that grimy, gloomy bubble for some time, refusing to evolve, not unlike the electric rat Pikachu. But like all good MCs, and most Pokémon too for that matter, Earl evolved. The Ghastly evolved into Haunter; still an ominous figure but now holds a level of maturity. And that’s what Earl showcases on his new track The Mint.

A step up from the minimalist production of his last projects, I Don’t Like Shit and Doris, Earl’s latest track shows a playfulness to the production. Bright key notes bounce in syncopation against the crackly, lo-fi soundscape. A bass bops in the background, almost eliminating the minimal beat. The crackled sound of the mix acts like a lo-fi trap beat, once again showing Earl’s playfulness as he toys around with genre norms. Earl’s sluggish flow returns, sharing the same off-kilter performance he gave on his previous single Nowhere2go. His flow seems out of time at first, but once you hone in on the moving parts of The Mint, Earl’s new evolution comes to light. The griminess that has become unanimous with Earl Sweatshirt is still evident, but the mature production and the confidence to be more eccentric is refreshing to see in the young MC.

I’m very keen to see where this new Earl Sweatshirt project goes, his new album drops Friday 30th November.