Reentering the World of Underground Rap
As many people have said before, there are so many subgenres of rap that there’s some lane where everyone can enjoy it one way or another. In 2018, Earl Sweatshirt introduced us to a lane, one that I was previously completely unfamiliar with: I don’t believe it has an official classification other than “experimental hip hop,” or the umbrella classification of “underground.” Based on the type of people I have encountered that are a part of it — that’s exactly the way they want it to be. The singles for Earl’s album that year, Some Rap Songs, were unorthodox, to say the very least. The full album only took us deeper into that world.
Many fans, especially on their first listen, were not here for this new approach. I was.
This album encouraged me to look into the experimental realm this album was born from and just how unique it really was. The first thing I noticed was how Earl’s flows come across as stream-of-consciousness as opposed to being rhythmic. Earl has been like this for a while, but to hear it combined with this production made for a truly unique experience. It’s as if these songs were almost a monologue instead of a rap verse. On the first single “Nowhere2go” I couldn’t help but check my headphones due to the fuzzy static like noise that came through them when I hit play — I soon realized this sound was a part of the production. I wouldn’t…
