Album Of The Week: Some Rap Songs — Earl Sweatshirt
Earl Sweatshirt returns from a three-year absence with his most ambitious project yet. Sam Marshall takes a look at the rapper’s third piece of work as our Album of the Week.
Earl Sweatshirt burst onto the scene with LA rap collective Odd Future in 2010, most notably alongside Frank Ocean and Tyler, The Creator who have gone on to become household names and transcend the often-narrow constraints of their genres. While Sweatshirt, born Thebe Kgositsile, has achieved remarkable success also, he remains comparatively obscure to many mainstream listeners. Initial viral success came via the internet fame of Odd Future as a whole, and his early fun, humorous singles such as ‘Whoa’ with Tyler, The Creator pushed Sweatshirt to considerable fame in the early stages of his career. Much of the early Odd Future hype was focused on Sweatshirt, but his stint in a Samoan school for at-risk teens stole him from the limelight. Sweatshirt’s debut album, Doris, came two years later upon his return, and likewise showcases his ability for amusing wordplay, whilst also showing astonishing new emotional depth in his lyricism and even a penchant for creating violent imagery.
The latter of these two lyrical plays was thrust centre-stage by his second full-length, I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside, (IDLSIDGO) which saw Sweatshirt fulfil his obvious potential, creating a dark and often haunting opus, with lyrical themes rarely drifting from his emotional and personal struggles, namely his battles with substance abuse and dealing with grief. Such openness and vulnerability opened Sweatshirt to new levels of adoration from his fanbase but perhaps saw his shot at superstardom alongside his previous collaborators fade from possibility.
The three years that have followed this milestone have seen Sweatshirt cut an increasingly isolated figure, touring only sporadically and seeing his presence in the public eye decline markedly. Taking into account the issues he had discussed on IDLSIDGO it would seem this isolation was a conscious effort on Sweatshirt’s behalf, be that as a means of coping with grief and addiction, or a consequence of these issues. It is these dark themes, then, that manifest in the lyricism of Some Rap Songs, Sweatshirt’s third full-length album. The deep introspection which has been explored progressively more throughout his discography takes another leap forward here, with recurrent themes centring again around substance abuse and his mental health, but also his relationship with his parents. Sweatshirt’s father, Keorapetse Kgositsile, (also known as Bra Willie) was an esteemed South African poet and activist, and the strained relationship between the pair had been discussed at some length by Sweatshirt in much of his previous music, most memorably in ‘Chum’, which was chosen as the first single from Doris, foreshadowing the darker artistic route he would go on to pursue.
On Some Rap Songs, however, this theme takes on an even greater sentimentality, due to his father’s untimely passing during the recording process. Keorapetse Kgositsile’s poetry is sampled by Sweatshirt on the album, most prominently on ‘Playing Possum’, which also features a tribute from his mother, law professor Cheryl Harris, forming a deeply personal moment which transcends the length of the song to have a more lasting impact, given the context. Prior to the album release, Sweatshirt addressed this particularly personal theme in an interview with Vulture, revealing he had included his father’s words on the album without his knowledge, and had wished to present the album as a finished product to his father in the hopes of healing their relationship. This was made impossible by the tragic death of his father prior to completion of the album, adding a further poignant dimension to the album’s story.
Some Rap Songs emerges from this traumatic backdrop as a musical triumph for Earl Sweatshirt, serving as a timely reminder of what makes him so unique in the over-saturated world of modern hip-hop. Almost everything about the album sees it stick out like a sore thumb alongside the other significant hip-hop releases of the year in the best way possible, beginning with its running time. Coming in at under 25 minutes, this is a whistle-stop tour of Sweatshirt’s magisterial genius, and contrasts hugely with the 100-minutes-plus albums released by Migos and Lil Wayne, for example. Sweatshirt certainly bucks this trend and there is little room for filler. No song approaches even three minutes in length and they often blend into one another (especially noticeable is the transition between ‘Loosie’ and ‘Azucar’, a duality which serves as a highlight of the album). Despite what the album title would suggest, this is certainly not just a collection of some rap songs, but a complete and deliberate album, intended to be listened to as a whole, and is all the more rewarding for it.
Kicking off with ‘Shattered Dreams’ and the dreamlike ‘Red Water’, Sweatshirt immediately addresses his isolation and personal problems, with his distinctively lackadaisical flow complimenting the similarly-repetitive samples that form the beats. While these tracks offer a typically understated beginning to the project, it is with the third track, ‘Cold Summers’ where Sweatshirt’s brilliance begins to shine through. In little over a minute, the impact of substance abuse upon his health and his career trajectory is directly and powerfully addressed, with Sweatshirt confessing it had his “wing tips clipped”. This line in particular is memorable, and the rest of the album goes on to show that, at least musically, Sweatshirt has regained his wings and has soared to new creative heights.
Following ‘Cold Summers’ comes ‘Nowhere2go’, which was released three weeks prior to Some Rap Songs as the first single and is stylistically rather similar to IDLSIDGO. The rather prominent difference, however, is the way the track has been mixed, and this track serves as the best example to illustrate what is a recurrent sonic decision on the album. Sweatshirt’s vocals, previously so eminent in all tracks before Some Rap Songs, are at times lost against the dynamics of the beat. This is disappointing in one regard as Sweatshirt’s lyricism has been the crux of his appeal and the essence of his talent as an artist prior to this album. However, with multiple listens it becomes apparent that this stylistic progression highlights other facets of his copious talent; Sweatshirt, under his alias ‘randomblackdude’, is solely credited for production on the vast majority of tracks on the album and it must be emphasized that it is the production on Some Rap Songs which makes it so remarkably different to the rest of his discography, as well as what makes it so sonically interesting to those new to his work.
Further to the stylistic progression shown on Some Rap Songs, and perhaps conjunctive with the short length of the work, there is a distinct lack of hooks or choruses on the album, somewhat continuing a trend established on IDLSIDGO but pushing it to the extreme. While Doris featured many catchy hooks and, often tongue-in-cheek, choruses, Some Rap Songs appears to consciously avoid including this which further accentuates Sweatshirt’s unwillingness to make music for the mainstream, and cements his place as the biggest ‘outsider’ in hip-hop.
The next three tracks, namely ‘December 24’, ‘Ontheway!’, and ‘The Mint’ continue to set the vibe of the record as one with a staunch focus on production and musicality — as well as the introspective lyricism we have come to expect. The latter two of these tracks contain the only features from other artists (besides his parents) on the album, representing another change from his previous two releases. While the presence of Odd Future was strongly felt on Doris, this is certainly not the case on IDLSIDGO, with the only two features coming from underground New York rapper and producer Navy Blue as well as Standing on the Corner. This serves to demonstrate Sweatshirt’s impressive (and rare) artistic independence, which he acknowledges on ‘Nowhere2go’ — “I don’t do favours no more”.
Further one- and two-minute highlights litter the remainder of the track-listing, with ‘Veins’ being a particular standout, as Sweatshirt addresses his isolation at comparative length, confessing it’s been a while since he heard applause. Much applause is to be expected after this release, however, which closes triumphantly with jazz guitar-led instrumental ‘Riot!’. This closing song is somewhat reminiscent of the ending on ‘Grief’ from his previous release, perhaps alluding to a light at the end of the tunnel as Sweatshirt works through the personal issues discussed on Some Rap Songs, that have unfortunately become so intertwined with Sweatshirt’s career. To paraphrase his 2013 hit ‘Hive’, Earl Sweatshirt is certainly dispelling any one-trick pony myths, showing yet again to be one of the most versatile and talented hip-hop artists of his generation.
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