First off, his debut mixtape, Earl, is not the underground classic that everyone and their mothers claims it to be. Of course there were some fucking awesome songs on there, but for every great song, there were two songs of filler. Even at age sixteen, you could tell the kid could rap, no denying that, but that doesn't mean you can make a quality song. I can only assume you know what I mean by that because I'm not in the mood to go into the whole Ras-Kass syndrome talk. It did take me a while before I checked out the album, as I was completely turned off by the video that seemed to get him noticed. The song that actually convinced me he wouldn't be a waste of thirty minutes was Chum. I know that's cliche to say, as everyone seems to believe you're better if you discuss a more mature topic, but that song just simply awesome. Tyler's work is still terrible to me, but I'm holding on to Earl Sweatshirt for hope that hip hop's next super group won't be a massive failure. I haven't wrote anything about them up to this point, which could easily be considered a mortal sin by most bloggers, but I've been waiting for this project to drop before I did anything too crazy.
But as for all things, there's always hope. This is an Odd Future album we're talking about, so I'd be in the wrong if I didn't properly introduce the supporting cast. There are far too many members for me to single out, so I'll just be mentioning the ones you actually need to know about. Vince Staples appears to be the member getting the biggest push, as he appears on three tracks throughout the album. Sorry Vince fans, I don't care how good he sounds on here, he's not coming onto the sight for a while. (seven years minimum). One of the best thing to ever come from Odd Future is Frank Ocean, who still holds the title of best album with Channel Orange. You all know my feelings towards Tyler so I'll just say that Wolf wasn't nearly good enough for me to dedicate my time towards. Comparisons to the Wu-Tang are stupid, not because I'm incredibly biased, but there's honestly not that many similarity other than the large amount of members. I do like what they've brought to the table, though. It's been a long time since we've seen such a large crew achieve the amount of success they have in such a short amount of time. I'll carefully use the word "appreciate" when saying that I appreciate what they've done.
Forgot to mention, Earl's in the group too.
Earl fucking Sweatshirt is widely regarded as the greatest thing to touch the mic, and I'm not exaggerating. Bloggers really need to stop jumping to such quick conclusion, these things take time! Like I said, Earl was only sixteen when his so called legendary mixtape was release, and by the time everyone heard it, he had already been shipped off to Samoa. As weird as that sounds, his parents really did send him away to reform after hearing his lyrics. It may have been a detriment to hip hop fans, but you can't get mad at good parenting. As we can see, he actually returned from his foreign voyage, unlike fellow rapper Jay Electronica. (You've got to be high if you actually believe he was in the booth for the "Control" recording session) Back on the topic of Earl, he's still rather mysterious, all anyone really knows about him is that he's Odd Future's best lyricist. "Chum" was released a long ass time ago and has slowly made this one of the most anticipated albums of the year. Hell, there's more than a couple fans that have been impatiently since the day his mixtape dropped. Even though half the damn thing was released as singles, I'll admit I was pretty pumped for this shit as well. There's always that one genius among the group of weirdos.
Hopefully Earl takes that title with his official debut...
1. Pre (Feat. SK La' Flare)
Songs people, songs! That's why we buy these album, not to hear redundant album intros. Thankfully, Earl is already on my good side by actually starting things off with a track. For the track? SK La' Flare drops the worst. fucking. verse. on this entire stupid ass album. Earl, what were you thinking. SK La Flare, keep on grinding buddy, but this verse was horrendous. If you look deeper into the guy, you'll find that he's currently suing Chris Brown for injuries sustained in the Frank Ocean fight. Pardon me, but fuck Chris Brown and everyone that supports him. Damn, y'all have to understand when someone is just a bad person. Earl shows up soon enough, giving a better performance than his buddy, but there's an obvious dark feel to his lyrics and flow. Hopefully that's a sign of things to come, y'all know my love for monotonous voices. Wait, was that a little wu-tang skit at the end?!!?
2. Burgundy (Feat. Vince Staples)
The distorted voice of Vince Staples mocks the critics who seem to have trashed the emotions he showed on "Chum". Sorry man, I actually enjoyed that shit. Earl talks about not knowing his priorities, but I didn't all that much away from his bars. I guess the whole theme of the song was funny, though. Surprisingly, it actually sounds a little better when performed live. The anger in his voice is more apparent, which I enjoyed more than his tone on the album version. Wow, I can be such a hypocrite at times.
3. 20 Wave Caps (Feat. Domo Genesis)
For my Tyler fans out there, did Domo recycle the same damn verse he used on "Rusty". I'm fairly certain it wasn't exact, but my God that's shockingly similar. Probably just the second part of the verse that didnt make the final cut. Domo's been on good terms with me since his appearance on Albert Einstein, but this performance was pretty lackluster. Earl's right back on the introspective side, discussing the insecurities surrounding him, and how he feels like an outcast to even his closest friends. Pretty nice song and I have to admit that never in a million years would I believe that last sentence after my first encounter with Earl. Three years apparently makes you a lot more mature.
4. Sunday (Feat. Frank Ocean)
Well this certainly has more than a few interesting topics, but we'll start with the song: The beat sounds a bit uncompleted at times, but I really enjoyed it otherwise. When the guitar strings come in and Earl says his mom raised him a prophet, this song is just on another level. Then we get to our guest Frank Ocean, who is actually rapping. If that's not shocking enough, he's actually fucking addressing the Chris Brown fight. Props to Frankie for being quite the badass, but its not like he out rapped our host. The tracks back and forth tone wise, but it works for the majority.
5. Hive (Feat. Vince Staples & Cassie Veggies)
This single was released about a month before the album dropped and reminded everyone that this shit was still happening. I'm just going to say that I love this track and consider it to be the best of all the singles released. It reminds me a lot of his earlier shit that appeared on his mixtape. Even though I've constantly bashed Tyler, this is a hell of a lot like "Yonkers", which is a surprisingly good thing. Vince Staples actually makes a worthwhile appearance, while Mr. Veggies is no slouch either. Not to be outdone, Earl shines the brightest, showcasing some of the best wordplay I've every heard from him. The only thing I'm not in love with is the instrumental, although it sets the dark tone nicely.
6. "Chum"
This entire track review is going to come off as redundant and unneeded, as I've already stated on numerous times how much I love this track. If you've been following Earl for an extended period of time, you're probably already familiar with it anyways. He acknowledges his audiences expectations, his time in Samoa, and his relationship with his brother Tyler. I'm not calling anyone ugly, but that family can produce of unique looking children. The last thing I must say is how much I love how he bashes Complex after posting the article "We Found Earl". I can't stand anything about Comlex and I'm glad as hell someone shares my opinion.
7. Sasquatch (Feat. Tyler, The Creator)
I knew it was coming, but we've finally reached a guest appearence from Tyler, The Creator, who makes references towards One Direction, his manager, while shouting out all his other weed carrier, or ugh, Odd Future colleagues. Not terrible, but I just do not like this guy. Earl appears much more adept to the instrumental, as he refereed to all his fans as a "squadron full of lost souls". An odd comparison, but I'm glad he acknowledges his control over such a large group of kids. The beat is dominated by a heavy baseline and drawn out guitar strings. Not bad.
8. Centurion (Feat. Cassie Veggies)
The albums momentum doesn't slow a damn bit, as Earl and frequent guest Cassie Veggies tell a story of robbing a bank, while making analogies towards their lives as L.A. rappers, doing do quite cleverly I may add. At one point, Earl is rhyming over some crazy strings provided by a David Axelrod sample. Not something I'm going to be giving crazy replays, but another good song. I just wish we could get some more solo tracks from the person that's actually making the album.
9. 523
I wasn't expecting this at all, but this is actually a simple instrumental, that's considerably heavy on the drums. randomblackdude gets production credit, which is an alias of Earl. I'm not sure why this happened, but I'm glad no one tried to rap over it. This was made strictly to be an instrumental.
10. Uncle Al
I'm pretty lost as to what Earl was going for by following up that instrumental with a fifty two second song. Earl does actually contribute some rapping over the high tempo beat, and its pretty damn good. I don't know if he ran out of ideas, but this should have been longer. Hell, they could have just replayed the same verse around two more times. The Roots did it on "Lazy Afternoon" and I didn't notice until my fourth fucking listen. I know, I can be a bit slow some days.
11. Guild (Feat. Mac Miller)
Mac Miller may have significantly improved over the last couple years, but its still an inconvenience to have him appear on a track. This is the mandatory drug song, that appears on every Odd Future album. It's successful at times, as the song has an almost surreal feel to it. Mac and Earl's lyrics are moving so slow that I thought I had been given the slowed downed version. The lazy instrumental moves along just as slow as the lyrics presented, which was a nice move but I wasn't feeling this song. I'm sure it has an audience, though.
12. Molasses (Feat. RZA)
Earl knew what he was doing when sequencing this album. Just as his voice was becoming boring, he throws on The RZA, who has the most eye opening and harsh voice you'll every hear, with the exception of Vinnie Paz of course. Robert seemed to have brought some of his Wu-Tang spirit with him, as Earl's lyrics are so meaningless that its reminiscent of Ghostface Killah. Unlike Ghostface, he's not able to make his words sound all that cool. Still a decent enough track.
13. Whoa (Feat. Tyler, The Creator)
The second single released, which first addressed the criticism of being "soft" that he had gotten from "Chum". Of all the many singles released, this is by far the worst. Tyler isn't ruining the song, but he sure as hell isn't helping it. The beats pretty bland, with the rumbling bass being the only thing I really enjoyed. Those piano keys were just annoying. I'm not recommending the song, but if you get a chance to watch the video for this, I highly recommend doing so. Not only does it make this song seem more enjoyable, it's also hilarious.
14. Hoarse
The most menacing, odd, but ultimately forgetful song on the whole album. Earl's not the most entertaining person on here, but I do love the instrumental, as it could easily be used in a Quintin Tarantino film. Anyone that knows me is aware of my love for "Pulp Fiction" and "Reservoir Dogs". Even the magical feel of Quintin isn't able to rescue this song from penultimate obscurity.
15. Knight (Feat. Domo Genesis)
Doris is ended with yet another guest feature, as Domo Genesis' stupid ass shows up for one more forgettable verse. You can't listen to this shit without seeing J Dilla's influences. You could have told me the beat was taken directly from Donuts and I wound not have question it in the slightest. The best thing about this outro is the feeling of closure you get when the final distorted lyrics are said. A good way to end what has been a considerably good project.
Rating: 3/5
With the insane level of hype this has been getting over the course of the last three years, it was almost impossible for Doris to meet everyone's expectations. Thankfully, I've been disappointed so many times this year that I've become one low expectation having motherfucker. To avoided another month like June, I was expecting not enjoy this album at all, and I've been half way surprised. The first half especially, there's not a second where I'm not entertained and Earl's obviously improved his skills on the mic. My biggest complaints on the album are the number of features and non cohesiveness, which is almost impossible to ignore. While it works half the time, this is nothing more than a bunch of songs thrown into an album. As for the features, some if them are alright, but no one ever outshines Earl. I know he had to do this, but the only one I would have put on the album is Frank Ocean, who delivers one of the most interesting verses I heard. I just can't shake the feeling of how much better this could have been if Earl had more rapping time. That's all the complaints I have, though. Like and recommend it to fans of mainstream hip hop (hope you all are cool with me classifying this with "mainstream"), it's not getting any better than this.