Earl Sweatshirt - EARL

Earl Sweatshirt is another member of the ultra-hip now ultra-popular OFWGKTA crew. Earl joined the crew after contacting Tyler in '08 about doing a track together, and after they did "Assmilk" on Bastard, Tyler decided to help Earl release his own album. Despite being sixteen at the time, Earl displays a competency few big name rappers can match on his self-titled debut.

After the intro "Thisniggaugly," the title track rips with a percussive beat and some great flow by Earl. As one of the best solo tracks by Earl, it stands out on the debut. It showcases Earl's flow, and his Tyler-influenced abrasive lyric styling. In fact Tyler shows up pretty often, on "Couch," "Pigions," and in spirit as he composed all the beats on Earl. The beats are great on here - perhaps even a bit more developed than Tyler's on Bastard. There's plenty of piano, classy beats with some dark synth undertones on tracks like "Luper" and "Couch" - which belies the lyrical nature of the album perfectly. There's lots of less harsh lyricism about simple everyday activities like drinking orange juice or talking to mom, but there's also lyrics about stabbing cops and rape which often come up later in the more misleadingly soft tracks.

Some tracks are a bit more boring like "Kill" and "Stapleton," and that's fine since they still have enough hooks to get stuck in your head. However "epaR" is my favorite track on Earl by far with it's piano embellished beat and badass lyrics. Earl pulls some left turns and even works "Chronicles Of Riddick" into a rhyme lyric. It's a bit unexpected but very welcomed and the cop-killing lyrics later in the track are absolutely ridiculous yet so fluid. "Moonlight" is alright if a bit mellow for an Earl track, and "Pigions" has the infamous hook: "kill people, burn shit, fuck school." It's a mob anthem and something everyone can sing along to at concerts or when they're alone like me when the track comes on.

As I said, the beats on here are great and a big reason I enjoyed Earl so much along with the young rapper's solid flow and black It's a shame he's disappeared from the face of OFWGKTA for the time being, but it seems like he'll be back real soon...

7.75 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1. Thisniggaugly
2. Earl
3. Couch (Featuring Ace Creator)
4. Kill
5. Wakeupfaggot
6. Luper
7. epaR (Featuring Vince Staples)
8. Moonlight (Featuring Hodgy Beats)
9. Pigions (Featuring Wolf Haley)
10. Stapleton