With his new album, Sick!, released on January 14, Earl Sweatshirt is readying himself for a fresh start after a decade in music. Born Thebe Neruda Kgositsile, to a law professor at UCLA and South African poet and activist Keorapetse Kgositsile, Earl was infamously introduced to the world through Odd Future, the collective spearheaded by Tyler, the Creator that carried Earl around like its mascot. His debut music video arrived seemingly out of nowhere to launch careers for Odd Future. The video for “Earl,” which paired the frenetic energy of a Harmony Korine film with hints of a more mature emotional sensibility, was a key factor in pushing his rap collective into the mainstream.
It’s been over two years since Earl Sweatshirt released his brief-but-fantastic project Feet of Clay. Sick! finds Earl trying to break old habits and which was recorded during lockdown as Covid-19 took hold. He had been working on a project called The People Could Fly — named after the Virginia Hamilton book his mother used to read with him as a child — but ended up scrapping most of it after people literally couldn’t fly on airplanes due to the pandemic.
Now, the rapper is back with his fourth studio album. He’s on new heights with this new album and he’s putting his mind on ideas and flows that are sounding smooth and more balanced in a uplifting way. ZelooperZ and Armand Hammer appear as featured guests on the project and The Alchemist, Black Noi$e, Ancestors contribution production, the Young Guru-mixed project surely won’t disappoint. Earl Sweatshirt released the songs “2010,” “Tabula Rasa,” and “Titanic,” ahead of the new album.
“Titanic” is produced by Black Noi$e, and it has additional vocals from skateboarder and rapper Na-Kel Smith, who previously joined Earl Sweatshirt on I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside’s “DNA.” Compared to Earl’s earlier work, Sick! is literally and figuratively crystal clear.
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