by Ryan Meyer (@meyer_ryan_twt)
Earl Sweatshirt dropped his incredibly melodic fourth album, SICK!, the result of him leaning into the chaos that followed the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the album’s press release. Earl, whose real name is Thebe Kgositsile, was working on a record called The People Could Fly when the pandemic hit and the atmosphere changed. He said these new songs are a result of him emerging from the darkness, or as he puts it, coming up for air.
Creativity is on full display within the first minute of “Old Friend,” the album’s opening track from the moment Earl raps “I held the page/ gave the book ears/ whispered ‘Thanks.’” One of the best lines comes in “Vision,” when he raps “Singular current event/ everything we in the midst of/ How long you waiving the rent?/ Moratorium extendo/ I’m just evading the pit.” Part of the reason these bars work is because of the way they rhyme in the middle of the bars rather than at the end, not to mention the creativity and seriousness of the lyrics.
Not all of Earl’s lines rhyme, but when they do, it’s irresistibly catchy, like the chorus of “Fire in the Hole,” when he raps “Blood seeping into the mulch/ I needed a quick result/ I read it and don’t respond/ She see it and sprinkle salt.” This song also has the best beat on the 24 minute record featuring some of the most pleasant guitar playing that is mixed perfectly, courtesy of Detroit producer Black Noi$e. The bass that introduces the track is likely to blow out car speakers in the best way possible.
Black Noi$e is responsible for some of the other great songs on the record, too. “Vision” explodes onto the scene by way of piano arpeggios and a feature from Zelooperz, the better of the two guest appearances, the other being Armand Hammer on “Tabula Rasa.” “Vision” is also the longest song on SICK!, clocking in at 4:14 in the middle of a record that contains ten songs yet only runs 24 minutes. “Fire in the Hole” isn’t the only great sample on the album, though, when you consider how hard the opening track goes without utilizing hardly any percussion.
Earl doesn’t stray from adding some comedy to his samples, like in “Tabula Rasa,” where a highly edited snippet of a video of a kid saying “Hello motherfucker” is inserted. Composed during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Earl Sweatshirt’s fourth record truly does lean into the chaos, embracing it in such a way that conveys personal dissonance through melody.