New Direction, Same Earl

It has been four years since his last full-length album release of “Some Rap Songs,” where fans were treated to some of Earl’s most depressed and introspective songs he has to offer. Earl was in one of his darkest spaces artistically. He’s reflecting on the recent loss of his father, dealing with the grief, and finding a way to move forward.

Now, with the release of his past singles “2010” and “Tabula Rasa,” and his newest now “Titanic,” I feel as if Earl is now in a more positive mindset as compared to SRS. Especially with his new single, Earl’s delivery comes off as more confident and confrontational. This matches the bouncy yet grimy trap instrumental produced by Black Noise.

Within the Lyrics

Earl comes in unrelenting with the bars and does not stop rapping for the entirety of the song. While the song is just under two minutes, Earl has a lot to say in that little amount of time. In one of my favorite lines of the track, Earl goes, “Hometown hold me down like a rock/So you know how I gotta skip it (Skip, skip it)/So you know just how we living/Took it slow, saw what it could give me/Hit the road, go a mile a minute/Mask on like a supervillain.” Earl is referring to his troubled home-life in his early adolescent years. In 2011, his mother forced him to attend a boarding school in Samoa due to his immature behavior at the time. This was when he was part of the now disbanded Odd Future rap group, along with founder Tyler, the Creator.

Up Next…

I think it is safe to say that any rap fan who does not live under a rock is looking forward to “Sick!” and is excited to see what direction Earl’s newest full-length release will take. Stay tuned for a review when it comes out and check out more of our stuff here.