Earl Sweatshirt has released his second single for his upcoming album; the name of which was recently revealed to be Some Rap Songs. The new song, “The Mint” featuring Navy Blue, is the second single released by the rapper in a long time and showcases the masterful lyricism that spearheaded Earl’s rise to stardom at the age of 16. Considered a rap prodigy by the time he was in high school, Earl Sweatshirt played a large role in influencing many of the largest names in hip-hop today. These include the globally famous Tyler, the Creator and fan-favorite Frank Ocean. In their teenage years, the trio were members of the music collective Odd Future and collaborated heavily. Along with the other members of the group, including rapper Domo Genesis and singer Syd Bennett, they released two full albums before each began to focus more on their solo careers.
Earl then released his first studio album Doris, which received praise from fans and critics alike and is thought of as some of the best music the artist has made. It contained the hit song “Chum,” which featured Earl’s signature heavy flow and lyrics along with a captivating beat switch near the last minute of the track. The song “Hive” also featured a dark aesthetic and was supported by features from rapper Vince Staples and Odd Future collaborator Casey Veggies. Earl released his sophomore album, I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside, in 2015. The album was also well received by fans, but did not turn out to be as commercially successful as Doris.
Now Earl Sweatshirt is back, with his third album Some Rap Songs coming out in a matter of days on November 30th. After a relatively quiet couple of years from the rapper, Earl first teased that he was working on music again with a short feature on Vince Staples’ newest album FM! Just a few weeks ago. He then followed this up by releasing the first single for his new project, “Nowhere2go,” earlier this month. The second single, “The Mint,” features Earl rapping over a very unorthodox beat. The song focuses on using very rugged sounding instruments to convey a casual and relaxed mood. Earl’s vocals are somewhat overshadowed by the sounds of the instrumentals at times, but still contain the insightful wit that fans of Earl have come to expect. The new singles show a strong artistic shift in Earl’s style since his last major release in 2015 and show that the rapper was growing both as a person and a musician during his three year hiatus. Overall, anyone who enjoyed Earl Sweatshirt’s previous work should be sure to listen to the new track and the new album once it drops on the 30th.
UPDATE 11/27/18:
The track list for Earl Sweatshirt’s upcoming project has recently been released online
01 Shattered Dreams
02 Red Water
03 Cold Summers
04 Nowhere2go
05 December 24
06 Ontheway! [ft. Standing on the Corner]
07 The Mint [ft. Navy Blue]
08 The Bends
09 Loosie
10 Azucar
11 Eclipse
12 Veins
13 Playing Possum [ft. Cheryl Harris and Keorapetse Kgositsile]
14 Peanut
15 Riot!
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