It’s the quiet ones in the Odd Future gang you have to keep an eye on. When the Los Angeles rascals first hit the headlines, all eyes were on Tyler, the Creator, as he caused a juvenile rumpus with his casual, unpleasant raps riven with violence, misogyny and homophobia.
But Tyler wasn't the only member of that crew and first, Frank Ocean and now Earl Sweatshirt have showed some very special musical smarts. Some will know Sweatshirt from his fascinating Earl mixtape, which was one of the crew's most creative early pieces. The man born Thebe Kgositsile – the son of South African poet and African National Congress activist Keorapetse Kgositsile – was subsequently sent to a Samoan boot-camp by his mother and has only recently reappeared on the Odd Future scene.
With Doris, Sweatshirt jumps up the ranks. Moving nimbly around some fantastic rhymes and lines, the rapper tries to put everything that has happened to him in the past few years into perspective, from the release of Earl to his parentally-imposed exile, to watching his buddies go interstellar in his absence.
On these dense, intense tracks, Sweatshirt creates striking emotional arcs, exploring his feelings on incoming adulthood and his damaged relationships with his parents. He laments his absent father on Chum, explores urban ennui on Hive, discusses long-distance relationships on Sunday and talks more about family ties on Burgundy. It's the sound of a young man growing up fast.
All these observations are accompanied by impressive, intriguing sonic bumps and bops from the Neptunes, RZA and the man himself. When Sweatshirt hits the high notes – and he hits plenty here – the only thing to do is sit back and marvel at his talent. twitter.com/earlxsweat
Download: Burgundy, Chum, Sunday
