💾 Archived View for gemlog.blue › users › brendan_dougherty › 1639342397.gmi captured on 2024-03-21 at 18:30:21. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2021-12-17)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
After being away from the spotlight for a couple of years since his last record I Don’t Like Shit I Dont Go Outside was released, Thebe Kgositsile, better known to the public as Earl Sweatshirt was due to make another album. In his hiatus, it was perceived that he just didn’t want to be in public, when in reality he was having serious mental health issues, due to the death of his father Keorapetse Kgositsile, who is the poet laureate of South Africa. After all of the current drama that has happened early in his life, being shipped off to Samoa to go to a youth correction school, the on again off again relationship with his mother, and the general feelings of anxiety and depression that has plagued him, it all seemed to come to a head, leaving him with the sense of clarity with his record Some Rap Songs. This album seems to fully serve the purpose of reflection and contrasts his troubling times to the later stages of his life which is being at peace with how everything turned out for him.
This record ultimately feels like a soundtrack to a therapy session, the information that he airs out seems almost as this cathartic sense of relief and clarity that he is currently feeling. Musically he diverted from the angsty, rascal nature of his early music to, creating more art that is an insightful perspective on life, his own race, and his relationships throughout the years. His influences are very well displayed in this record. Providing this combination of rap, avante jazz, and lo fi production, displays clearly of this new experimental direction that shows extreme promise for his eventual future releases as an artist. The level of anger and frustration with both the system and political correctness of his earlier music is completely disregarded and he approaches this record with a new sense of maturity. With most of these songs clocking in at around less than two minutes each, it really articulates to the listener that less is infact better and how many artists put too much fluff to make a point, whereas he is able to get that point across more effectively with shorter songs like this.
The album kicks off with the song “Shattered Dreams’, which consists of a very eerie haunting gospel sample that sets the tone for what this melancholy masterpiece will consist of. Listening to his prior discography, it seems like a clear tonal shift of the energic, lyric heavy music he was making before this release. It is clear that this album structure flows extremely well and each song fades into the next very effectively. “Nowhere2go” is by far the most intricate beat that diverts from the rest of this overly minimalist album. Vocals are almost completely drenched by the rest of the beat, making it seem like the lyrics are a secondary component of this song. The jazz sample is completely drowned out with reverb giving a full sounding lo-fi song, which if you look at the description of lo-fi music, the aestical component is filled in this song, however the conventions of lo-fi not sounding full and sonically pleasing is completely broken with this song. Another shining moment on this record sonically, is the song “Azucar” which plays around with different methods of drowning out certain sounds, while still maintaining this full, sonically beautiful, audiophile sound that is a complete strong point of this record. I genuinely believe fans of defined genre’s like lo-fi, jazz, as well gospel will enjoy this album significantly, because of the level of detail to this record in making it very multi demantial to appeal to all fans of those genres.
As far as overall content that is displayed within this album, this record really displays the level of the toll that mental illness can take on a person. It has been no secret that Earl has struggled with extreme mental illness throughout the majority of his life and on this record he really lets it hang out all on the line with many songs on this album reflecting this sense of sadness. Most notably because of how blatant his lyrics are, this level of sadness and being helpless exists on the second to last song “Peanut.” Peanut illustrates Earl during the grief of his recently deceased father and shows how helpless and out of place he feels. With the blatant line “Fleshing through the pain, depression this is not a phase” as well Picking out his grave, couldn't help but feel out of place “Try and cast a raise, death and house that how it tastes Blast my pops we set him off and not an hour late Still in shock and now my heart out somewhere on the range Outta range, picked the lock and now we elevate Box 'em out my shit a million miles away” which clear display the level of discomfort and shock he faced during the death of a family member. The level of imagery displayed is incredible considering it doesn’t follow the traditional song format. The song consists of an almost apocalyptic instrumental loop that reeks of total impending doom. This aestical choice, matched with these blatant dreary lyrics embodies the perfect album climax, before completely shifting to the next song, “Riot!” which is a happy upbeat instrumental that reflects a greater hope for the future. It is the perfect ending to the album and brings a much needed uplifting sound to an otherwise dark combination of songs.
With all that being said, Some Rap Songs is the closest thing to a perfect album than I’ve heard in my entire existence. The level of simplicity that defies normalcy is a totally refreshing thing to hear. Even the title “Some Rap Songs” deconstructs what literally this album is, adding to this simplistic, yet deep image that this album is trying to convey. Where there is simplicity, I believe there is complete complexity when you really dive into this emotional rollercoaster ride that is this album. Despite how there is a blatant commentary on dealing with grief and despair, Some Rap Songs leaves the listener hopeful that despite adversity and setbacks, you can prosper in making this creative triumph that will ultimately reflect on maturity and getting over these challenges. So in closing, Some Rap Songs is ultimately an elaborate therapy session, where we as the listener are trying to get to the bottom of what Earl is thinking with the information he gives us. This album is an outlet where Earl expresses himself, as well as tries out new approaches in making his art, and that is ultimately what music is for.