20.
Earl Sweatshirt
I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside
Producers: randomblackdude (Earl Sweatshirt), Left Brain
Tan Cressida/Columbia
Earl Sweatshirt went from indie rap nerd obsession to a viable, somewhat-marketable artist thanks to his rise to prominence as a key member of Tyler The Creator‘s Odd Future collective, and a core, cult-like fan base that had him performing internationally long before he had an album in stores. His potential rose on his major label debut, 2013’s Doris, when he matched his tone-deaf, scathing raps with the musicality of producers and gifted vocalists like Pharrell, Frank Ocean and the RZA, but on his official sophomore effort, the somewhat telegraphic I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside, Earl scaled back. In place of the live instrumentals that soundtracked much of Doris are several self-produced, drum-heavy beats from Earl, meant to make each of his lyrics, which appear to have sharpened in both technique and scope, stand out more than they normally would. On IDLS, Earl is anti-everything—parties, groupie girls, displays of affluence and even friends at times—and on songs like “Grief,” “Mantra,” and “Wool,” he seems reluctant to even speak to the listener. Thankfully, he does anyway.
