EARL // Earl Sweatshirt
A friend introduced me to Odd Future around the time that Earl Sweatshirt dropped this and Tyler the Creator released ‘Yonkers’. The gruesome, gory and an inexplicably engrossing video for ‘EARL’ was the first thing that struck a chord with me since I had never seen a rapper use that kind of imagery. Earl and Odd Future were essentially out to challenge and destroy the rap stereotype, attacking the scene with their raw talent, shock value and punk ethos, the latter being most explicitly seen in a live setting (as I witnessed firsthand when they destroyed Brixton Academy in 2012). This, coupled with ‘EARL’s’ hazy beat and Sweatshirt’s slack, unflinching delivery meant that I was hooked. Odd Future opened the door for me to explore rap music, discovering artists that range from Shabazz Palaces, to Spaceghostpurrp through to Death Grips in the process.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78_loMbmKJ8&w=740&h=422]