This record officially generated my interest to explore more music from the featured artists, namely Maxo, Navy Blue and Pink Siifu.įrankly, it was surprising to hear Earl Sweatshirt on such bright beats, since his self-produced discography is more frequently dark and muddled.
This project excited me because The Alchemist is an established producer with roots from back in the ‘90s who recently has been spotlighting underground rappers, and in that, he delivered. Earl delivers another classic performance, first speaking on his personal journey through hardship before landing on a tongue-in-cheek refrain about wooing a copper-skinned woman with a pretty penny. Honestly, I think both these rappers take cues from Earl Sweatshirt, and the inspiration is clear here as well.įinally, “Loose Change” finishes out the album with another joyous, jazzy background track that sounds like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones put on loop. Their verses are like poetry, speaking on personal growth and day-to-day paranoia after success. The instrumentals are more developed and more fitting of the abstract hip-hop in which Maxo and Pink Siifu reside. “Holy Hell” is similar to “TV Dinners” in that it sounds like the rappers’ self-reflection, though this track brings much more thoughtfulness. No emotion from their vocal delivery is there to save the track, either. The instrumental sounds like elevator music, and each verse from Boldy James and Sideshow sounds like they’re just ruminating on nothing and passing the time. While I’m not as familiar with their discographies as I am with Earl’s, I enjoyed this track but felt it lacked a spark to take it to the next level. It’s followed by “TV Dinners,” featuring Boldy James and Sideshow. For its innately positive sounds and skilled vocals, “Nobles” is the highlight of this album. “Nobles” even samples a video from 2009 where Navy Blue, Earl and friends skate around as kids. The two clearly have chemistry sharing the microphone together, though that was clear from “The Mint” off of Some Rap Songs. Navy Blue and Earl trade bars on and off the entire track, their voices almost becoming one as their words bleed into each other. The opener, “Nobles,” features a euphorically bright beat carried by strings and horns, courtesy of The Alchemist. Both Maxo and Navy Blue were on FEET OF CLAY (Deluxe), Earl’s last full-length. He has previously created songs with many of them, and he goes back with Boldy James and The Alchemist since at least 2013. As far as bars, Earl Sweatshirt certainly shines - but he also works incredibly well alongside the other featured artists. This new project is solid almost all the way through, both in vocals and instrumentals, but that’s not very difficult to do for only four songs.
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