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Preview Thu Mar 26 2015
Earl Sweatshirt Returns to Chicago with a New Album
Ever since Earl Sweatshirt returned from his hip-hop sabbatical in 2012, the 21-year-old Odd Future word whiz has been watched under a microscope. His murmured polysyllabic flow and vivid murder fantasies proved a skill well beyond his age; but right as 13-piece rap mob catapulted into fame, Earl disappeared.
Investigations confirmed Earl's mom had shipped him to a school for at-risk teen boys in Samoa. As soon as he returned, every verse, interview and public appearance was analyzed for a clue as to what his commercial debut might sound like. When Doris dropped, an even further matured version of the previously precocious Earl Sweatshirt appeared: altogether stoned, heady, horny, insecure and thirsty for blood.
To our surprise (and his), Earl's second album, I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside, hit iTunes pre-order last week and officially released March 23. Worrisome and dark, the album covers recent hardships: a broken relationship, the death of his grandmother and troubles adjusting to fame. He's talks of losing loved ones and replacing them with fans "who you can't get mad at when they want a pound and pic/ 'Cause they the reason that the traffic on the browser quick/ And they the reason that the paper in your trouser's thick." Complete with drugged, slouched beats and a biting bass, the mischievously witty album is self-produced by Earl, under the alias randomblackdude.
Earl Sweatshirt's live performances in Chicago usually result in mind-melting freestyles, sweaty, bloody mosh pits and random articles of clothing getting chucked offstage. Lucky for you, he is playing an all-ages show alongside protege West Coast MC Vince Staples and Remy Banks at the Concord Music Hall (2047 N. Milwaukee Ave.) this Sunday, March 29 at 5:30pm. Tickets are $28.50 (+fees).
