Celebrated rapper Earl Sweatshirt released his sixth studio album, Live Laugh Love, Aug 22. In the past decade, Earl Sweatshirt has built a high reputation for his emotionally charged lyricism and abstract production that challenges the bounds of rap music.
Over the years, Earl’s music has battled his own personal challenges as well as the expectations of others, ducking away from the mainstream. This culminated in the transformative Some Rap Songs in 2018, which tackled Earl’s grief over his father’s death. The album ushered in a new wave of rap music and defined for many what Earl was capable of.
Now the rapper is 31, engaged and a father. This is reflected by his past two albums, SICK! and Voir Dire. They increasingly veered away from his usual sound, and explored more straightforward trap beats and less introspective themes.
Earl’s more positive mindset was also reflected in the rollout for his latest album. It was short and hard to track unless you were a true fan. Instead of big stunts or snippets for new music, Earl opted to tease his album with quaint, home-video style clips. Needless to say, a lot has changed for him and his music in the past few years, which is what makes Live Laugh Love so interesting.
Tracks like “FORGE,” “WELL DONE!” and “CRISCO” harken back to Earl’s older, abstract production style. Samples, sound bytes and lyrics all interact to create Picasso-esque sonic experiences.
This time, rather than using fragmented sounds to convey depression or angst like in Some Rap Songs, or Feet of Clay, Earl tackles the overwhelming struggles that come with aging and raising a family.
On the first track, “gsw vs sac,” Earl sounds out of breath, rapping over a malaise of sounds that ebb in and out of focus. The second half of the song is covered by the comedian MANDAL, who hands out life advice in a way that’s equal parts sad and hilarious.
Clever word play and music work together to address Earl’s discomfort with settling down. In “Gamma (need the <3),” he rhymes about needing to be more responsible, and this attitude is represented by the lighthearted beat that crumples away at the end of the song.
On “Live,” Earl rambles on, his words like a stream of consciousness. He describes his successes and shortcomings against a spacy soundscape of clanging instruments.
At a brisk 24 minutes, song and beat changes in this album are swift and unexpected. While the album is threaded together by common subjects and emotional beats, the different styles and moods of tracks often crash into each other, signifying the good and bad of Earl’s journey.
“Static’s” loud and boastful energy transitions into the haunting music of “CRISCO.” The heavy-hitting, drudging sounds of “FORGE” lead into the much more positive, soulful “INFATUATION.” A rollercoaster of emotions.
Earl references these ups and downs in “TOURMALINE” with an extensive metaphor of jumping through bounce houses. The title itself is a reference to a stone believed to protect the wearer against negative energies.
Live Laugh Love may reach its true climax in “Heavy Metal aka ejecto seato,” the second to last song in the album. It feels like the culmination of Earl’s challenges, where he can finally reap the fruits of his labor.
“I paid the cost and I was repaid,” Earl repeats toward the end of the track, a direct reminder of his long term investments in life and family.
The album ends with “exhaust,” where Earl is distinctly proud of where he is, without asking why or how. His wordplay is cheeky and confident, basking in his own achievements while encouraging others to do the same (or to at least stop bothering him). It connects back to “gsw vs sac,” where MANDAL spews out his own advice.
A lot of Earl’s previous work was defined by his pain. Now, the darkness has passed, and it’s allowed him to recontextualize his trauma. He does this literally, through emulating past styles, but it’s best reflected in the subject matter of each song. They are all about overcoming hardship in one way or another, with every track jumping to a different point in his mental health journey.
Earl replaces his feelings of the past, whether it was angst, fervor or complete apathy. He comments on his full story with Live Laugh Love, even as it’s ever evolving.
