Earl Sweatshirt

[Dids]

I kinda feel like this album is a direct descendant from Stapleton, which is a great song, but part of what makes it great was the degree to which it stood out relative to the rest of that album.

I'd much prefer an album full of Kill and Pigeons with small doses of the darky, slower, muddy, moody stuff. Just fucking get your Nas on and the the virtuoso MC you can be and stop fucking fussing with all the pitched down vocals (Knight could be great without that crap) and shitty guest verses and other things that aren't just straight rappity raps.

[Jayou Ayen]

After one listen:

Production leaves a lot to be desired. Domo's verses ate hot, Tyler's effectively Tylery, the rest range from meh to Frank Ocean utterly ruining a track. Way too many features and bad ones at that.

I like Earl much better over bouncier beats than the gloomy stuff on this. That said - production tends to be something where my first impression doesn't hold up after more listens.

Agree with a lot of this. I never listened to any of the leaks beforehand, so the whole album was new to me.
Beats were really lacking on the first half of the album, and dude was pushing the gloom approach too much throughout. We've seen your goofy ass on Loiter Squad, b.
Will give the compact disc some more spins though.
This is not fucking with the Cella Dwellas album, btw.



39

[unclebengi]

Definitely like this more than most. Earl's beats are the major flaw. I didn't like some of the guests at first, but most of them have grown on me. I must be the only person who thinks SK La'Flare's opening verse is great (I guess he's Frank Ocean's cousin?). Song structures are interesting throughout and help to elevate a lot of Earl's lackluster production. He has such quality control when it comes to lyrics that it seems kind of shocking that he wasn't able to realize that producing the majority of his major label debut himself was a bad idea. Because of his outstanding rapping there's still not a bad song in the bunch, but I'd love to hear remixes of all the tracks he produced by established beatmakers.

[samdoom]

solid lyrics throughout by Earl but most of the cameos, other than Vince Staples, were forgettable. Wish there would've been better production on about half the album and more songs where Earl had to make an entire song or stick to a general concept. I'm a fan of rappity raps as much as the next guy but Earl is clearly talented enough to expand his approach, especially on such an anticipated album.

[Dids]

must be the only person who thinks SK La'Flare's opening verse is great

What do you like about this verse? I seriously (and I'm not trying to be insulting) can't understand what possibly is appealing about it.

I do think it's somewhat hilarious meta-trolling to let it lead off one of the more anticipated albums in recent memory (am I crazy for thinking that?), especially as a contrast to how the song Earl opened the album Earl so fantastically. "Oh, you liked that, there's the exact opposite. Enjoy"

[unclebengi]

It's not a guy who's a real accomplished rapper obviously, first I've heard of him. But it's a verse aimed at female hustler-hanger-on's and it's a pretty brutal character assassination that could describe a lot of chicks.

It goes from-
"Baby girl, what you want to do?
Hop in this 'Cedes girl
She like where we going to
A new life, new world
Pop that molly, we hard-body"

to-
"Don't get comfortable and lay on the couch
I don't wanna see your ass laying down
Pop that pussy, twerk some
Cause most of these bitches work for nothing
Paid your dues, while you're Paid In Full
I can't wait to win, you wait to lose
Your mind of a failure, hate rules
When you settle for what you hate to do"

That's fresh to me. I don't see why it's such a big deal that someone else rhymes first, it's clearly an unknown rapper that Earl likes and wanted to give a big opportunity to. I can see why people don't like the verse, but the beat is one of the album's best and the kid rips it IMO. The first song with Domo is the worst song on the album to me, Domo's verse on that and Tyler's verse are the worst raps on the album. I like all the other raps on the album though, even Mac Miller's.

[Dids]

Thanks.

Personally I think that's ascribing a lot more depth to some pretty stupid and uncreative misogyny than is there, but I'll readily admit that I'm way more bothered by that sort of thing that most and I don't really expect people to see things my way.

On a second listen a few more thoughts:

1- Earl reallly raps his ass off here.

2- On the first listen through the production frustrated me more simply because it felt like each song was a missed opportunity to hear a beat I would like more, so the first listen for everything was "Ugh, moody darkness AGAIN". Removing my issues with expectations and accepting the album for what it is and not what it wasn't I was able to appreciate things a lot more. While it could use more variety in tone, the individual songs (Earl's parts at least) are in large part excellent.

3- If I could ask for one thing from hip-hop moving forward it would be for enough quality control to be in place that nothing as embarrassing as Ocean's verse be allowed on a record. Especially when you've got a guy who can sing his ass talking through a verse instead. Ugh.

4- I guess I'd also ask that somebody be sent to their room without dinner should they ever have the impulse to pitch down their vocals. That idea ended up with a song where Mac Miller has a more listenable verse than Earl, which shouldn't be possible. (and guys, I promise you, your weed song doesn't get any better if you try it on weed)

5- If you contrast Chum and Whoa with some of the other songs, I feel like you can tell when Earl was high in the booth and when he wasn't. It's like you can hear him struggling to keep his eyes open when he's rapping on some of the tracks.

[hellriser]

i like the fact that album is short , tyler albums are so long..... doris i cant listen front 2 back with no skip

[Piff Tannen]

Edit: nevermind

[Dids]

That's more words that typing "doris release date" into google would have taken :)

It dropped 8/20.

[ardamus]

Been listening to this when I hit the gym. The droned out sound of his voice is pretty cool and I like the production. I say less features for next time. Earl and Domo work like a fucking team together. And Tyler's been brining more of his A-game on the features shit. I'd say this is one of the best albums so far Odd Future has dropped.

[Dap]

what beats are you guys not liking? thought like 80 percent of the beats were pretty good and pretty much what i expected soundwise based on the singles earl released

[Panama]

what beats are you guys not liking?

Guild...fucking terrible

[EichTurner]

i actually like guild.. but i can definitely see how someone would not like it though. it's just some weird shit you'd hear on adult swim.. same with that little interlude he does, 523.. i dig it though..

[MC Homeless]

I can't believe this piece of shit boring ass album has 6 pages of grown (mostly pasty) men talking about it fml for contributing

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

tyler and earl need to do a collabo album, each complements well what the other is lacking

[Panama]

[Mindbender Futurama]

http://www.syffal.com/earl-sweatshirt-doris

Employee

What's the best track and why?
"Centurion": Earl's only genuine Saafir-on-"Hype shit" moment; Scorcese-style attention to detail courtesy of the finally plugged in protagonist. "Uncle Al" is a close second; nipping at "Centurion"'s brackish backdrop and bomb-drops. Fly ass beat, big and expansive, swirling around an assassin-level Earl laying waste to everyone and everything.

I recommend listening to this record while...
Cleaning your house; changing a diaper; sorting your recycling; trying to impress everyone at your junior college; riding a bike with a cigarette dangling from your Herpes-highlighted lips; cruising Tumblr; evaluating the FDA's statements about Lexapro; seeking out the assistance of a mental health professional; or riding in an elevator.

While I listened to this record, I pictured...
Being admitted to a residential drug rehabilitation center; being involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric hospital; watching MTV while holding a gun to the right side of my head; shook parents; a dismayed Donahue screaming at Earl; social abattoirs; double standards; a thermometer protruding from my hairy chest displaying the cold temperature in my heart; and throwing it out the window of my car on the 880 (a/k/a Nimitz) at 80 MPH.

Anything else to add?
"Doris" is, at its epoch, a half-ass mixtape; one of those weird promotional detours that is ultimately a footnote in a rapper's catalog. Unfortunately for Earl (and myself) "Doris" is his first rap baby: anticipated, planned for, brimming with potential. But somewhere along success' path, the new Rap Savior stumbled onto a bumpy stretch and shat "Doris"; out of what feels and sounds like obligation, really. There's no sense of a contemporary, burgeoning maturity despite the reviews from the Cultural Sensitivity Police loudly citing one. If anything, "Doris" is a sad, disappointing, galactic fart from a post-Camp Brainwash could-be phenom.

So many of its songs fall flat on their face out of the gate ("Pre", "Burgundy", "20 Wave Caps"); others run out of steam too soon, too painfully ("Whoa", "Hoarse", "Sasquatch"). As intros go, "Pre" is among the worst I've had the misfortune of subjecting myself to. Such an acutely mediocre set of hot bars at the outset defines the remainder of the journey. SK La'Flare pulls a reverse Saafir-outshining-Casual by dropping what has to be the highest profile, lowest common denominator intro in recent memory. Why, how, and who is responsible for this are questions I, myself, will ponder for ages. And Mr. La'Flare is not the only guest who outstays their welcome: the countless Odd Future cameos are forgettable save one Tyler punchline: "We're runnin' shit like dingleberries on four cheetahs." And that only sticks out like a sore, psychological thumb because of its authentic absurdity. I know that landing RZA on your debut is an unrealized wet dream for the world at large, but to earn his stamp of approval in the form of a lackluster loop while he gruffly recites "I Fuck THE FRECKLES OFF YOUR FACE, BITCH" redefines underwhelming. Acting like Odd Future is incapable of rapping is (a) dishonest and (b) inaccurate, but on "Doris" they, individually and collectively, plead weaker cases for themselves than a posse of Gary DiPasquales.

Another disconcerting element is Earl's turn toward what can only be described as "whining." The triad of "Chum", "Sunday" and the disgusting "Burgundy" sum up this paradigm. "Burgundy"'s beginning is easily-digestible pablum for crybabies. Why does Earl require that I, the listener, inquire as to why he's so psychologically vexed? Am I suddenly obliged to lead myself to The Guilt Zone for expecting that a rap album from a dope rapper contain dope raps? Preposterous (and I actually like the beat). Where it takes the proverbial cake, eats it, and vomits it all over your church clothes, though, is when the beat drops and the world's coolest man-child utters "My grandma's passin', but I'm too busy tryin' to get this Fuckin' album crackin'...to see her, so I apologize in advance if anything should happen, and my priority's fucked up and I know it..." Ignoring dying elders in order to further one's career is a hallmark of sophistication? Of course it isn't (unless you exist in a thought vacuum where acting like a brat into early adulthood and dressing the act up in Rap Clothes bestows on you false wisdom).

There's been suggestions that "Doris" is one of music's greatest, artistic shell games of all-effing-time; that he purposely comes across as a human Haldol. Teasing the audience with a peculiar assortment of appearances, track placement, production, and his alleged disconnect with reality and rap. You know: that this is a purposeful con job and the true gems are in the mail; that Earl pulled a rap David Chase Art House Facial and left us to wonder what it all means in the end. But the idea that this is an elaborate ruse is not one I can or will buy. Everything it is is mundane and old hat: the album cover with its trademark, "Fuck YOU, MOM & DAD!!!", keychain-esque, Madonna-redux blasphemy; contributing to the Kanye-induced Season of the Whine with his juvenile "Woe is Me" rants and verses; and a patina pockmarked by paltry production. I came here for rap; not for a peek into a bellyacher's allegedly wounded psyche.

[seagrams hotsauce]

can we just outright ban anything Emp related for the remainder of the year? Even cursory glances of his raging hysteria are nauseating

[Thun]

Thanks.

Personally I think that's ascribing a lot more depth to some pretty stupid and uncreative misogyny than is there, but I'll readily admit that I'm way more bothered by that sort of thing that most and I don't really expect people to see things my way.

[Dap]

can we just outright ban anything Emp related for the remainder of the year? Even cursory glances of his raging hysteria are nauseating

yup

[AWAE]

[Balzac]

finally got a chance to peep the album on my drive up to work this morning.

best odd future release so far lyrically and beat-wise.

i likes

[Sumthin_Funky]

Loving this album. Not understanding all the hate for guild either.

[ChaMerZ]

Loving this album. Not understanding all the hate for guild either.

Guild is amazing. That last part where the drums disappear and then sneak back in ... *shivers*

[ChaMerZ]

This album is great. I'm going to be writing a review for it soon. I wasn't really looking forward to it (at least not as much as I was looking forward to Wolf), but I'm really impressed.

[Joe Pesci]

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-don ... d974796109" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

New album coming out next week

[ChaMerZ]

sure, it's not just a troll? haven't seen anything about it on the web.

[ChaMerZ]

Listened to grief, and ... sounds dope. Excited to see what Earl's going to release. Also, Tyler's been long overdue for a new album. I hope he will be releasing something this summer.

[TheTed]

Grief: http://www.audiomack.com/song/missinfo/grief-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;