I still love that Earl is the first rapper to get grounded by his mom.

What he is doing is more honorable than just making mainstream music. He is feeding his soul and making the music he wants to make. Thats way better than just selling out and making marketable music.

You mean why Earl Sweatshirt didnt sell out his career.

Earl is a genius. He tackles different subjects with lyrical ability, intelligence, and substance that resemble the revolutionary poets of old. It’s experimental and engaging, yet cryptic enough that makes you want to listen over and over to decipher the meaning. And even when you think you did, it still feels like you’re only touching the surface to what he’s really talking about. I’m 43 and I’m a fan of the young poet.

some artists just wanna be underground and that’s ok lmao, not everyone wants to be drake

Earl understands Rap as an art form instead of a business. RESPECT

I still don’t understand how odd future birthed Tyler, earl AND frank

I mean MF DOOM is his main influence..... maybe he’s trying to follow his footsteps 🤷🏽‍♂️

Earl is the people’s champ. A sign of a real ass person is to not want the fame and clout. Big Respects to Thebe!

People need to understand that Earl never asked to be famous. He released his mixtape thinking only his friends would listen, was forced into a boarding school in Samoa, and became a celebrity while he was there and he had no real say in the matter. It must have been incredibly weird to come back from a boarding school and have everyone know your name and begging you to make more music

I like earl. Not a fan of his music much anymore but I’ll hang around and always give his stuff a chance.

He did't sabotage his career, he's filtering out the plebs

Was a fan of Earl since 2010 in high school.... still a fan now in 2020

Earl does it for his fans and himself, not the whole community and wider audience

Earl is proof of the impact that parents have on their kids, specially those who are thrust into the spotlight of fame. He's a product of two great minds and the wisdom that they've accumulated.

The man’s a perfect example of a true artist. Making it for art itself not for the fame

He didn’t sabotage his career his just cares about the culture and contributing to it more than mainstream success and that shows in Some Rap Songs, one of t best albums of the decade

9 minutes summed up in one sentence: Earl is exploring other musical terrain and people aren't hyped about it. That's it.

mad respect to this guy, he refused to sell his soul

I actually think Feet of Clay is his best work yet. Great production, incredibly unique flows and really well written poetic lyrics, he really sounds like nobody else on that release. Sounds like he completely came into his own

so according to you any artist making progress "sabotages his career"? dude if he was making commercial shit he'd be sabotaging his talent

I wouldn’t go that far to say he sabotage his career But it’s more so he’s not looking for mainstream recognition and not doing trendy ass music like most of these rappers are doing nowdays mainstream wise.. Earl is being himself and clearly don’t care about fame tbh.. As it allows him to be experimental with his music by expressing himself and pushing boundaries.. Earl is the MF DOOM OF THE GENERATION.. They both are not trying to look for fame and notoriety.. They both have lost people and dealt with tragedies in there life.. In which that molded them to create the music they want to make as an artist🔥🔥 Which is why I respect both of those artist because there doing something different that’s completely against the norm to where there not trying to do the same shit that everybody else is doing🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️✊🏿✊🏿💯💯

not gonna lie, listening to earl is getting harder with every project. But it always ends up making sense and the feeling you get when it does is so rewarding.

“I DONT LIKE SHIT, I DONT GO OUTSIDE” - I AINT NEVER RELATED TO AN ALBUM NAME SO MUCH IN MY LIFE

Earl didn’t "sabotage" his career, he’s coming off of arguably his best work ever (Talking about SRS, not FOC, although FOC was still decent). He’s an artist, he doesn’t have to predicate his art upon how popular it will be, that’s part of what makes Earl authentic and great.

Earl and Rocky are artists who aren't afraid of making music they themselves want to make, as every artist should, it's what makes you an artist.

As long as he has enough money to live a good comfortable life and is making the music he is happy with should be all that matters

"Tell momma get a gun if i get too popular" - Earl on DNA

My guy demolished the pronunciation of Earl's father name bruh dawggg

Some Rap Songs is such a masterpiece, one of the best projects of the 2010s

Yo that was the most profound, insightful, and comprehensive assessment of a true rap artist i may have ever heard! I love Earl for his talent and courage to express his soul. Not the way society/ streets may want to hear it but in how he feels it! His story is HIS story, as told by him. That's as real as it gets! I just wish the narration of this had a level of the passion the story possessed. Not trying to joke but it felt like a book report being given in front of a class. This is real art with substance, depth and emotional content. I know you feel what you write. The extent of research done here proves it! Show us how much it means to you when you share. Much respect. Thank you for the story

I love earls music dude, I really hope he gets out there and finds the confidence to go on tour. Deadass was going to fly from milwaukee to LA just to see him lmfao

That EARL debut mixtape is hands down one of the best mixtapes of all time.

He rapped off beat to finish his deal now that he’s independent he will give us the real shit now. Sony dropped the ball hard with earl.

Honestly didn’t know much about Earl but I now have the utmost respect for the young man. He’a displayed more integrity than I think I would have had in his position.

so thankful to have met Earl when he got back from Samoa 🙏🏼 he raps how he wants to this day, dudes a legend

"Unalterably changed"?? Bruh what. You mean irreversibly changed??

Early bird ain’t ever fell off

thanks for you and your team for providing us with this video. Regardless if we already know/follow this concept and his idealism already, this message is a powerful and and a very crucial one that doesn't get preached often enough!

I always appreciate what an artist brings to the table, it’s their creativity. I always listen when Earl releases music, because you never know what you’re going to get. Emcees such as Earl, Ab-Soul, Action, etc, who are clever wordsmiths, are not recognized as much as the monotonous same sounding mainstream chart music, which may be a good thing.

I’ve never felt a more personal and raw presence from an artist than I do when listening to earl. In his old work, the rhyme talent and dark imagery in the lyricism, grim monotone delivery, and nightmarish beats have so much personality, creativity, and detail put in. In his later work, especially solace, he shows what he’s capable of when trying to create a raw and transparent depiction of emotion translated into sound. He gets so personal in srs and feet of clay that they’re like the equivalent of him saying some inside joke or something so specific to him that nobody would know what he’s talking about. You can just tell all the samples and atmospheres on those songs have so much specific meaning to him and taking the mainstream route for that talent would take something really unique and personal away from him and anyone who connects with it. Both sides of his style are amazing to listen to, but the more later work shows what was behind the “coolness” of the first

I feel like you need to realize artists make art based on how they feel. I don’t like shit I don’t go outside is a project based specifically on how earl was at the at time. He’s actually one of the few rappers that give his listeners a view into how he’s feeling at a specific time. I think his depressed style of rap albums can be compared to something like Picasso’s blue period. Art conveys emotion no matter what the emotion is it should still be considered as good or not. Most rappers convey a party atmosphere and act like they are rich and in control of anything. Earl brings listeners back to what’s realistic for a human being especially with the pressures of being famous and how they effected his life. It’s a break from the party anthems that spew “I’m the greatest” and nothing ever goes wrong

Well put together fam. Interesting watch

That's part of why Earl is one of my favourite rappers: he don't chase trends, he just does what he wants with his music

Last time I was this early Doris was still bumping

The title is to garner attention. Ofc he’s not sabotaging his career he’s just making what he wants to

You are a great story teller! Thanks for sharing 🙏🏾

I loved his older stuff cause it had good feature, beats, and a dark vibe i seemed to relate to. earl disappeared for awhile and when he came back with Some Rap Songs i was still bumpin that shit cause of his smooth lofi beats that often times reminded me of samurai champloo type beats. he switched up his flow and made some heat. a lot of ppl just dont understand what hes representing.

One word: Freedom

Honestly when you look at Earl’s life, he lost the privilege we all take for granted in that he could make his mistakes and grow without constant public scrutiny. Man had to figure out who he was under the spotlight and still does his thing to this day. Much love.💯

Earl has grown as an artist and he’s bigger than he’s ever been.

Earl was in m boarding school during a span of time that his talent would’ve prolly made 100m. All the spiritual and deep stuff is cool but of course we gonna convince ourself of that stuff off there bring some deeper reason and blah blah when ur tryna Cope with the pain of ur mom sending u away on the brink of stardom. He turned into the person his mom sent him away to become but SHE sabatoged his career

i really like the direction he’s taking, experimenting it’s like putting something new on the table. good video btw

EAST IS THE BEST SONG OF ALL TIME

Earl is my undisputed favourite rapper. I remember the first time I listed to Doris I genuinely got goosebumps, like this man was speaking to my soul, and I still get that feeling with each new project. I don't care in which direction he decides to take his music to or how the public perceives him, as long as he doesn't stop he'll remain my #1🔥🔥🔥🔥

I could never switch on Earl Helped me thru hs truly

Y’all dwell on titles too much. This is a well produced video

Though I followed earl since the odd future days, I never cared for odd future, but I've been watching him, and I gotta say he's the youngest realest grandfather. Infinite respect.

Wow this answers all my questions. I knew when he made his last albums, it all felt and seemed intentional. As to why, I wasnt sure, but I always got love for him as an artist. Bump or no bump, I respect him as a person.

I saw him live on his I don’t like shit tour and it was so fire. One of my favorite artists. These recent tapes don’t have that feel.....

Some people feel entitled to familiarity and get butt hurt when artists decide to fully be themselves. Feels like The realer you are, the more you push people away. Wonder what that says about society

if he sabotages his career the industry sabotages what people deem good music anyway.

this story of earl is exactly what to pimp a butterfly means

Earl didn’t sabotage his career he just took a different path

The narrator makes this impossible to get through lol.

"been back a week n I already feel like callin it quits." -chum

It’s amazing the fanbase he initially created with only a mixtape and how much of those fans remained loyal until his debut album. The influence of odd future was so huge.

Oh man this a beautiful analysis.

Earl sweatshirt will forever thrive I appreciate the fact the mention solace not many do

EAST started playing in another tab after you butchered Keorapetse Kgositsile name

Your analysis and ability to convey your thoughts on the subject matter is incredible ! Seriously some of the best I have seen ever ! Big ups !

There are artists/musicians and there are stars. It's rare to be both without sacrificing or compromising yourself

I’m wearing Earl’s old 2012 tour shirt with the Classic Earl face rn

I ride for Earl. As an amateur poet myself, I really appreciate what he does.

...the joy... ...doing something for the joy, and that joy still able to put food on the table... what a blessed life

love the style bruh good shit

Feet of Clay is a masterpiece imo. It stays on repeat

He didn’t “sabotage” shit he’s unique and doing his own thing. Show me one album that sounds like any of his last 2 albums you probably can’t. way better than one hit wonders that does something marketable once and everyone forgets about them

God, I gotta say the irony of A civil rights professor shipping their kid off to a boarding school that frankly seems a little sus, like these kind of schools are notorious for rampant abuse and shitty conditions

Love that quote at the end !

He's just himself. That's it. That's what all OF members live by. Be yourself. It's not that deep

"I was making waves you was ridin in em"

Just an example of an artist pushing the boundaries. It's artists like Earl that pave the way to new sounds and feels in music all together. People don't like change, acceptance comes with time.

Great breakdown man... 🤙🏼

Imma always fw earl, he makes shit that’s actually different. He stands out.

First off, shout out to Mavi. Secondly, I won't front like I'm a crazy big fan of Feet of Clay, but I'm crazy glad that he got to make what he loved

Was a fan since high school and will never change that brother🔥👏🏼

damn I feel old, been fw earl since 2011. can’t believe it’s been 10 years. time flies

I don’t know if he “sabotaged” his career. He’s seems to be doing a hell of a lot better than HHM

Earl one of the dopest but I haven't liked a project since Doris. But if he's happy that's tight.

Its always interesting to listen to ppl analyze thing like you really know.

i remember hearing Earl for the first time.....changed my angsty teen life. in addition, this was an amazing video, very informational.

Earl just kept it real and didnt give up his creativity

I'm South African and the way you pronounced Earl's dad's name almost hurt no hate tho just saying

All the shit in this video is why I love him. Granted, I feel in a way its almost counter to the reasoning, but it's always great seeing artists push the boundaries. There's nothing wrong with just making music and having fun. Some of the artists I listen to are honestly pretty standard. But it's always great to see someone try to do it for themselves to the point of sabatoging their career just do they can do something different. I didn't care as much for some rap songs, but I can at least appreciate it for being experimental and being it's own thing.

GREAT CHANNELL

I was just talking about this, Earl was on pace to become as big as Tyler

my only issue with some rap songs and feet of clay is just to turn his vocals up a little. I feel like I'm clawing my way through a beat just to hear what hes saying and it just makes my brain hurt and I turn it off

Great Vid! Earl does what’s best for himself, while the close fans stayed and supported his work and decisions.

I can't imagine what it would be like to be 15 years old, kicking it and making music with my friends, get shipped off halfway across the world where I know absolutely no one, and then come back to that same crew I kicked it with and they've blown up and are super famous, and I've also gotten incredibly famous online. And now I gotta tour with my crew and do live shows? Now I've got RZA and Pharrell producing on my record? I can't imagine the mental fortitude it took for Earl to handle all that pressure. I can see why he wanted to dip and make music that he enjoyed making.