By Chris Cline
Earl Sweatshirt looked healthy. After a four month delay due to illness, Sweatshirt stood strong on stage as a rabid capacity-crowd shouted and sweated out every word back to the young artist as he and Na’Kel Smith gave their fans a glimpse into his transparent worldview. As he said in his NPR feature, Earl is at the point where each song is an unflinching case study on how he came to be the person standing on stage, and on his latest effort, I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside, he has achieved a level of honesty that rap listeners are rarely lucky enough to hear. That level of emotiveness still bounces, though, and as each song divulged into different psychological territory, the beats still shook the foundation of the venue to its core. From the opener to the finale, Venue 578 was in for a mesmerizing showcase as one of the defining artists of the newest generation of rappers proved that his “time on thatisland” was worth it in the long run.
Earl opened his set with the thunderous “Pre” from his official debut album, Doris, and from there he was off and running. He followed the enormous bass from “Pre” with the introspective “Burgundy” off of the same album, and by this point the underlying tone of the night was starting to show through. Through all three of his albums, Earl has been able to balance weighty lyrical content with dark and booming production that requires multiple listens. It is hard to come by an artist who can have 1,500 people living the night of their lives while simultaneously lamenting and mourning the loss of a grandmother and a battle to alcoholism and self-defeat.
The balance of those two sides of his artistry, however, is where he finds his stride, and Earl continued that momentum during a medley of Doris fan favorites, including his verse from the Mac Miller-assisted “Guild” and “Hive,” a song with a show-stopping verse from fellow artist Vince Staples, who had the crowd fill in and rap every word back to the two on the stage. After finishing his run of Doris and I Don’t Like… records, Earl quickly transitioned into a batch of new tracks that he referred to as “the new slaps,” and with each new track he debuted, the energy continued to build until it finally culminated with a record that Earl has done live before, assumingly titled “That’s On Me.” By the end of the “new slaps,” Earl thanked everyone for coming out before quietly leaving the stage to have his DJ play Chief Keef mixtape cuts until the fans eventually petered out.
For five years now, Earl Sweatshirt has been changing every preconceived notion of what he stands for as an artist, and after watching the young man on stage Thursday night, it was certain that his personal and professional growth will only continue. He did not have the same nervous energy that he had during his inaugural show in New York City in 2013, but he now had a much more confident and self-assured approach. Each step was sure, and each line proudly recited, and with every move he makes, he brings his audience with him. The days of Odd Future playfully terrorizing the hip hop community might be finished, but Earl’s personal maturity and growth continue to inspire other young adults and listeners alike. The world around him is changing for the better, even if he doesn’t go outside to observe it.
Full Setlist:
Earl Sweatshirt looked healthy. After a four month delay due to illness, Sweatshirt stood strong on stage as a rabid capacity-crowd shouted and sweated out every word back to the young artist as he and Na’Kel Smith gave their fans a glimpse into his transparent worldview. As he said in his NPR feature, Earl is at the point where each song is an unflinching case study on how he came to be the person standing on stage, and on his latest effort, I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside, he has achieved a level of honesty that rap listeners are rarely lucky enough to hear. That level of emotiveness still bounces, though, and as each song divulged into different psychological territory, the beats still shook the foundation of the venue to its core. From the opener to the finale, Venue 578 was in for a mesmerizing showcase as one of the defining artists of the newest generation of rappers proved that his “time on thatisland” was worth it in the long run.
Earl opened his set with the thunderous “Pre” from his official debut album, Doris, and from there he was off and running. He followed the enormous bass from “Pre” with the introspective “Burgundy” off of the same album, and by this point the underlying tone of the night was starting to show through. Through all three of his albums, Earl has been able to balance weighty lyrical content with dark and booming production that requires multiple listens. It is hard to come by an artist who can have 1,500 people living the night of their lives while simultaneously lamenting and mourning the loss of a grandmother and a battle to alcoholism and self-defeat.
The balance of those two sides of his artistry, however, is where he finds his stride, and Earl continued that momentum during a medley of Doris fan favorites, including his verse from the Mac Miller-assisted “Guild” and “Hive,” a song with a show-stopping verse from fellow artist Vince Staples, who had the crowd fill in and rap every word back to the two on the stage. After finishing his run of Doris and I Don’t Like… records, Earl quickly transitioned into a batch of new tracks that he referred to as “the new slaps,” and with each new track he debuted, the energy continued to build until it finally culminated with a record that Earl has done live before, assumingly titled “That’s On Me.” By the end of the “new slaps,” Earl thanked everyone for coming out before quietly leaving the stage to have his DJ play Chief Keef mixtape cuts until the fans eventually petered out.
For five years now, Earl Sweatshirt has been changing every preconceived notion of what he stands for as an artist, and after watching the young man on stage Thursday night, it was certain that his personal and professional growth will only continue. He did not have the same nervous energy that he had during his inaugural show in New York City in 2013, but he now had a much more confident and self-assured approach. Each step was sure, and each line proudly recited, and with every move he makes, he brings his audience with him. The days of Odd Future playfully terrorizing the hip hop community might be finished, but Earl’s personal maturity and growth continue to inspire other young adults and listeners alike. The world around him is changing for the better, even if he doesn’t go outside to observe it.
Full Setlist:
1. Pre
2. Burgundy
3. Guild verse
4. Hive
5. Huey
6. Mantra
7. Faucet
8. Grief
9. Off top
10. Grown Ups
11. AM Radio
12. Inside
13. DNA
14. Unreleased "Outside"
15. Unreleased "6 in the morning"
16. Unreleased "Girl"
17. Unreleased “Hell”
18. Unreleased "Guap Stack"