For the past few days I’ve been thinking about Earl. No, not the hurricane— I mean Earl Sweatshirt, the rapper. Since stepping onto the scene earlier this year, Earl has made quite a name for himself. He’s part of Odd Future (aka OFWGKTA; aka Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All), featuring other hopefuls like Domo Genesis and Wolf Haley. Here’s the weird shit though; Earl is only 16.
In fact, Odd Future is comprised entirely of adolescents— mostly skateboarders. But don’t think for a second that Earl is on some Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em bullshit. Earl molests beats, sometimes literally. His lyrical content makes Eminem sound like your grandmother, and his ease-of-flow is comparable to rappers that have spent 10 years honing their skills. He sounds like a mix between Philly’s own Spank Rock and This Guy (!!!UNFORGIVABLE!!!). The fine folks at Philaflava.com have Earl poised against Jay Electronica for the finals of the “best new rapper” tournament— the contest started with over 50 rappers, Earl is in the top 2! The grime that comes from Earl’s mouth is just nauseating at times, like listening to Rush Limbaugh while being stuck in traffic. Nothing is too extreme or taboo for Earl, and I guess he gets a pass because he’s 16. I mean, fuck, what would I have rapped about when I was 16? My learners permit?
Naw. How about some crazy shit, like having a threesome with Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus? That’s the shit Earl is on. He’s rapping about the fucked up nonsense you used to talk to your friends about at the lockers. With lines like “You’re Fantasia and the body bag is a fucking book.” Sometimes he goes over-the-line with songs about rape and brutally murdering cops— which is somewhat normal in hip-hop, but hearing it from a 16 year old is kinda, well, icky. Despite the outlandishly foul lyrics, there’s something essentially human about Earl. His odd thoughts about tyrannosaurus dicks on wolves’ bodies are really just unfiltered streams of consciousness. He’s like the Charles Bukowski of rap. Other Odd Future rappers, Ace Creator, WOLF, Hodgy Beats and Vince Staples, join Earl. Most good rappers have sub-par crews. Not so with Earl. The talent seems fairly uniform throughout Odd Future, though Earl seems to garner the most attention. I’m not the first to make the comparison between Odd Future and the Wu. Keep the “Method Man” skit in mind.
“They thought I was cute, ‘til I asked what the ass [is] like”
Though Earl would probably sound ill over any beat, Tyler, 19, is a beatmaker extraordinaire. ‘90s style sampling mixed with deep bass that exude a strong 8-bit element that rumble just about any set of speakers. Its like a mix between Pete Rock and Lil’ Jon trapped inside a game of Asteroids. Opening “thisniggaugly” sounds like a homage to Illmatic’s “The Genesis” with its sometimes incoherent rambling and heavy street vernacular. “Earl” the title-emcee’s opener has a crushing saw-toothed synth that sounds as blood-soaked as Earl’s lyrics. Odd spots for the beat to drop remind me of Dilla’s production on “Untitled” off Fan-Tas-Tic Vol. 2. The transition between Earl and WOLF on “Pigions” sounds like Dilla’s awkward transitions on “The Clapper.”
Now, I’m not gonna say that Earl is the “next best thing.” He’s got a lot of growing to do, but who knows where he can take it? Sadly, Earl is currently “serving time” in boot camp on some Maury Pauvich shit. Hopefully he gets out soon and banks off the success.
BY MATTHEW HENGEVELD Any hip-hop head will tell you: Slum Village ain’t no joke. The group launched the solo career of J Dilla, one of the greatest hip-hop producers of all time. It also spurned the growth of Elzhi, one of Detroit’s finest emcees. But if Slum Village isn’t a joke, why are people laughing at Villa Manifesto, the group’s latest effort? Well, let’s just say that Slum Village is cursed. Here’s a recap: When J Dilla left Slum Village after Fan-Tas-Tic Vol. 2, the group seemed destined to fail without its producer. However, the addition of Elzhi revamped the group and they stayed afloat with Trinity. But personal problems forced Baatin to leave. The next two albums Detroit Deli and Slum Village underwhelmed, and fans feared that Slum Village lost its identity. To make things worse, J Dilla, still an active voice in the group, passed away in 2006. The group stalled until Baatin announced his return to the group in 2008. His return excited long-time fans— sadly, this excitement was short lived as Baatin passed away suddenly in 2009— midway through the recording of the group’s latest album Villa Manifesto. Standing on a “sinking ship”, Elzhi left the group earlier this year, citing managing issues. This left T3 solely in charge of Villa Manifesto.
T3 recruited B.R. Gunna’s Young RJ to handle the majority of production on Villa Manifesto. I’m certain that both T3 and RJ knew that Villa Manifesto would be a huge hurdle— without beats from J Dilla or rhymes from Elzhi the group really can’t make an impact. T3 knew this shit, so he decided to employ his cut & paste skills to assemble an album that actually featured every Slum Village member. Baatin verses were pasted on old J Dilla beats. Elzhi shows up on like three songs, all of his verses are forgettable. Most lyrics are absolute garbage and the beats are mostly subpar. Perhaps the biggest slap-in-the-face moment on Villa Manifesto is “Faster.” It sounds more akin to Britney Spears than Slum Village. Singer Colin Munroe sings some N*sync-style hook that says some real questionable shit.
Even the Elzhi verse can’t save this song. Throughout the album Young RJ chooses bad beats, or songs that are clearly attempting to emulate J Dilla’s Fan-Tas-Tic Vol. 2-style. He constantly falls flat on his face. In “2000 Beyond,” RJ employs drums from ?uestlove, but lacks the vibrancy and originality of J Dilla, despite rehashing Dilla’s old samples and synths. “The Reunion pt. 2” has cheesy build-ups and dynamics uncharacteristic of vintage Slum Village. The song references “The Reunion” from Detroit Deli, which was meant to be a gathering of J Dilla, T3, Baatin and Elzhi. “The Reunion pt. 2” gathers Baatin, T3 and Illa J (J Dilla’s little brother and horrible rapper). This is a head-scratcher… is T3 actually considering recruiting Illa J as a replacement for J Dilla? Sadly, he is. Not long after the release of Villa Manifesto, Illa J announced that he is officially part of Slum Village alongside T3. That’s like Yoko Ono and Ringo Starr performing as The Beatles…. THIS is why people are laughing at Villa Manifesto.
T3 has since acknowledged that Villa Manifesto will likely be the final Slum Village album— marking the second major hip-hop group to disband this year ( the second is Little Brother). However, T3 recognized that he might make another if sales are good enough. I really hate to say it, but it’s time to let go. J Dilla is gone and left behind is the legacy of his music. T3 is bastardizing the Slum Village product with releases likeVilla Manifesto. I said before, Slum Village ain’t no joke, so why allow it to continue this way?
