Earl Sweatshirt had already released a couple of quality albums, but on Some Rap Songs he found an aesthetic that fit his raps perfectly. Although bleak lyrics are still present, there is a big shift in style from his past work.
On the production side, things are much less clear - in a literal sense. Earl ditches the gloomy, cleaner beats of his previous record and focuses on a very Madlib and Donuts-era Dilla influenced approach. The more recent point of reference being the mutual influence and mentor-like relationship Earl has with MIKE, a talented young New York City-based rapper. Some Rap Songs is full of short lo-fi tracks with dusty sample loops and has Earl approaching the mic with a much more fluid flow. At times the emcee opts to leave more space between words, rapping slightly less technically and using more slant rhymes than he would have in the past. Although his writing is sharper than ever, everything feels less calculated and more natural than before. Some Rap Songs has a bit of a weird place in modern hip hop, in that it is a work released by a very popular artist that only sonically engages with the underground. Even though Earl's notably more experimental and niche approach here alienated a good amount of his fans, he sounds so comfortable in this atmosphere that one could argue that he was destined to release this record. Some Rap Songs is a fantastic listen with extremely strong writing and impressive production. It's easily Earl's best work yet.
