Cut Off The Coattails

Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist featuring Vince Staples “Mancala”

A few months ago I wrote this about Earl Sweatshirt’s style and I stand by it:

Earl Sweatshirt’s voice is deep, his cadence is precise, and he often writes in odd meters that disrupt expectations. He tends to use this as a distancing device – he frequently sounds cold, or dismissive, or fully misanthropic to the point of shutting everyone out. This is interesting, but what makes him compelling is the way he slips in little moments of vulnerability or warmth that break up the flat affect.

Sweatshirt is in fine form on “Mancala,” as is The Alchemist, who spins a whole track out a piano sample that signals “holding on to one’s dignity and humanity in the face of adversity.” Earl’s verse is meticulously composed but written to sound very raw, to the point that he maintains meter at one point by almost saying a word but then immediately doubling back to restart the sentence like he’s backspacing and editing in real time. Vince Staples’ verse is a sharp contrast with Earl, the temperature of his voice much closer to the warmth of the chopped up gospel chords, though not as warm as the actual gospel choir that enters the song at the very end.

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