Fame does so much to a person. For Kanye, it shot his ego all the way to heaven where he mean mugged the fuck out of Jesus. For Kendrick, it enlightened him to use his celebrity for the good of the people, as seen in the charitable TPAB. For Earl, it turned a misanthropic teen into an even angrier, more reclusive adult who spent the past year building walls, poppin’ Xanax, grieving for his grandmother, and communicating solely with his art, I Don’t like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside.

 

It’s hard to blame him still, because unlike Ye or K.Dot, he never asked for fame (made crystal clear in ‘Mantra’), and the painfully redundant, overly-contrived Samoa backstory that trails him everywhere must drive him crazy.

 

So now that it’s the second time around, he doesn’t hold back. He disregards any commercial pressure and produces the most antagonizing beats under ‘randomblackdude’, muffling everyone else except his minimal features. The lazy-flow from Doris is compromised with harsher, crispier bars on post-OF hype – his bitter aftermath with an ex, his cloying fans’ servility, and his shaky relationship with his mother failing to rekindle.

 

What should have been an accomplishing verse from Wiki reveals as blatant self-promotion but is thankfully rescued by Na’kel’s heartbreaking coping mechanisms for his friend’s death in ‘DNA’. “Hot sauce in my cup of noodles, you taught me that”, hits home.

Earl slacks in his alliteration game, but compensates with extra speed and aggression. IDLS is just another chapter in Mr. Sweatshirt’s life, apathy turned into rage.

He can’t be sad forever though, and hopefully, he’ll deliver just as well when he’s in a better place.

 

 

RELEASE DATE: MARCH 24TH 2015

 

LABEL: COLUMBIA RECORDS

 

RATING :

 

WORDS BY: KIHALA NAKAHARA