Earl Sweathirt ‘I Don’t Like S**T, I Don’t Go Outside’ Review By: Kyle Pinaro

I Don’t Like S**t, I Don’t Go Outside Review

By: Kyle Pinaro

   Earl Sweatshirt. What can one say about him? Does anybody actually care about his music anymore? Back in 2010 Earl had so much hype surrounding his music. He was only 16 and he could spit bars like a champ, and adding to his teen fan base backing was his stint in Samoa. After nearly two years gone he finally returned and the anticipation for a new project was through the roof. 2013 came and went and Earl dropped his debut album Doris after a long delayed and hyped release, but by then nobody seemed to even care.

   Many people focused on the unique and bizarre sound of the album but nothing ever really stuck out on the album except for the magnificent and eerie song “Chum.” The problem was that the album wasn’t any good and the monotone raps were just horrendous on so many levels. No emotion equals no authenticity and rap, scratch that, music is all about authenticity. Otherwise I’m just listening to you say words. So how does Earl’s new album stack up against his past release?

   Not very well to be quite honest. As a matter of fact I can’t even tell why it’s called an album considering it’s just ten short tracks, if he trimmed literally two seconds off this project it would be considered an EP. Now I understand quality over quantity, but the songs have to actually be good for that to happen. Throughout this project I found myself incredibly bored and annoyed by nearly every song. The beats were just sloppily produced and the rhymes were incredibly average, plus the production seems wildly amateur for a major label release. The beats have absolutely no depth and fell flat, while being repetitive and utterly annoying at times. The features on here are lazy and careless as well.

  Aside from the album having a plethora of issues, it does have one standout track, “Grief.” Debuted when his album was announced by UMG, the song is dark, somber, and in some ways pretty deep (“Focus on my chatter, ain’t as frantic as my thoughts/ Lately I’ve been panicking a lot/ Feeling like I’m stranded in a mob.”) Lines like these show that Earl could actually make something deep and sophisticated if he had the proper production behind him. The beat on this track is grimy and rough, almost beckoning the listener to pay attention. It’s incredibly layered and mysterious and also very catchy (“Good grief, I’ve been reaping what I sow.”)

   Sadly Earl couldn’t pull through on this one, and I was really rooting for him to surprise me like he did on Earl. The album felt weak and almost painful to listen to, and the beat switches on some songs really make this album somewhat annoying. This stuff is garbage.

Score: 1 out of 5