Earl Sweatshirt‘s new album is officially arriving early next year. On Friday morning (December 10), the West Coast wordsmith took to Instagram to announce his new LP Sick!, dropping January 14 via Tan Cressida and Warner Records.
Serving as the follow-up to 2018’s Some Rap Songs — and his first release since 2019’s Feet of Clay EP — Sick! was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic and found Earl “lean[ing] into the chaos” as peoples’ health deteriorated and their anger and restlessness grew.
“Sick! is my humble offering of 10 songs recorded in the wake of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns,” he explained in a statement. “Before the virus I had been working on an album I named after a book I used to read with my mother (The People Could Fly). Once the lockdowns hit, people couldn’t fly anymore.
“A wise man said art imitates life. People were sick. The People were angry and isolated and restless. I leaned into the chaos cause it was apparent that it wasn’t going anywhere. These songs are what happened when I would come up for air.
“Peace and love to Zelooperz the enigma, the Armand Hammer, and my good friends Alchemist and Black Noi$e. Peace and love to u.”
Along with the album’s title, release date and cover art — which features a framed mold of the “Chum” rapper wearing a mask surrounded by two pills, African photos and a clove of garlic, among other items — Earl shared a new single called “Tabula Rasa” featuring underground Hip Hop favorites Armand Hammer.
Named after the theory that the human mind is born as a “blank slate,” the track finds the trio trading poetic verses over contemplative, piano-laced production from Theravada and Rob Chambers. Earl Sweatshirt actually plays third fiddle, with Armand Hammer’s Elucid and Billy Woods handling the opening two verses. But he closes out the collaboration in typically introspective fashion.
The Alchemist Gives Update On Earl Sweatshirt's 'Incredible' New Album
“Trust the passage rites of life’s chapters/I have to write to find balance/This game of telephone massive, I do what I have to with the fragments/The madness method rampant these days, I let the panic pass me/Featherweight, my heart was straight despite baggage,” he raps.
“Tabula Rasa” comes complete with a grainy, VHS-style video featuring footage of Earl, Elucid and Woods performing their verses at The Alchemist’s studio. There are also cameos from Detroit rapper Boldy James and London-born producer Budgie.
“Tabula Rasa” is the second offering from Sick! following the Black Noi$e-produced “2010,” and the second collaboration between Earl Sweatshirt and Armand Hammer following “Falling Out the Sky,” from Elucid and Billy Woods’ Haram collaboration with The Alchemist that dropped earlier this year.
In September, HipHopDX 2021 Producer of the Year nominee The Alchemist spoke to The Needle Drop’s Anthony Fantano about Earl Sweatshirt’s new album, calling it “incredible.”
“It’s insane,” he said. “I think everybody will be happy. He’s in his bag, as he should be… Earl is always working, he’s a master of his craft, so something gets cut all the time. When he decides to press the button, we’ll see. But he’s got loaded guns… Know that he’s hard at work and the magic is there.”
Starting the new year off right
A mumble rapper on a no drums beat. No effort at its best. Armand Hammer is cool tho, but they shouldn’t have co-sign this overhyped teenage star.
shut up, bro.
really? Earl is a grown ass man & one of the best lyricist breathing. to call him a mumble rapper is a real disservice to his skill. he was probably the nicest one out of Odd Future
somebody come get your mans he’s trying to act like he knows about rap music again.
Wonder whats the least intelligent thing you just said. Was it mumble rapper or was it calling him a teenager. Either way, you’re legally retarded
I dun….. knoooooooow if… if I’m sleepyyy or… mhhhh… drugged… bu… t… this i….z how I… zzzz…….. ra…. rap
Im surprised at the speed of his delivery in this new single, not as drowsy as it has been since I dont like shit.. album.
I mean his flow is still shit though, just not as god awful as the past 7 years or so
Earl fell off hard, he always sounds depressed and unmotivated, absolutely no flow anymore. In his early days he was fucking fire tho, sad to see what happened to a otherwise promising talent. He has some weird cult following that pretends he’s a genius and that they actually like this weird ass style of rapping even though they really hate it. His content and lyrics matured in a good way though, no more edgy raping and murdering
Or maybe people who know shit about music can understand the simple concept of odd time signatures. If your dumbass ever listened to any genre of music OTHER than rap, maybe you’d realize where his flow actually is. You’re obviously used to listening to basic shit that teen bopper jam to on the radio. Listen to any rapper, any band that uses odd time signatures and realize just how fucking stupid your comment was. You’re welcome in advance jackass