Imprecise Words

Earl Sweatshirt “Shattered Dreams”

Earl Sweatshirt has an odd sort of charisma. He’s mumbly, surly, and standoffish, and unwilling to do much that would traditionally signal star power in rap. But that distant, withholding quality draws you in, and you end up hanging on his words if just to get a handle on what’s going on in his head. He pushes this to an extreme on his new record Some Rap Songs, often sounding like he doesn’t even mean to be rapping, or like we’re hearing something that isn’t totally meant to be heard. “Shattered Dreams” is the abrupt opening of the record, and it feels like you’re immediately dropped into his personal space without warning. He sounds lost in his thoughts, but aware of your presence. He raps like he’s giving you no more information than you deserve.

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