This is a case of hype machine versus rapper. This dude is good and here and there (even in his bragging) you can tell he's mentally sharp, especially with his writing. He's battling pressure all over this album, and it's commendable that he traversed all this Odd Future explosion, where is Earl?! Earl is back! What will Earl do?! talk by taking it head on. He doesn't really bend, either. A typical dude in this spot, you see him come out way hyped up, and maybe he meets expectations, but still feeds into/off of his hype like he's a part of it all. Earl just drops this personal, but not sappy, real type record with the same unorthodox flow and sound that makes him interesting above the rest. I'm about half way done with the album, and I like what he's doing. Fuck what 'the game' expected. By the sound of things, you might think some no name kid in his basement made this, and that's impressive given all the hype.
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