''Earl'' is the debut

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

by American rapper

Earl Sweatshirt Thebe Neruda Kgositsile (born February 24, 1994), also known by his stage name Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Kgositsile was originally known by the moniker Sly Tendencies when he began rapping in 2008, ...

. It was released as a free digital download on March 31, 2010, on the

Odd Future Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, better known as Odd Future and often abbreviated as OF, was an American Hip hop music, hip-hop Musical collective, music collective formed in Los Angeles County, California in 2007. The original members were Ty ...

website.

Background and lyrics

''Earl'' is notable for its depraved and violent lyrics, which detail the fictional misadventures of the young Earl Sweatshirt, as he commits acts of murder, rape, kidnapping, and violence. The album features production by BrandenBeatBoy (credited as BeatBoy) and fellow Odd Future members

Tyler, the Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the founding members of the music collective Odd Future. Okonma self-released his debut mixtape ' ...

and

Left Brain The lateralization of brain function is the tendency for some neural functions or cognitive processes to be specialized to one side of the brain or the other. The median longitudinal fissure separates the human brain into two distinct cerebra ...

. The album features vocals from Tyler, the Creator,

Vince Staples Vincent Jamal Staples (born July 2, 1993) is an American rapper and singer. Staples was once a close associate of Odd Future, Mike G and Earl Sweatshirt in particular. He is currently signed to Motown and Blacksmith Records. Staples rose to ...

Hodgy Beats Gerard Damien Long (born November 9, 1990), better known by his stage name Hodgy (formerly Hodgy Beats), is an American rapper, record producer and music video director. He is best known for being a founding member of the hip hop collective Odd ...

, and some backing vocals from fellow Odd Future members

Syd Tha Kyd Sydney Loren Bennett (born April 23, 1992), known professionally as Syd (formerly Syd tha Kyd), is an American musician and singer from Los Angeles, California. She initially gained recognition as a member of the alternative hip hop collective O ...

and Taco Bennett. The lyrics featured on the album were written and recorded in 2009–2010, when Earl was 15–16 years old. The content present throughout the album includes various drug references, macabre themes of murder, rape and sexual lyrics. On the title track, Earl, Tyler, and Taco rap about their distaste for 2DOPEBOYZ over frustrations the blog wouldn't publish

's music.

Reception

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

called the album "mesmerizing". Pitchfork's sister site Altered Zones listed ''Earl'' as one of their top twenty albums of 2010, praising the album for its ferocity and for making "some of the most vile verses sound eloquent". Music site Gorilla vs. Bear listed it at number 12 in its list of the 30 best albums of 2010. Complex magazine rated ''Earl'' as the twenty-fourth best album of 2010.

Accolades

The mixtape was recognized as one of The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far, a list published by

in August 2014.

Track listing

; Notes * "Thisniggaugly" and "Earl" feature additional vocals from

and

Taco A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of filling ...

. * "Wakeupfaggot" features additional vocals from

Syd tha Kyd Sydney Loren Bennett (born April 23, 1992), known professionally as Syd (formerly Syd tha Kyd), is an American musician and singer from Los Angeles, California. She initially gained recognition as a member of the alternative hip hop collective O ...

. * "epaR" features additional vocals from

. * Tyler, the Creator is credited as 'Ace Creator' on "Couch," and as 'Wolf Haley' on "Pigions."

Unauthorized Tidal & Amazon Music re-release

On April 6, 2015, ''Earl'' was re-released on music streaming services

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

and

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights ...

. The updated track list combined most of the original tracks from ''Earl'' (excluding "Thisniggaugly" and "Wakeupfaggot") with tracks recorded prior to ''Earl'', back when Sweatshirt went by the stage name Sly Tendencies. Other tracks include songs Sweatshirt featured on around the time of ''Earl''. This is an unauthorized release from the company Classic Hits. Despite being available for purchase, most included songs were previously released for free.

Track listing

;Notes * The instrumental for "Deerskin" is originally the instrumental for "

All Caps In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in ...

" by

Madvillain Madvillain was an American hip hop duo consisting of two MCs and producers, MF Doom and Madlib. Their only album, ''Madvillainy'', earned critical acclaim and cult popularity, widely regarded as one of the greatest rap albums of all time and ...

, produced by

Madlib Otis Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. He is widely known for his collaborations with MF DOOM (as Madvillain), J Dilla (as Jaylib), ...

. * The instrumental for "Orange Juice" is originally the instrumental for "

Lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage. There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using ...

" by

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

, produced by Bangladesh. ** Hodgy Beats was mistakenly credited on the re-release's track list; Tyler, the Creator is the correct feature. * "Chordaroy" was originally on

MellowHype MellowHype was an American hip hop duo from Los Angeles, California, that consists of rapper-producer Hodgy (Gerard Long) and producer-rapper Left Brain (Vyron Turner). Both were members of hip hop collective Odd Future. They have released t ...

's 2010 mixtape ''

BlackenedWhite ''BlackenedWhite'' is the debut studio album by Odd Future sub-group MellowHype. Production for the album was handled by Left Brain. It was made available for free download October 31, 2010, and re-released on July 12, 2011, through Fat Possum R ...

''. * The instrumental for "Drop" is originally the instrumental for " Drop" by

Rich Boy Marece Benjamin Richards (born September 2, 1983), better known by his stage name Rich Boy, is an American rapper from Mobile, Alabama. He is best known for the hit single "Throw Some D's" (featuring Polow da Don) released in August 2006. It was ...

, produced by Cha Lo and

Polow da Don Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977, or 1978), professionally known as Polow da Don, is an American record producer and rapper. Jones has produced a variety of singles for a multitude of artists including "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj (2014 ...

. * The instrumental for "Swag Me Out" is originally the instrumental for "Not a Stain on Me" by

Big Tuck Cedric Lee Juan Tuck, known mostly by his stage name Big Tuck, is an American rapper from Dallas, Texas He is a member of the Dallas rap group Dirty South Rydaz. Biography Tuck was born on March 29, 1979. He grew up in the Queen City neighborho ...

. * "Home" was released as a standalone song on February 8, 2012, the day Sweatshirt returned from Samoa, and the instrumental for it is originally the song "Theme From Paris" by

James Pants James Singleton, known professionally as James Pants, is an American multi-instrumental recording artist. Although his music defies simple categorization, he is promoted as a purveyor of the "fresh beat," an early-1980s sound with influences from ...

. * The instrumental for "Blade" is originally the instrumental for "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me" by Terror Squad, produced by

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station WEDR, 99 Ja ...

. * "Rick James" was mistakenly released as an Earl Sweatshirt song. The song is actually titled "BADBOI222" and was released by Long Island rapper "BIG BREAKFAST".

References

{{Odd Future 2010 mixtape albums Earl Sweatshirt albums Albums produced by Tyler, the Creator Albums produced by Left Brain Rape in fiction Rap operas Concept albums Horrorcore albums Self-released albums