Sick!
Thebe Kgositsile’s entire career has been about pulling rabbits out of hats. But to call him a magician would be reductive - magicians carefully devise surprises for the entertainment of an audience. Earl Sweatshirt, however, doesn’t surprise on purpose. He doesn’t pull back a fancy red curtain for a big reveal. He won’t disappear in a plume of smoke with a wink at the camera. He just evolves as he lives, making music as he does it.
The evolution itself is what’s surprising - always innovative and poignant, simultaneously ahead of its time and soaked in the ancient past. Sick!, the product of this round of evolution, has seen Earl lean into a less intricate, more stylish side of his artistry.
At less than 25 minutes, this offering can be summed up by its understanding of clarity. Being clear seems to be really important to Sweatshirt and his collaborators. And following the incredible one-two punch of ‘Some Rap Songs’ and ‘Feet of Clay’ in 2018 and 2019, ‘Sick!’ can be taken as a palate cleanser.
The three guest rappers on Sick!, ZelooperZ and Armand Hammer (billy woods and ELUCID), have all forged their own lanes completely detached from the idea of ego and stardom. The platform they are given here reinforces Earl’s belief system and our knowledge that his finger is firmly on the pulse. All appearances are comprehensive and thoughtful, offering extensions of many of Sick!’s narratives. Whether it’s the internal conflict on ‘Vision’, or topics such as death, Africa and people ‘who talk like they’ve never been punched in the face’, on ‘Tabula Rasa’.
There’s less double entendres and multisyllabic rhyme schemes, but more of a vivid image. Every verse from Earl reminds us how deeply self-aware he is. Lyrics like ‘sometimes the pain sit and fester into hate, beloved, I’m working on it’ are equal-parts instantly comforting and slow-burning. Listening to many of the songs, like The Alchemist-produced ‘Lye’ and the closer ‘Fire in the Hole’, feel like shaking a polaroid of a family photo and watching it emerge.
And family, as always, is central to Earl Sweatshirt’s mission as an artist, and Thebe Kgositsile’s mission as a human being. His Mother, acclaimed professor Cheryl Harris, is still helping him figure things out. The wisdom of his Father, deceased poet laureate Keoraptse Kgositsile, soaks into his world view and his word-choice, which he refers to as ‘family treesap’.
He embeds this ‘treesap’, colourful references that range from Biblical to pandemic-al, into a selection of modern beats that career back and forth. The drums are fiery and hypnotic, constantly shadowing Earl’s voice and flow. Catchy synth lines, samples and piano loops are testament to the skill of the producers - namely Black Noi$e, Earl’s DJ and right hand man.
These instrumentals, as well as a clean mix from Young Guru, make ‘Sick!’ a truly finished product, more accessible than any of his previous albums since ‘Doris’ in 2013. The simplicity may seem underwhelming to those looking to peel layers back, rather than just listen. The length of most tracks sit at just under two minutes, so it can be said that Sick! could benefit from either more songs or more verses. But let's be honest, the man himself already knows that most would kill for a second verse on an Earl Sweatshirt song, and he doesn’t care.
The rabid fan bases that orbit artists like Earl, MIKE and Mach Hommy rely on an enticing sense of exclusivity - a powerful feeling that ‘some people don’t get it, but i do’. It benefits these artists to feed into it - more mystery, more calculated chess moves, more easter eggs nestled into lyrics and social media posts.
With Sweatshirt choosing to not feed into it, you would think fans may look the other way, searching for that feeling elsewhere. But with Earl's attempt of a more ‘listenable’ album, they are forced to see the artist through a new lens. One that shows him loosening up, sitting comfortably in a chair he’s built himself. And if these fans look away, they might miss something.
Sick! is thoughtful, stylish and written with a stoic nonchalance only Thebe Kgositsile could pull off. Its best strength is similar to that seen throughout his discography - a one-of-one perspective that demands you to hang on to every word. What’s brought into the fold on this album is a renewed sense of clarity, one that feels genuinely refreshing and fulfilling.