New Music: Feet Of Clay (Deluxe) by Earl Sweatshirt
- Killjoy Reviews
- Jul 31, 2020
- 2 min read
By Dylan Shulman
Sometimes it's hard to like a project that even the artist slandered. In a deleted tweet, Earl said the project "wasn't great." Earl Sweatshirt is one of my favorite rappers in the game and it's difficult to see an artist you respect have issues with their own work. Even before Earl sent that tweet, I listened to the original project and was rather disappointed. Now, almost ten months after the original was released, we get the deluxe with two new songs, more or less. "WHOLE WORLD (Feat. Maxo)" was released as a single in April. The real brand new song is "GHOST (Feat. Navy Blue)," keeping along with Earl's decision of not overdoing anything. Last time Earl and Navy Blue collaborated they gave us "The Mint" in 2018, a fantastic song and the second track after Earl decided to break away from his more long-winded and elaborate approach to rap in favor of something shorter and sweeter.
While I understand his reasoning, I think Earl leaves a lot behind with his new approach, and it was even apparent in "Some Rap Songs." Here, these problems are exacerbated. Earl's delivery throughout the entire project is mellow, devoid of any emotion. Most of the songs are under two minutes, another unfortunate theme from "Some Rap Songs." Mavi's feature on the project brings some much needed energy, only for "EL TORO COMBO MEAL" to end with another monotone Earl verse. On top of that issue, I think the production across the project sounds unrefined. Every song sounds muffled, and in some cases the samples overtake Earl's vocals. If I have to talk about instrumentals, "EAST" has to be discussed. It's almost unlistenable, like some sort of sea shanty off of Captain Hook's ship.
Still, at the end of the day I can't completely hate anything from Earl. His iconic and incredibly creative lyrics are all still here, flipping rhymes and colloquialisms better than ever. "74" reminds me of a true Earl track. "TISK TISK / COOKIES" is one of my personal favorites; I don't mind the instrumental and I love the hooks, though I am amazed at how a two part song can still be under two minutes. The single "WHOLE WORLD" is fantastic, from production to lyrics and the Maxo feature isn't bad. Still, "GHOST" was another disappointment with a poorly incorporated sample but the lyrics are really something special. Overall, this is a mediocre project from an artist who can do significantly better.
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