"Good grief, I been reaping what I sowed
Nigga, I ain't been outside in a minute
I been living what I wrote" Grief

Earl Sweatshirt, you probably know him for being the crazy guy from Odd Future. The little dude from California who went and spent some time in Samoa, at the request of his mum to sort his shit out. His talent has always been undeniable, hence there was such an uproar from teenagers across the world when he slipped into the obscurity of Samoa. Earl spits the most fire of all OF members, but to look at the current Earl Sweatshirt through the OF-Samoa type of lens would do his art a great injustice.

That's why I like OF, each member serves up something different and it's not even restricted to music. They all have their own artistic lane and it's dope as hell, but the Earl Sweatshirt who has gifted us with this new album 'I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside' has come along way over the past few years and to use maturity to describe a Earl who is 21, feels right. It feels right, no matter whatever perception you had of Mr Sweatshirt previously.

Music is a reflection of a period of time in that artists life. Kendrick Lamar's latest album does that perfectly, so does 'I Don't Like Shit...' because Earl has apparently had to deal with quite a bit over the last few years. In a variety of interviews, Earl has talked about general living it up and not just enjoying the fruits of his labour but doing so in an extreme manner.

You should be able to come to that conclusion pretty quickly, just read the title ya dummy.

The album is grim, but in a hugely entertaining way. It's not an album that you chuck on to vibe to, you're not going to impress your mates chucking this on while you're kicking it in Steve's garage. To be honest, they'll probably give you the old wtf but that's all good because when you listen to this album before bed or when you're on the bus, it flourishes.

When Earl raps, you never really know what the next bar is going to be no matter the rhyme pattern that has come beforehand. When you combine a vocabulary that appears endless along with some tricky life situations and an amazing ear for quality, you get Earl's stories that venture down a twisting path. That path is equal parts aggression, darkness, confidence and humour. It's a weird mix but Earl is a talented young man who brings it all together wonderfully.

'Mantra' has Earl working his way through enjoying the company of females and the changing faces around him before he drops a cold verse on an old relationship. It's safe to say that it was his most recent relationship which must have ended around the time of recording and it's a subject matter than we haven't really heard Earl explore before. But he ventures down this part skillfully, not spitting plain old obvious bars that many others might, he spits from the heart but keeps it an enjoyable listen.

You used to say you like violins and your lifestyle depend on me
And I know it's nighttime when you get lonely
And tell all your little friends how that bitch stole me
And despite all of the facts that you got phony
You gon' tell them about the night that you exposed me
For the bastard I was
And how I probably smashed every bitch that I passed in the club
And the last couple months was the worst
Cause I smashed all the trust
That I earned in the past couple months
That we had as a couple
My absence of fucks
Was a problem that we ain't ever really get to solve
We just smashed and we scuffled

There's no pattern no Earl's music, it doesn't follow the radio formula and there's nothing about this music that tries to please anyone. The whole vibe of the album is Earl expressing himself creatively which serves up many avenues thanks to the experiences Earl has gone through recently. There's a brutal honesty to Earl's music, he's comfortable exploring these times and how the may have impacted the lives of those close to him. Everything I've heard and seen from Early of late gives you the impression that he's in a fantastic frame of mind, whether on 'Faucet' or 'Grief', Earl just tells you how it is. He does so in a manner that is fairly unique in hip hop, he isn't bragging about having females in his room or how much weed he's smoking or how much money he's making, it just all forms part of the story of the album.

There's gems-a-plenty on this album and the features are on point as well. There's no real need to call on all sorts of rappers and Earl keeps his circle close, although he has expanded it to include Wiki from RATKING. They collab on 'AM // Radio' and it's a match made in heaven while Dash features on 'Grown Ups' and Vince Staples shares the last track of the album with Earl, 'Wool'.

The best guest verse however goes to Na'kel who, if I heard correctly is a homie of Earl's. The story goes that they were chillin, with Na'kel having taken some acid before news came through of the passing of one of their old friends. To be honest, Na'kel's verse serves as the best summary of the album as it's raw with the verse coming together in the moments after hearing the news. It's honest, pretty sad but there's a sense of hope and while Earl portrays an overall vibe that is semi-dark, it's strangely full of positivity as well. That's how I feel anyway, you listen to this song where Na'kel speaks on traveling around the world and bringing back some stuff for his lost homie and you can't help but think that you've just got to keep on truckin'.

Interestingly, all bar one of the songs are produced by RandomBlackDude who is Earl himself. I don't think there's anyone else who could hit the sound required as perfectly as Earl does and it results in a great chemistry between the production and lyrics. That chemistry creates the overall sound of the album and with 10 songs, some as short as one and half minutes, there's no spaces that have been needlessly filled with bullshit

My Bang Up Banger is 'Grown Ups' which kind of summarises the whole album, but to single out a song would be shit of me. They're all fucking awesome.

What is it? It's an album that should serve as an example as to why Earl Sweatshirt is one of the best rappers in the game. It's masterfully crafted with everything, literally everything on the album having a specific purpose while balancing effortlessly on the tightrope; not too depressing but not heartless entertainment. There's a warmth to the beats that is reflected in the honest lyrics and I reckon it will be a staple in any hip hopper's library for a long time.

"I just want my time and my mind intact
When they both gone, you can't buy 'em back" Grief