EAST: Understanding Earl Sweatshirt
Вставка
- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- Check out my music!
bit.ly/3IAu6Xy (UA-cam)
or
bit.ly/3AXEKDc (Instagram)
Thank you all for your patience, I hope you enjoy this new video essay:)
unabridgedessays@gmail.com
Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.
For links to videos / sources used:
unabridgedessa...
This is a great analysis, but the sample was actually found - it's an Indonesian song from the 70s called 'Iddunja Chilwah'.
right after the east part its actually sampled my timbaland
Lu org indo ya?
NO SAMPLE SNITCHING
@@ryalghToo late dawg 😭
EAST created the best comment section on the internet
I swear, when I used to be able to deal with the subreddit, it was never this reasonable 😂
I still think its "goofy ahh beat" incarnate but the Earl's commitment to expressing himself how HE wants to and pushing boundaries has to be respected.
Most rappers wouldn't dare record on a beat that strange let alone release it for the world to see.
The cover of Some Rap Songs is from a fan that approached with a camera and he shoved him away.
sorry buddy that’s cap
Honestly I think Earl sweatshirt is the most lyrically talented artist to touch a mic
He's not given enough attention for it, even when he was 16 he was already Wiping the floor with his flows and wordplay
Hes really a poet on the beat
Earl is one of the best, but I think Rap Ferrira, Billy Woods, and E Lucid are better when it comes to lyrics. I do think Earl is really good at matching a vibe and captivating an audience a little better when the other three can come off a little too esoteric, dry, and nerdy despite their excellence. Ka is very excellent and deep lyrically and probably the most underrated out of all these. He's enigmatic and doesn't have much of a public presence it seems, but admittedly idk much about him. I also respect Mavi, MIKE, and Navy Blue when it comes to lyrics. That's all that's coming to mind rn.
@@WHOAM1894 thank you for the recs, I knitted a few of those artists but I’ll check out the rest
Check out Ka. Funny enough, it was Earl that put me on to him. Really dope lyricist.
To be honest, East was my favorite song off of FOC when it first dropped. It felt like an extension to the vibe of some of my favorite songs by him like Wind In My Sails and Hat Trick. It's just got that ancient piratey grit to it and I rock with it HEAVY. The memes were funny at first, but I feel like the cultural impact this song will have has yet to even be fully recognized. People laugh at it now, but I feel like this song will be really important once the time comes that people understand it. In other words, I think it's MAD ahead of it's time.
The More I listened to EAST the more i liked it.
For me, the more I listened to EAST the more I disliked it.
@@bobseeeecool
@@alonzomor112 yeah, its real cool
The lyrics are actually insane, im obsessed
He's the Dark Soul of rappers
This video was better than I expected it to be!
Great video, thanks for putting this out.
Thank you!
Was listening to east and this song came up in the recommended, keep it up man love the thumbnail style as well. so cool to see someone from the uk covering the niche shit I fuck with.
thanks, glad you liked it!
Excellent analysis my man, very fascinating video.
thank you!
The fact that earl sampled a Indonesian song is crazy.
I love when people sample music from Asia, I grew up on that stuff.
I can't go a day without listening to Earl
This is the most beautiful description on a song i ever heard dawg, subscribed
Thanks so much!
East is less of a good song but is more impressive than anything else, i cant imagine how someone could manage to make a flow over that beat
Damn how has this channel not blown up already
Accordion doesn't actually sample an accordion weirdly enough
s/o to Daedalus fr, such a genuine dude
I see you were on the Midwest emo to alternative pipeline just like me. Good work man your taste in music + video creation is sick
Really appreciate that, thanks!
Can't wait for the next vid. You're good at this
Thanks so much! got more videos on the way
Earl's godfather is trumpet Legend Hugh Masakela .. Along with his father's work, he's cut from rare cloth.,
was he not actually his uncle? Rest in power, both of em
@unabridged this is who plays the sample on RIOT btw
This song reminds me of a the fire in which you burn by company flow such unorthodox hip hop songs. Great analysis
not familiar with that. the style on this track is Earl’s of course, but I’d also heavily attribute it to Billy Woods’s influence on him
Honestly understanding earls style changed my perspective on his music
i love this song so much thank you for making this
thanks for watching!
i love east i think its one of his best
amazing analysis
Thanks!
his name is of Sotho origin so it’s pronounced Te-be, the H is silent and Kgo-sit-si-le, the Kg should sound like a hard R. great video btw!
thanks for letting me know!
where’d you get the hard R from? I’ve always heard them say it more like an H. hard R sounds crazy 😂
@@stateportSound_wav its more so the accent cause that’s how it’s pronounced in south africa
@@prod.dobhar interesting, I recall hearing it on the SA memorial broadcast for Keorapetse, I didn’t catch that aspect I suppose
That's how he got his name Earl? Ero? It sounds like earl. Earl. Ero sit- si-le. Earl sweatshirt.
I have read the lyrics to EAST and I still have no fucking idea what that man said for half of the song
Thank u cuz everybody just makes fun of the song but nobody appreciates it and it's ARTT
Flawless video man ty so much, I still got my Feet of Clay Tshirt
Thank you!
Newest best journalist in the making. Imma keep my eyes peeled.👀
Thanks so much!
Loved this, great work.
thanks!
ts really in depth and deserves more views tbh
thanks!
Legendary !!
Thank you!
Great video
Thanks!
really good vid, this needs more views
Thanks so much!
another interesting point, this is a prime example of purposely shifting his flow back (imagine this visually on a vocal audio track, entirely shifted back behind the beat starting time, just enough to be off a bit). This leaves more unfamiliar listeners to think of him as not actually having a flow all the time, as they describe it as “spoken word.” If you listen to his live version, he makes it obvious where the cadence is actually coming in at, without the “lazy, delayed” delivery. Much like his contemporaries Mach, Roc Marci, MIKE, Billy Woods, and of course DOOM first, he will decide what songs (or just some bars) he wants to deliver with tight timing, while others will be shifted behind the beat.
There’s a Rory & Mal segment where he acknowledges this, saying people often just don’t understand timing, which has proven true. To me it’s one element that adds to the experience, almost like knowing a line technically goes here, but the way it’s delivered it comes in over there, and is done very meticulously.
Interesting point! I'm fascinated by Earl's meandering flow/delivery so this is cool to know
Great analysis
thanks!
das a crazy good video right there
Thank you!
Dude this video is awesome 🤝🫂🔥
Thanks so much!
I FUCKING LOVE EARL SWEATSHIRT
intresting points you made i never could wrap my head around east but after this video i see it with a different perspective thanks!
thanks so much!
Earl is really the Elliott Smith of 2010s Hip Hop
Is it really a minor key song? I thought the key it was in (major) was whatever the bass note is on the every 4 count, which is the resolve.
this is unironically the most interesting song i've ever heard cos to this day i have no idea how to feel about it
it's almost reached rickroll status for me in terms of meme songs because of that fucking looney tunes ass beat but at the same time he's hitting you with some hard ass bars the shits just confusing to my emotions lmao
we need a video on MIKE, please!
Need to listen to more of his music! I like what I've heard
Damn this was fire
Thanks!
Great analysis, still gonna mosh when i hear that tho 💃
Excellent video cuz.
Thanks!
neptunes had many accordion beats
i love earl
its a masterpiece
2:24 oh its me
…nah that beat is fire, I’m sorry. Lmfao
This is a really interesting take
Thanks!
It’s just proof that people don’t listen to words
I think difficult-to-listen-to music encourages the listener to, instead of taking in a piece for the sake of it sounding good, analyze it and try to figure out the why the artist made the decisions that they made. Waxing poetic and bearing your heart raw to the world in a song that begs the audience to pick it apart, in my opinion, makes the most sense -- If the message you're trying to convey is demystification of the self and expressing your hardest emotions, why not put it in a form that screams to the listener, "I am a puzzle. Solve me."?
Some of my personal favorite tracks of all time sound like absolute shit. If I hadn't taken the time to pick them apart and appreciate the parts that make up the whole, I would not still listen to them; yet here I am, playing them on repeat just to hear it. Something about hearing those same tracks with an open mind and an open heart helps you connect to them in complete earnest, I think.
Beautiful essay, Mateus.
(P.S. your description links are broken)
Thank you for your comment! I especially like what you said about 'solving the puzzle'. There is something deeply rewarding about engaging with challenging tracks such as this, even if their full meanings will always remain elusive. The links in the description should be working now:)
What “shit” tracks are you talking about here? I’m curious
LLLLLLLLLLLLL
I think much of what the comments are saying (most succinctly in your comment) applies for Earl’s music from Solace onward, and very much MIKE’s too.
Much of it off-putting at first, but ultimately more fulfilling to sit with, and get every experience possible out of it.
When a hard-to-grasp song just finally hits, it’s so worth the time spent expanding your listening horizons.
If you ever heard Earl’s DJ sets (eg. old Boiler Room skatepark set) or RBMA show, he plays everything from spiritual jazz like Sun Ra, to CyHi or Future.
I found hella rnb jams, Mach Hommy + MIKE, and a much better grasp of his 90’s rap influence like M.O.P., , Lox, + Mobb Deep. And then he’d play some heat from 21/Nudy 😂
He’s one of the single most influential plugs for my inspiration because of stuff like that, and early on it gave me an idea of the sounds he’d wanted to explore. That may have made it easier to be open to it when he dove fully into it.
The newest project with Alc is really my favorite mix of the extreme left-field, while still bringing it all together in a great listening experience, and finally overcoming many of his emotional struggles for some inspiringly optimistic sentiments.
Also fantastic video 🤟🏻🤟🏻🤟🏻
thanks!
Good video
thanks!
im pretty sure the sample was from a spongebob episode
I can see why you say that but… no
I usually hate these but ill be ok with this one
Much appreciated!
Do Larry June
if you look past the uncomfiness of the wonky instrumentals on songs like EAST, Earl is one of the most lyrically talented and creative rappers of all time
you butchered that name my guy. good try tho
Hahah I tried my best!
now go listen to EAST
Please narrate my life
hahah this is one of my favourite comments
east is sonic nihilism
tf im watching
That song isn’t in G minor, it’s in Bb Major. Same notes but massive difference
okay I knew I wasn’t tripping, thank you
It’s in a minor…