It's a good fucking week indeed, as Earl Sweatshirt—three fully felt years after I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside—is set to release his new album Friday. The aptly titled Some Rap Songs, judging by pre-release glimpses via Beats 1 and Camp Flog Gnaw, sounds like nothing else that's currently happening in hip-hop. Thankfully, new Earl also means we're getting new Earl interviews.
In a Q&A for Vulture, music critic Craig Jenkins asked about the year in Kanye West and Eminem's recent "media gaffes." Here's what Earl had to say:
As for the rest of the interview, Sweatshirt went deep on Some Rap Songs, the recent death of his father (and respected South African activist/poet) Keorapetse Kgositsile, and the death of Mac Miller. "Malcolm was one of those n****s like that, bro," Sweatshirt said, comparing Miller's approach to life of pirates offloading cargo to increase ship speed. "He was moving real fast. A lot of the shit that we hold on to that slows us down, that makes us care about different shit and makes us second-guess? It can make a man complacent."
Elsewhere, Sweatshirt praised both Dilla and OVO 40's production approaches and offered a message to fans who are possibly still stuck in the Odd Future era. "There are people that want everything," he said. "But we're moving forward. "
Read the full thing here. Some Rap Songs, mercifully, is out Friday.