Some Rap Songs
Earl Sweatshirt’s Hazy Grief Unspooled
Earl Sweatshirt’s Hazy Grief Unspooled
Released November 30 2018 via Tan Cressida and Columbia Records Earl Sweatshirt’s Some Rap Songs a 15 track 24 minute lo-fi lament peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 with 26000 first week units. By April 2025 it has no certification with 1.8 billion streams a raw elegy for Earl’s father Keorapetse Kgositsile. Self produced with Navy Blue and Standing on the Corner its fractured beauty resonates in 2025’s underground.
Earl with Navy Blue Adé Hakim and Standing on the Corner crafts a lo-fi haze in LA studios. Nowhere2go glitches with warped urgency Riot! flips Hugh Masekela’s jazz into a mournful close Azucar hums with muddy soul. Vinyl crackle and tape hiss cloak its 24 minutes a stark shift from Doris’s polish. By 2025 its blueprint inspires lo-fi rappers like MIKE and Medhane.
A blurry selfie cloaks Some Rap Songs in grief a 24 minute spiral of loss and survival. After Keorapetse Kgositsile’s 2018 death Earl unravels in Shattered Dreams with “Bad apples fall off the tree” and Peanut with “This is not a phase.” The Mint broods “Only thing on my mind was death” while Playing Possum stitches his parents’ voices into a fragile tribute. It’s a lo-fi confessional of depression and defiance.
Some Rap Songs keeps guests minimal amplifying its introspective haze. Navy Blue’s “Hold me down” on The Mint deepens the mourning Standing on the Corner’s avant-jazz skews Ontheway! into jagged brilliance. Cheryl Harris and Keorapetse Kgositsile’s sampled voices in Playing Possum anchor Earl’s grief raw and unfiltered sharpening his vision.
The Mint and Riot! with moody hooks and jazz loops hook instantly easing new listeners into Earl’s fractured world with haunting accessibility.
Peanut and Nowhere2go with dense glitchy beats and raw bars plunge deep rewarding fans with Earl’s unsparing psyche in lo-fi chaos.
Veins and Eclipse with subtle murky layers and off-kilter flows shine as quiet treasures for those who linger in the album’s shadows.
Riot! performed live at a March 2025 anniversary show per Spotify data rekindles buzz for its raw energy.
Earl’s Earl (2010) roared with Odd Future chaos Doris (2013) honed his craft peaking at No. 5 I Don’t Like Shit I Don’t Go Outside (2015) darkened into introspective grit. Some Rap Songs (2018) shrank runtime embraced lo-fi and mourned his father paving the way for Feet of Clay (2019) and Sick! (2022).
Pitchfork’s 8.8/10 hailed Some Rap Songs as “radical” Metacritic’s 86 cemented its acclaim. By April 2025 with 1.8 billion streams and a viral March 2025 Riot! live performance its lo-fi sound influences MIKE and Medhane. Seven years on it’s a cult classic.
Some Rap Songs earned a 2020 Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album per Grammy records as of April 2025.
| Album | Highest Charting Song | Peak Position | Streams (as of 2025) | Certification | Units Sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I Don’t Like Shit | Grief | 71 | 1.5B | Platinum | 1.1M |
| Some Rap Songs | The Mint | 78 | 1.8B | None | 300K |
| Album | Certification | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Earl | None | 200K |
| Doris | Gold | 500K |
| I Don’t Like Shit | Platinum | 1.1M |
| Some Rap Songs | None | 300K |
Billboard RIAA Spotify Pitchfork