Earl Sweatshirt’s Introspective ‘2010’ Video Recalls His Troubled Teen Years

In 2010, Earl Sweatshirt was just another member of the upstart LA skate-rat rap crew Odd Future, who were all still about a year away from their explosive leap to mainstream notoriety. Their punk-inspired, DIY ethos was only just beginning to ruffle feathers at the tastemaking blogs who just didn’t get what their whole thing was about, and Earl had yet to be shipped off to boarding school, which is what prompted the “Free Earl” movement among their fans and made him one of the group’s standouts alongside Tyler The Creator and Syd Tha Kid.

On “2010,” Earl’s new single and video, he reminisces about those days before fame, when he was just a depressed teen butting heads with his professor mom. The Ryosuke Tanzawa-directed video captures Earl with soft focus and muted lighting as he roams his house, smoking, and thinking back on a time when things weren’t quite so simple but were perhaps just complicated in a different way.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting Earl’s next album, with frequent teasers in interviews from Vince Staples and The Alchemist only stirring the pot, but until it’s ready for release, the LA native has been featuring with impressive regularity on tracks from other cerebral spitters like Armand Hammer, Boldy James, MIKE, Navy Blue, and Wiki. When the follow-up to 2019’s Feet Of Clay is finished, it’ll have more than enough support from hungry underground rap fans to end up being one of the biggest releases of any given year.

Watch Earl Sweatshirt’s reflective “2010” video above.

The Alchemist Says Earl Sweatshirt’s ‘Incredible’ Next Album Is Done And Will Be 21 Minutes Long

Earl Sweatshirt hasn’t dropped a new album since 2018’s Some Rap Songs but that may soon change according to his frequent collaborator The Alchemist. The producer told Anthony Fantano’s The Needle Drop that an album he and Earl have been working on was recently completed and sounds “incredible.”

“He has an album that is done and it’s incredible,” Alc reveals. “I’m excited about that and I do have some work on that… It’s insane. I think everybody will be happy. He’s in his bag.” When asked whether he had any additional details about the project, he said, “I couldn’t even describe it… that would be a disservice to it.”

Fans have no shortage of collaborative work between the producer and the rapper to judge by. Going back to last year, the duo has worked together extensively on tracks including “Whole World” with Maxo, “Nobles” with Navy Blue, and even an entire secret album hidden on YouTube under a fake name.

Whether or not this new album is the one Vince Staples recently hinted at working on with the duo remains to be seen, although The Alchemist did say, as he does in the interview above, that he’s waiting on Earl.

Watch The Alchemist’s full interview with Anthony Fantano above.

Earl Sweatshirt is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Alchemist Says Vince Staples Is ‘Full Of Sh*t’ And They Have A Whole EP Finished Already

Veteran rap producer The Alchemist stoked the fires of anticipation in rap fans for his rumored joint project with Vince Staples after he tweeted his refutation of the Long Beach rapper’s claims that he takes “hella long” to complete work. Vince himself sparked the rumors when he appeared on Ebro’s Apple Music Radio show to make the claim that he recorded “30 verses on 30 beats” during a smoked-out session with Alchemist and Earl Sweatshirt. Vince said he got tired of waiting, so he recorded Vince Staples with Kenny Beats in the meantime.

However, Alchemist told fans Vince is “full of sh*t” today on Twitter. “I’ve had a finished 6 song EP with JUST HIM for over 3 months!!” he insisted. “MIXED! Plus mad songs with him and Thebe.” Alchemist has been known to send Rap Twitter into frenzies in the past, such as when he suggested he and Earl hid a joint album on YouTube under a fake name.

Of course, Vince was rumored to be releasing multiple projects this year, so it’s entirely possible that this was always going to be the second project and this back-and-forth is just their elaborate way of promoting it (weirder things have happened). Either way, rap fans who were already champing at the bit to hear more are now absolutely ecstatic to learn that the sessions Vince mentioned had possibly born fruit.

Now that this tidbit has been revealed, I guess we’ll have to see if Earl chimes in to make his own outrageous claim, at which point Rap Twitter might simply implode. If nothing else, this whole episode proves that rap in 2021 has been more fun than ever.

Vince Staples Recorded ’30 Verses On 30 Beats’ For A Joint Project With Alchemist And Earl Sweatshirt

Today in “news guaranteed to make rap fans salivate,” Vince Staples revealed that he and Earl Sweatshirt recorded a joint project with The Alchemist, leading to the Long Beach native putting “30 verses on 30 beats.” Unfortunately, Vince jokes that “Alchemist moves at a very cryptic pace — he’s hella slow,” leading to him recording his new album Vince Staples with Kenny Beats. He further reveals that there are anywhere from 12 to 22 leftovers from that project after picking the initial eight songs that worked for the self-titled album.

So to recap, there are up to 50 Vince Staples songs out there that haven’t been heard by anyone but him, his producers, and Earl Sweatshirt. Obviously, this news has fans in a tizzy, wondering when — or indeed, if — these songs will ever come out. Since it’s 2021 and social media exists, they will undoubtedly be insufferable about it until they find out.

Meanwhile, Vince’s latest rollout media blitz has unearthed even more notable quotes from the Long Beach native. On Drink Champs, he recounted how he got into music and that Mac Miller never accepted royalties from their Stolen Youth joint tape, as well as explaining why he always avoided drugs and alcohol. He also broke down how the music business monetizes people’s struggles and spit a mind-blowing verse over Dr. Dre’s “Xplosive” beat for LA Leakers.

The Alchemist And Earl Sweatshirt Have An Album Hidden On YouTube Under A Fake Name

Producer The Alchemist and Earl Sweatshirt came together at the end of last month for the collaboration “Nobles,” which appeared on the former’s album This Thing Of Ours. (Earl also appeared on a second track, entitled “Loose Change.”) The producer recently revealed there’s more where that came from. In fact, the two have already released a full-length album together, a while back. But there’s a catch: You’ll have to work hard to find it.

“We hid a whole album on youtube under a fake name and youtube page,” Alchemist wrote on Twitter. “Fake album cover, song titles, the whole 9. Nobody found it yet.” Naturally, this sent fans on a scramble to locate the project on streaming platforms.

Some shared their reactions — and frustrations — on Twitter about their search. “Looked for a hour can’t find sh*t ima just pretend it’s fake,” one person wrote, while another opted to wait for others to find it. “I give Reddit 3 hours before they find a Earl sweatshirt album lmao I’m not doing all this work,” they said.

This is not the first time that Alchemist spoke about the hidden album, which they released years ago. Back in January 2019, he shared a similar tweet writing, “We did one and dropped it under a fake name. Youtube. Go find it. You are the one.”

Earl Sweatshirt is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Hollywood Bowl’s 2021 Summer Lineup Includes Two Nights Of Christina Aguilera

It’s been a tough year for some of the nation’s most beloved venues. The onset of the pandemic and subsequent quarantine meant staying away from massive gatherings like crowds at The Forum or the Staples Center was the safe choice, with plenty of canceled tours in the wake, and seeing those musical monuments sit empty has been hard on everyone. Now, there’s light on the horizon, as one of LA’s biggest and best arenas is ready to re-open its doors.

That’s right, the Hollywood Bowl has officially announced their 2021 lineup, and it includes some surprising and unexpected names. For instance, I highly doubt most Stripped diehards had not one but two nights of Christina Aguilera headlining the bowl on their 2021 bingo card, but that’s what we’ve got coming up in July. There’s also big appearances from Kamasi Washington, Earl Sweatshirt, H.E.R., Brittany Howard, Jamila Woods, Herbie Hancock, and a whole lot more.

The entire summer calendar announcement is included below, even the LA Phil dates, so please check out the venue’s website for more information on those bookings. Normally we don’t cover a lot of the classical music performances, but after a year of no concerts, I have a feeling those nights will be more populated than ever.

Check out the full listing below:

05/15 —Dudamel and the LA Phil
05/17 — Pink: All I Know So Far screening
05/22 — Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev with Dudamel (LA Phil)
06/12 — Thundercat + Flying Lotus
06/26 — La Santa Cecilia
07/03 — July 4th Fireworks Spectacular + Kool & The Gang
07/04 — July 4th Fireworks Spectacular + Kool & The Gang
07/15 — Peter And The Wolf with Viola Davis & Dudamel (LA Phil)
07/16 — Christina Aguilera (LA Phil)
07/17 — Christina Aguilera (LA Phil)
07/18 — KCRW’s World Festival: Kamasi Washington + Earl Sweatshirt
07/20 — Tianyi Lu Conducts Pictures At An Exhibition (LA Phil)
07/22 — Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky (LA Phil)
07/24 — Ledisi Sings Nina Simone (LA Phil)
07/27 — Mozart and Mendelssohn with Ruth Reinhardt (LA Phil)
07/30 — Cynthia Erivo (LA Phil)
07/31 — The Princess Bride in Concert (LA Phil)
08/01 — KCRW’s World Festival: Reggae Night XIX, Ziggy Marley, Wailing Souls
08/05 — Schumann & Schumann (LA Phil)
08/06 — Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks (LA Phil, USC Trojan Marching Band)
08/07 — Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks (LA Phil, USC Trojan Marching Band)
08/08 — Dave Koz & Friends Summer Horns Tower of Power
08/10 — Dudamel Conducts Gershwin (LA Phil)
08/12 — Dudamel Conducts the “New World” (LA Phil)
08/13 — H.E.R. With The LA Phil
08/14 — H.E.R. With The LA Phil
08/15 — Blame It On Rio! with Sergio Mendes and carnival dancers
08/17 — Dudamel Leads Elgar and Grieg (LA Phil)
08/19 — Dudamel Conducts Beethoven & Falla (LA Phil)
08/21 — Sing-A-Long Sound Of Music
08/24 — Dudamel Leads Márquez and Tchaikovsky (LA Phil)
08/26 — Piazzolla & Tchaikovsky with Dudamel (LA Phil)
08/27 — Carlos Vives (LA Phil)
08/28 — Carlos Vives (LA Phil)
08/31 — Ray Chen Plays Mendelssohn
09/02 — Gershwin and Bonds (LA Phil)
09/03 — Maestro of the Movies: John Williams + David Newman conduct the LA Phil)
09/04 — Maestro of the Movies: John Williams + David Newman conduct the LA Phil)
09/05 — Maestro of the Movies: John Williams + David Newman conduct the LA Phil)
09/09 — Beethoven & Schumann (LA Phil)
09/10 — Black Panther in Concert (LA Phil)
09/11 — Black Panther in Concert (LA Phil)
09/12 — Black Panther in Concert (LA Phil)
09/14 — Yo-Yo Ma | The Bach Project
09/17 — Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince In Concert
09/18 — KCRW’s World Festival: Brittany Howard, Jamila Woods, Georgia Anne Muldrow
09/25 — James Blake (Hollywood Bowl Orchestra)
09/26 — Herbie Hancock
09/28 — Mozart Under The Stars With Dudamel (LA Phil)

The Alchemist And Earl Sweatshirt Reunite On ‘Nobles’ With Navy Blue

Earl Sweatshirt has seemingly been laying low since the 2019 release of his Feet Of Clay EP — save for a few guest spots throughout 2020 and an appearance on Armand Hammer’s Alchemist-produced 2021 album Haram — but the wandering wordsmith has returned to once again collaborate with The Alchemist on the latter’s upcoming EP, This Thing of Ours, due next Friday, April 30. The track, called “Nobles,” features a trademark, soulful Alchemist beat and an appearance by rapper/skater Navy Blue.

Earl previously collaborated with The Alchemist on “The Whole World” from the deluxe version of Feet Of Clay featuring Maxo, as well as on Alc’s 2018 single “E Coli.” The Los Angeles duo has consistently displayed impressive chemistry, prompting some fans to call for them to work on a full project, a la Alchemist’s 2020 work with Griselda’s Conway and Freddie Gibbs.

The results of those two projects were prolific; The Alchemist was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Album for Alfredo, bringing the veteran producer and rapper both a new level of attention and expanded public acclaim. The Alchemist’s next EP, which also features Boldy James (with whom he also released a joint project in 2020), Maxo, Pink Siifu, and Sideshow, will certainly build on that newfound success.

Listen to The Alchemist’s “Navy Blue” featuring Earl Sweatshirt and Navy Blue below.

Earl Sweatshirt is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.