Earlier this year, rapper Earl Sweatshirt and producer The Alchemist teamed up for an entire new project called VOIR DIRE. It wasn’t the first time they had ever collaborated, in fact, Earl made an appearance on Alc’s Flying High EP earlier this year. Though the project was short, fans were pretty excited for it as both names are pretty beloved in the underground rap scene. Unfortunately, not many people heard the album when it first dropped.
The reason VOIR DIRE went under the radar is because it was originally dropped exclusively on NFT-based music streaming platform Gala. This was met with backlash from fans who didn’t want to make an account on a crypto music website just to hear the album. Thankfully, the pair eventually came through for their fans promising not just that the album would come to streaming, but that it would have new tracks when it did. Those new songs round the album out to 11 tracks and just under half an hour with two features from Vince Staples and another from MIKE. Check out the entire album tracklist below.
Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist’s Album Hits Streaming
Starting tonight, Earl and The Alchemist are going on tour in support of the album. They’re playing a series of 11 shows this month stopping all across the country alongside MIKE and Black Noi$e.
Earl Sweatshirt has been playing shows on his own all year. During one now notorious August show he teased fans in attendance with a Frank Ocean appearance, which obviously didn’t end up happening. Some fans online thought the tease was funny while others interpreted it as just cruel and tried to call Earl out. What do you think of the new full version of VOIR DIRE on streaming? Let us know in the comment section below.
Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemistdropped a project called Voir Dire last month. Unfortunately for some fans, the album was not accessible due to it being released on an NFT platform. Although you just needed an account to listen to it, some people didn’t want to bother with that. Instead, they were hoping this would get a proper release on streaming services. Well, luckily, that is going to happen on October 6th, which is about three weeks from now.
Interestingly enough, this new version of the album is actually going to have three new songs. Two of these efforts will have Vince Staples. Today, one of those songs just so happened to drop. Below, you can find the music video for “The Caliphate,” which as you can imagine, is another incredible offering from these artists. Earl and Alc always bring the heat, and once you bring Vince Staples into the mix, you know you are in for a real treat.
Throughout this song, both of these artists offer up some of their best bars. This is all done over some theatrical production that showcases Alchemist’s skill as a producer. Everything is clicking on this one, and it leads to a phenomenal collaboration that we cannot wait to play the hell out of.
Let us know what you think of this new track, in the comments section down below. Will you be listening to Voir Dire once it officially hits streaming services? Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the music world. We will always bring you the biggest releases from the biggest artists in the world.
Quotable Lyrics:
He gave me no release, I hope for peace, be postal now Over East, corroded sheet metal, my [?] just found He let it go, brodie left the heat on the coldest ground To wrap around the wound unwound I poured the bruise blood into the sound (Let some of the bruise blood come out)
Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist are hitting the road together! Today, Earl Sweatshirt took to Instagram to share the news that he and The Alchemist will be embarking on an 11-city tour. The tour is in support of their joint album VOIR DIRE. Joining them on this musical journey is the talented underground rapper from New York City, MIKE, and experimental rap producer Black Noi$e, who will be part of the tour for the first three shows.
Moreover, VOIR DIRE, their project that dropped on August 25 this year, is an album that stands out not only for its music but also for its innovative release approach. It was released exclusively through Gala Music as an NFT-backed project. However, although the album is available for free streaming, to unlock access to special merchandise and unique experiences, listeners must make a track purchase. The available merchandise includes items such as t-shirts and autographed album posters. Meanwhile, the “experiences” category includes the opportunity to make cameo appearances in the music video for a track or to participate in the virtual event titled “Smokeout: Light Up with Earl & Al.”
Subsequently, the tour itself should be a dynamic showcase of talent. This provides Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist with a platform to connect directly with their dedicated fan base. The journey kicks off on November 6 in Seattle, marking the first step in an extensive itinerary. The tour will span various cities across the United States, including stops in Portland, San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, New York City, Detroit, and more. As these acclaimed artists bring their music to life on stage, fans can look forward to an immersive experience.
Tour Dates
9/6 – Seattle, WA – Showbox Sodo 9/7 – Portland, OR – McMenamins Crystal Ballroom 9/9 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom 9/14 – Dallas, TX – The Studio At The Factory 9/15 – Houston, TX – The Ballroom At Warehouse Live * 9/18 – Atlanta, GA – Heaven At The Masquerade * 9/20 – Washington, DC – The Fillmore Silver Spring * 9/21 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts * 9/22 – New York City, NY – Brooklyn Steel * 9/24 – Boston, MA – Royale * 9/27 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall *
In August of this year, the same month that he released this new album with The Alchemist, Earl Sweatshirt celebrated the ten-year anniversary of his studio debut Doris with a series of live shows, one of which hosted a reunion of the collective that propelled him into fame: Odd Future. In that time span, his talent and honesty propelled him further into peace. The meet-up was a wholesome, fulfilling, and nostalgic moment for fans, despite the wildly different directions those careers went in individually. For Earl, that path unraveled his personal growth and grievances, exploring his highs and lows in the search for the truth behind his story. On VOIR DIRE, he seems closer to that goal than he’s ever been on wax, without compromising what makes him and the legendary producer such idiosyncratic and captivating figures in hip-hop.
Moreover, this new 11-track and near-28-minute-long LP was released under unconventional methods and with mysterious origins. For those unaware, it followed years of teases of a full collab project that was apparently on YouTube under a different name, according to The Alchemist. When a joint effort between him and Earl Sweatshirt finally dropped, it was on the NFT-centered site Gaia Music (where you can stream VOIR DIRE for free), with each track available for purchase with its artwork and yielding advertised rewards like T-shirts, FaceTime calls, and a smoke session. Needless to say, it’s a cryptic record in the streaming age: free, yet on the blockchain, and taking a bit more effort to tune in from fans. Nevertheless, it might be the most consistent, cohesive, and no-frills album that either has dropped in years.
Earl Sweatshirt’s Lyrical Excellence & Chemistry With The Alchemist
BARCELONA, SPAIN – JUNE 03: Rapper Earl Sweatshirt performs on stage during Primavera Sound 2022 on June 03, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Jim Bennett/WireImage/Getty Images)
To achieve this, the Chicago-born and Santa Monica-raised MC and Uncle Al complement each other’s styles seamlessly. The latter’s cavernous, tight, dense, and always gorgeous sample flips are caves and pockets that the former explores meanderingly, but with conviction and an avalanche of exciting and dynamic flows. Earl Sweatshirt is one of the most expressive, emotionally impactful, and downright skillful lyricists today, and The Alchemist has been an excellent partner (and also leader) for his tales. Both shift between moods on VOIR DIRE, though, pushing each other to new corners. Al can be dramatic, soft, funky, grimy, or melancholic; Earl comes off as confident, downtrodden, nihilistic, triumphant, reflective, and wholly present in the moment, all at once.
On that last note, recalling every amazing bar on here without running VOIR DIRE from front to back is impossible. Whether it’s his sharp wordplay and references, his stark imagery, or his gut-wrenching phrasing, the 29-year-old comes off as wise beyond lifetimes. Tracks like “Geb” and “Mac Deuce” attest to his unmatched abilities in the game. But for every high, there’s a pained and brutally sincere examination of the journey there, like “Vin Skully” or “Dead Zone.” Also, newer topics in his discography emerge, like being a father on “27 Braids” (“She said I got a son on the way, made my bed so that’s where I’ma lay”) or somber reflections on violence in rap that took his collaborator and fellow Cali MC Drakeo The Ruler on “Free The Ruler” (“Streetcar called pride droppin’ n***as off in the morgue… It’s not normal, but I swear this s**t is regular”).
VOIR DIRE‘s Sonic Palettes & Structures
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 31: The Alchemist performs during NBA Leather Tour at O2 Academy Brixton on May 31, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Burak Cingi/Redferns/Getty Images)
In order to condense these expressions in sonic form, The Alchemist makes the most out of what seems like a little. Sample loops evolve once Earl Sweatshirt’s verses end, the instrumentals fade in and out with new minimal details, and spoken word passages add to VOIR DIRE’s truth and story-driven themes. What often happens on this album is that a tear-jerking instrumental will contrast with boastful or hopeful lines, and vice versa. As such, they end up creating a nuanced and complex emotional image with each track, which makes itself more unique among the cast with each listen. Some highlights include the shimmering keys on “All The Small Things,” the infectious guitar lick on “Vin Skully” (one of many), the shrill and lo-fi strings on “100 High Street,” and the breezy woodwind melodies on- you guessed it, “My Brother, The Wind.”
Of course, the Tan Cressida rapper is no stranger to beats like these, especially from Uncle Al. For a while now, Earl Sweatshirt has been a master at the short but punch-packing one-verse hip-hop song formula, sometimes with a chorus. There’s as much emotion in the lyrics as there is in a given song’s sound. For example, “My Brother, The Wind” hits you with self-aware, regretful, but optimistic assessments like, “Etch-A-Sketch what I live, shiverin’, erasin’ what I did, opaque, be complacent as the wind.” In addition, there are the reflections on diamonds in the rough on “All The Small Things”: “New s**t consumed quick, it’s perishable, embed it with gold and it’s gon’ never get old.”
Still, there are plenty of left hooks, impressive innovations, and unearthed previous tendencies on VOIR DIRE, as familiar as this aesthetic territory is for both artists. One shining example is the shifting and malleable flows and rhythmic accents on “Sentry.” While Earl Sweatshirt gives the track a 4/4 feel, MIKE’s gripping feature verse brings the track to a 3/4 swing that can completely change how you conceptualize the song as you listen. It’s a small detail, but with an album at this level of craft, it’s those minute concoctions that make it so engaging. Another standout surprise is “Sirius Blac,” whose easy-going beat mixes its glittering joy with a chorus, verse, and delivery reminiscent of early Odd Future anthems that could’ve popped up on Doris, something Earl hasn’t fully tapped into in a long time.
However, that familiarity is what might land as lukewarm for fans who tune into VOIR DIRE. Earl and Al are simply doing what they do best, and what they’ve already condensed into masterworks. With that in mind, this album isn’t a revolution for either musician at first glance. It’s definitely a niche-scratching effort, but it yields some of the best material either has ever put out because of its simplicity, concise nature and for being probably the most tender thing either of them has ever released. Finally, if you complained about this NFT concept, the only true crime of two rap legends getting their bag through a free album and a new avenue that brings fans closer than streaming services ever could is that the web player on Gaia is glitchy, and that’s a fortunate thing to name as the project’s greatest flaw.
Overall, this long-awaited collab album is everything fans ask from this duo. Despite its brevity, it packs addictive instrumentals, so many rewind-warranting lyrics, and seemingly every theme under the sun into a powerfully all-killer and honest project. Family, genealogy, ego, regret, death, constancy, uncertainty, hope, perseverance, and much more fall under Earl’s magnifying glass, and the lens this time is much more calm, measured, accountable, and accepting of his path forward from past mistakes and struggles. It might not tread completely new ground, but it sums up the abstract lyricist’s past work with a beatsmith who’s been there for him every step of the way: I Don’t Like S**t‘s hunger and darkness, SRS‘ dejected solitude, mixed with Alfredo’s sheen and Return of the Mac’s hope. They champion their humanity, and through the specific vividness of their emotions, they create something universal, potent, and comforting.
Akin to the legal term behind its namesake, which determines a witness or juror’s ability to tell the truth, VOIR DIRE hammers on the veracity and authenticity behind each creative’s artistry. Like the spoken word passage on the closing track states, their mission is to make listeners understand them as individuals, for which The Alchemist provides some of his most crisp and heartfelt instrumentals in years that define his undefinable style. The result is a highly compelling exercise in providing context and clarity to Earl’s whole career: his demons, dreams, dominance, and determination — things he’s tackled since before Odd Future welcomed him. Thebe Neruda Kgositsile’s endured a lot, with his art updating his unfiltered perspective as the world’s student. Rather than dwelling on peaks and valleys, it feels like Earl’s finally found balance in his growth, and is grateful for the ride.
For months, Earl Sweatshirt and the Alchemist have been teasing a collaborative album, and while fans were undoubtedly excited for the project to exist, at least a few of them are likely to be disappointed to learn that it’s only available (for now, at least) as an NFT. That’s right; the quintessential iconoclasts of rap have jumped on the NFT train. (To their credit, they are like… two years too late; that train has already derailed.)
The album’s called Voir Dire and is exclusively available through Gala Music — the same outfit that put out Mount Westmore’s Bad MFs last year. According to Stereogum, you can still stream the album if you sign up for an account with Gala Music, and the songs on the album album are typically “short and hazy,” with one guest appearance from New York rapper MIKE.
MIKE, of course, has been a fixture on projects from Alchemist over the past couple of years, while he and Earl are good friends. They appear together on “Sentry,” the album’s lead single. You can check out the “Sentry” video above. Check out the tracklist for Voir Dire below.
1. “100 High Street”
2. “Vin Skully”
3. “Sentry” (Feat. MIKE)
4. “All The Small Things”
5. “My Brother, The Wind”
6. “27 Braids”
7. “Mac Deuce”
8. “Sirius Blac”
9. “Geb”
10. “Deadzone”
11. “Free The Ruler”
Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE just dropped off the Alchemist-produced track “Sentry,” the first release off of the Odd Future affiliate and the legendary beatmaker’s upcoming collaborative album Voir Dire. While it didn’t officially hit streaming services or YouTube (and we have no official release date for the project), this new track and music video spread around the Internet and social media. With a release party scheduled for this Friday (August 25), there’s good reason to believe that we’re getting this highly anticipated collab soon. What’s more is that it’s great to see Earl and MIKE collaborate given how much they’ve inspired and drawn from each other’s work.
Moreover, the track (like most of Uncle Al’s production) is a dense, earthy, and haunting sample loop that perfectly fits the MCs’ more laidback demeanor. It’s also phrased and chopped in a very interesting way, as Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE take completely different approaches when it comes to flow. The former tackles it in regular 4/4 time, or at least sounds like it, whereas the latter employs a triplet flow, switching up how “Sentry” hits rhythmically. It may be a stark and minimal soundscape, but it heightens the abstract and personal lyrics at play. Furthermore, these three creatives make a lot out of a little, using unconventional and unique approaches to turn a chop and some bars into so much more.
Meanwhile, in the music video, they simply rap in an empty and coldly lit hallway, but don’t seem disheartened by their circumstances. This often sums up their lyricism: despondent, reflective, and downtrodden; yet always resilient, vivid, and hungry. As he celebrates ten years since his first studio album Doris, Earl is still putting out high-caliber material with remarkable consistency and an emotive punch. If you haven’t heard “Sentry” yet, find it with the link below or watch the video above. Also, stick around on HNHH for more on Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE, The Alchemist, and Voir Dire.
Quotable Lyrics Had a couple things on my chest, That’s where the demons would sit, I took a seat at the head, It’s time to eat, I need to breach heavy set
Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist will be promoting their new album, Voir Dire, with a special concert in London on Friday. The two shared a flyer for the show on Instagram, Wednesday, with details for the event. It will be held at the city’s Jazz Cafe at 11:30 PM.
The venue’s website describes the show: “With London town heroes like Tommy Gold, C. Frim and Keyrah performing, a plethora of flavours are on offer across hip-hop, r&b, house, garage, funk and more. Expect the unexpected as a slew of DJ sets, including some very special guests take you through a once in a lifetime party.”
BARCELONA, SPAIN – JUNE 03: Rapper Earl Sweatshirt performs on stage during Primavera Sound 2022 on June 03, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Jim Bennett/WireImage)
Earl and The Alchemist previously shared the tracklist for the project, Tuesday, featuring a total of 11 songs with one feature blurred out. The songs include “My Brother, The Wind,” “Mac Deuce,” and several more. The two have collaborated numerous times over the years, including on “RIP Tracy” off The Alchemist’s Flying High EP, as well as “Old Friend” and “Lye” from Earl’s Sick! In 2022, The Alchemist admitted to having a collaboration with Earl in store, but didn’t go into details. “We have a pot that’s been bubbling. We have several things in motion. I’ll just say that. But stay tuned,” he told Complex at the time. The Alchemist has also previously hinted a secretly recording a project with Earl and uploading it to YouTube under a fake name.
Earl spoke about working with the iconic producer during an interview with Zane Lowe, last year. “He cares bro. He cares a lot. [You listen to his music] and it’s like, ‘Whoa, there’s a lot going on here.’ Him and Madlib, bro. It’s like, ‘Oh, this is not just a loop,’” he said. Check out the flyer for The Alchemist and Earl Sweatshirt’s London concert above.
