Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Gabriel Teodros, host of Early on KEXP, is "Tabula Rasa (feat. Armand Hammer)" by Earl Sweatshirt, a 2021 single on Tan Cressida, inc/Warner.
Former Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt is gearing up to release his latest album, Sick, this month and the anticipation couldn’t be higher. His first release since 2019’s introspective Feet of Clay, Sick is still mostly a mystery other than the two singles released ahead of its arrival, “2010” and “Tabula Rasa.”
The latter track is our Song of the Day and for good reason. Featuring the duo that made one of the biggest marks on hip hop in 2021, Armand Hammer, the song is a woozy spectacle of talent. An unchanging repeating piano line and fractured sample make a perfect bed for Earl, Elucid, and billy woods to lay their lyrics on. Each politely taking his own turn, they lethargically spit their individual truths for a poetic manifesto.
“Sick is my humble offering of 10 songs recorded in the wake of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns,” Earl Sweatshirt said in a statement. “Before the virus, I had been working on an album I named after a book I used to read with my mother (The People Could Fly). Once the lockdowns hit, people couldn’t fly anymore. A wise man said art imitates life. People were sick. The People were angry and isolated and restless. I leaned into the chaos cause it was apparent that it wasn’t going anywhere. These songs are what happened when I would come up for air.”
Sick is out January 14 via Tan Cressida/Warner Records. “Tabula Rasa” was released alongside a lo-fi video of the rappers in the studio, making magic happen (or, in the case of billy woods, grilling ribs). Watch it below.
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