Odd Future’s Earl Sweatshirt is one of sharpest, tightest and most provocative emerging rappers in the game. After two years in exile, he’s back with an acclaimed album, Doris, a string of hot tracks, and a killer live tour. The buzz at an Earl Sweatshirt concert is crazy, with most of the crowd just excited to have him back -- and doesn't disappoint. He’s got a laid-back, matter-of-fact delivery in which he seems totally at ease on stage while he runs through all the greatest hits across his entire music catalog. Oh, and any Earl Sweatshirt concert ticket could mean a whole lot more, because Odd Future members like Tyler, The Creator, Frank Ocean and Mac Miller have been known to make appearances on his tour, spending equal time on stage supporting their friend and ripping on him in that now-classic nasty Odd Future style.
It’s great to see him back, too. Back in the late 2000s, Earl Sweatshirt and the other group members caught the world’s attention with their incendiary lyrics and deft wordplay. Sweatshirt’s 2010 mixtape, Earl, cemented him as the leader of the pack with jaw-dropping songs like the titular track. However, just as the rest of the group was blowing up, Sweatshirt fell off the face of the earth, finally turning up in a Samoan boarding school for troubled teens, where he stayed until 2012. Now he's back, with his album Doris -- with songs like “Hive” and “Burgundy,” proving that he’s sharper than ever. He’s also showing his more mature, introspective side on “Chum” and other thoughtful tracks. Sweatshirt is still only 19 years old, but he's a force that can’t be stopped.
