I have mixed feelings about Earl's new LP. His style of rapping in particular, that dead pan lethargic kinda flow, is pretty hit or miss for me. On tracks like "Burgundy" and "Chum" it's great, but other times he sounds a bit too distant. Also the guest features are hit or miss for me. Some are good, some are pretty terrible (like "Guild" and also "Pre," the latter of which is a somewhat baffling---in a not so good sense---way of starting your album). I really like the instrumentation and production of the album though. I'd actually say it's one of the *least* raw of the OFWGKTA releases in that sense. Like Tyler's new album from earlier in the year, it shows a wider range of techniques, but unlike Wolf it retains the night time unsettling vibe of the collective's older stuff. All in all a solid release.
On the rap front, I strongly recommend Big K.R.I.T.'s new mixtape, Return of 4Eva. It may surpass Run The Jewels as my favorite rap release this year. I've also been really digging A$AP Rocky's LP. Not the most sophisticated flow, but some excellent beats and ambience.
