Earl Sweatshirt
Scoot Inn, March 13
Odd Future took SXSW by storm in 2011, causing a riot nearly every time they hit the stage and leaving controversy and a few broken noses in their wake. Noticeably absent was Earl Sweatshirt, whose 2010 release, Earl, helped fuel the buzz surrounding L.A.’s motley crew of skate punks and rappers. The whereabouts of the now 19-year-old MC became one of the great mysteries of our time, amateur sleuths eventually discovering that he’d been sent to a boarding school in Samoa by his mother. Nearly an hour after his scheduled set time at Scoot Inn on Wednesday, the question remained: “Where’s Earl Sweatshirt?” Two ill-placed psych-rock bands killed time, with an announcement that “this is our last song” earning the only enthusiastic response. Reserved and introverted, Earl came across understated – even timid – onstage, doing little to animate songs from his forthcoming LP, Doris. He can rap, though, as proved on “Chum,” “Whoa,” and “Burgundy.” “My priorities fucked up, I know it/ I’m afraid I’m gonna blow it, them expectations raised because daddy was a poet.”
This article appears in March 22 • 2013.
