“What started as a tongue-in-cheek critique of the irony in the phrase developed into a genuine examination of the nostalgia of joy and the simplicity of genuine connection.” And with that, the motto Live Laugh Love finds a redemption arm through the unlikeliest sources in the world view of one Earl Sweatshirt.

But more than anything, it’s the album in which the enigmatic rapper finally embraces the outside after detesting it for so long and opting to wrap his word rhymes through collage-cut beats and spirograph samples that have been prominent on the mood board since 2018’s underground rap landscape-changing effort, Some Rap Songs. The hazy, dazed energy might still be apparent in the way his words sway through the open air, but in their collaborative production with kindred spirits of the scene in the likes of Navy Blue, Black Noi$e, and Child Actor, Sweatshirt sounds more transparent than ever now that he’s embraced his creative work with no need for shades or sun-stained windows.

That we get to hear so many fresh origin stories about the life of one Thebe Neruda Kgositsile so many years after he initially piqued the music world’s interest his way is like stumbling upon a book of new found revelations. He’s staying full in the present here by inviting us into the dad life, too, connecting dots between how he was raised through to the tough lessons learned along the way — all in hopes of make life easier for his little one. Its takes just 25 minutes for his fifth solo studio album to accomplish what he set out to find in his basic cliché critique, all the while confirming what we already knew: Earl Sweatshirt is one of the best in the game. Except now, it’s as clear as day.

Highlights: “CRISCO”, “TOURMALINE”, “exhaust”

Earl Sweatshirt’s Live Laugh Love is available now on Tan Cressida / Warner Records.

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