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\n\tLast year, Earl Sweatshirt\u2019s verse on \u201cWords2LiveBy\u201d went viral, as some fans were perplexed to hear him rapping on such an uptempo beat. He\u2019s become known for rhyming in hushed tones over melancholy production, a sound that\u2019s birthed an entire wing of like-minded indie rappers. But that\u2019s just one part of Earl\u2019s artistic arsenal; he\u2019s shown an ability to get rhymes off on a variety of production. It feels like, from the beginning of his career, when fans (and journalists) wouldn\u2019t stop violating the then-teenage artist\u2019s privacy after he went to boarding school, too many people have perceived him as what they want him to be, instead of who he\u2019s shown himself to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThe same kind of misunderstanding speckles the discourse around Live Laugh Love<\/em>, his stellar new album. Many fans have made the obvious realization that his 12-track project reveals glimpses of optimism that pale in comparison to the grief and doldrums of projects like 2015\u2019s I Don\u2019t Like Shit, I Don\u2019t Go Outside<\/em> and Solace<\/em>. But it\u2019s not an abrupt 180, as each of his projects has gradually reflected his growth as a man with a deeper understanding of the world and his place in it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tRap fans are eager, if not encouraged, to spot patterns, branding, and shticks to better relegate artists in the vast rap landscape. It\u2019s easy to paint Earl as someone who raps about being sad. But with each successive album, true listeners are realizing he\u2019s just been rapping about his life \u2014 sometimes<\/em> there\u2019s sadness. It makes sense to have expectations of artists, and to bolster deeper connections with certain portions of their catalogs. That\u2019s become the case with Earl, especially with fans who forever champion him for songs reflecting their own battles with depression and substance abuse. Sure, Earl\u2019s darker raps might have \u201csaved your life.\u201d But it shouldn\u2019t have taken a sunny album title for fans to realize that with each successive album, he\u2019s come to find vaster meaning in his own.<\/p>\n