By Adrian Woods, Staff Writer

[Tan Cressida, 2023]

Rating: 9/10

Key tracks: “Vin Skully”, “Mac Deuce”, “The Caliphate”

Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist have become one of the most prolific rapper/producer duos in abstract hip hop today. Earl and The Alchemist are a duo that just work together so well, with Earl’s melodic flow and the Alchemist’s ability to mesh well with anyone he works with. Having worked on singles like “RIP Tracy”, “E.Coli”, and “Loose Change”, they are back once again with their first full album together, VOIR DiRE—not only one of their best works of the 2020s so far, but some of the best works of their careers. 

With every Alchemist project, he gives the project its own unique sound that is like no project before it, and here it’s no different. He can take songs like “Heat Check” and “Mancala”, songs with very smooth and silky production, and transition them into a rough around the edges song like “27 Braids” and does so seamlessly even with how different they sound. No matter how rough or smooth the production is on these tracks, it never takes away from other aspects of the project like the lyrics or vocals. 

Read More: Album Review: Armand Hammer – We Buy Diabetic Test Strips

Clocking in at about 26 minutes, Earl’s projects continue to stay short, but that’s not a bad thing. If the album were any longer, it could’ve easily made the record drag on, but the length is pretty spot-on for the project. The same goes for the features. This album is not feature heavy, only including two—MIKE and Vince Staples—who are perfect companions to Earl’s melancholy rapping. 

Earls delivers his pen game on this project as always. It’s sad, a little concerning, contains a lot of euphemisms and oxymorons, but he does it in his classic Earl way that makes the tunes so great. “The Caliphate” is a standout song with a real jagged production that mixes so well with Earl’s and Vince Staples’ rapping over lyrics about the harsh realities of life. These themes are similar to another great song on the album, “Vin Skully”, a song with a clean production that reflects on a past of trauma and addiction. It’s reminiscent of something that could have been on his earlier projects like Some Rap Songs. Real indie feels come up on tunes like “Mac Deuce”, which is a different approach from Earl’s usual stuff. The track is not necessarily about his failures, but about how his failures made him who he is and how they helped him come to where he is now.

There are many uses of flute and jazz samples throughout this album that work well with each song. However, it does feel like a few songs feel a bit too similar like you could easily get one mixed up with the other. 

Album artwork is a lost art that a lot of people don’t really care about or write off completely, but for this album I found some of Earl’s most unique among his discography, with each song having its own little black and white design. 

I found this project to be a benchmark for Earl. It seems like working with The Alchemist not only brings out the best of Earl, but the best in the artists he works with as he hones his craft better than most producers out in the field. Hopefully, this will not be the last time Earl and The Alchemist team up for a project, as it’s destined to be a modern classic.

Listen here: