Earl Sweatshirt: Live Laugh Love [WARNER]

Why you'll love it

Earl Sweatshirt's sixth album, on his own Tan Cressida imprint with Warner. Metacritic has it at 84, and it finds one of rap's most inward-looking writers sounding lighter on his feet than he has in years.

This edition

• Tan Cressida / Warner Records pressing
• Eleven tracks over two sides

About the album

Earl Sweatshirt has spent more than a decade making some of the most personal records in hip hop, dense and murky albums where the beats lurch and the rhymes fold in on themselves. Live Laugh Love keeps the density but lets in more air. He made it after becoming a father, and you can hear a man who has found a little peace, or at least a little perspective, and is not above laughing at himself. The title, borrowed from a thousand kitchen signs, is very much the joke.

Much of it was produced by Theravada, with the loops warped and soulful in the way Earl's fans love. "Gsw Vs Sac" opens with a basketball-score title and a shrug, "Infatuation" and "Gamma (Need the <3)" are warmer than you might expect, and "Heavy Metal aka Ejecto Seato!" is as playful as its name. "Tourmaline" and "Exhaust" close the record on a more reflective note. At around half an hour, it rewards the repeat play it was built for, and it is very likely the only album named after home decor that we would recommend without reservation.

Tracklist

Listen

On Tan Cressida / Warner Records, first out in 2025.