Back in the May of 2021 when the world was still in the grips of COVID – 19, legendary producer The Alchemist gave his fans something to obsess over. On the 22nd May he tweeted:
“We hid a whole album on youtube under a fake name and youtube page . Fake album cover, song titles, the whole 9. Nobody found it yet.“
Quickly it became evident that the album was a collaboration with woozy poet Earl Sweatshirt, and fans of both camps became addicted to the idea of finding this tape. Every so often someone would throw a tweet or a YouTube link out into the ether, desperate to claim victory, yet the album was never found. Slowly this stunt was cast into the vault of Hip Hop myth, occasionally you would hear whispers, but generally people seemed content by 2023 to just give up, toss it into the category of teased albums that may never surface.
The album then finally came back into the forefront when the relentlessly proficient Alchemist announced that his long anticipated collaboration with Earl was coming. Within days.
What happened during the roll out however was slightly confusing, and left a plethora of long time fans soured. The album, titled “VOIR DIRE” was slated to drop on the 25th August, yet those accustomed to their usual routine of rushing to refresh Spotify or Apple music the moment the clock strikes midnight were left stupefied. Where was the album?
Earl and Al had decided to release the tape through an NFT site called Music Gala, and everyone had an opinion. The dilemmas surrounding this are as follows. Although the album is free to stream, the format is less than brilliant. The website is a glitchy, constantly crashing mess that stands apart from any streaming site, and it also promotes NFT releases which have proved themselves to be tired and controversial. The album itself however, well that delivered.
That brings listeners to today. When the album finally hit Spotify and Apple Music, but not without one last twist in this rather strange release.
Both of these artists, in many instances at least, occupy a corner of Hip Hop that lives on its purity and prowess. These are not artists gunning for a position of the billboard charts, they want a position of respect, of musical integrity and legacy. Earl in particular follows a path that sees him drop infrequently. He takes his time with his craft, and so whenever anything is let out of the woodwork, his fans await with pricked ears. Perhaps due to sample clearance issues, or perhaps maybe it was the choice of Earl to hit back at peoples negative reactions to how he released “VOIR DIRE” originally, but when the Spotify track list was revealed, three fan favorites had been wiped. “Geb”, “All The Small Things” and “My Brother, The Wind” certainly stood out as the most sentimental, cohesive and important tracks, and yet they were nowhere to be seen? It was a gut wrenching moment for fans who had heard snippets of these songs for years as mere teasers. As the album looks today, the songs have been replaced by three new tracks, two of which feature Vince Staples. So how, as it stands in its final formation, does “VOIR DIRE” sound?
This album is not one that will leave listeners surprised. There is no curve ball here, no musical twist, its exactly how this album sounded in everyone’s heads, and that is only a good thing.
Alchemist has self edited here to bring listeners eleven brilliant instrumentals. The entire album’s soundscape just evokes images of a dusty record player spinning through crates of soul and jazz, occasionally with Al’s dirty drums pulsating under the surface. Whats especially brilliant about this release is Alchemist’s drive to demonstrate his versatility. The samples move seamlessly from vintage soul, to synth heavy 80’s balladry, to gorgeous Rhodes jazz licks. “The Caliphate” manages to perfectly merge old school sample chops with 808’s and drums that share more in common with the world of trap, something Alchemist is not usually associated with. There is so much Alchemist has managed to pack into the track list: if you were to take his recent project with Larry June as a comparison, the vibe is consistent and singular throughout most of the project, yet here he feels the need to diversify, keep people guessing.
Earl delivers entirely on this project too. We are very much living in a post “FREE EARL” world, gone are the days of guttural, head-spinning verses over grimy boom bap beats, today Earl Sweatshirt is a laid-back, poetic observer whose main attribution is comfort. Earl just sounds so comfortable in his art and the choices he has made with this album. For fans of his woozy, slow flow, this album is for you. It’s also at times deeply personal. On “27 Braids” he muses about how it felt knowing he had a son on the way:
Earl just has a way with words. He follows in the footsteps of MF DOOM in the sense that it’s difficult to guess how each line is going to end or begin, and he phrases things in a way that always avoids cliche or repetitiveness. Whether he’s “hosin down a problem with gin and tonic” or sleeping with death: “Tempur-Pedic with the reaper, got to know death”, he always seems to be one step ahead of the listener. That’s the genius of Sweatshirt. It would be easy for newcomers to dismiss his lyrical prowess simply due to his slow, slurring delivery, but however strange the packaging may seem to begin with, the gift is still intact.
Although it is difficult not to lament the removal of those three songs, they are still on Gala Music, and everyone should be implored to go and listen to them. Overall, Earl and Alchemist delivered exactly what was promised of them, distilled chemistry. This album may not have pushed music further the way “Some Rap Songs” did, and it certainly doesn’t mark a moment in hip hop the way “Doris” does, but its beauty is in its unassuming, intimate and cohesive wit.