This week saw plenty of teasing from Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist in regard to a full-length joint LP. Today (Aug. 25), fans are finally able to press play on VOIR DIRE, a near-mythical effort that follows the duo’s well-received 2015 EP, 4 MY DAWGS.
VOIR DIRE consists of 11 songs and a single assist from MIKE, who appears on the album’s lead single, “Sentry.” Over what Genius said is a sample of French poet and author Aimé Césaire’s play Une Tempête, Sweatshirt can be heard delivering a whirlwind of multilayered rhymes about his African lineage and much more.
“Fire in the hole, burnin’ out his soul like they seen a ghost in a shell, froze up, it’s colder than hell, I cleaned up most of myself, I peeled off more dollar bills, four on when they peeled off on the bill, started at the bottom of the hill, actually I started in the mid, actually I started in Illinois, Khoikhoi and Tswana in the kid, bloodstains on my fatherland, bloodstains on my motherland…”
Currently, VOIR DIRE is only available through Gala Music, an entity that describes itself as a music platform that “gives artists independence and fans unique experiences, merchandise, and rewards.” Through this website, users are able to purchase each song as an NFT. Those unable to pay can still sign up in order to stream the project in its entirety for free.
As previously reported by REVOLT, Sweatshirt spoke about his admiration for Al via an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “He cares a lot, bro, he cares. And it’s like, whoa, there’s a lot going on,” the Odd Future alum explained. “It’s like, ‘Oh, this is not just a loop…’ You gotta think about the influences. With Al, the influences [are] going back to a certain place.”