REVIEW: Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist Speak Truth on “VOIR DIRE”

On October 6, rap legend Earl Sweatshirt officially released his collaboration album, “VOIR DIRE,” with famed producer The Alchemist. This comes after over two years of cryptic messages and speculation surrounding the record.

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.

— Alchemist Type Beat (@Alchemist) May 22, 2021

The Alchemist has teased the collab since 2021, letting fans know there was an entire completed album online via Twitter in May 2021. It took fans until August 2023 to find a secret link on Earl Sweatshirt’s website. The link led to a page on Gala Music’s website containing multiple puzzles. Once completed, the puzzles revealed clues about the album, such as the tracklist, cover art, and snippets.

The duo held a listening party in London on August 25 to celebrate the album’s discovery and finally bring the record to the broader public. Earl and The Alchemist made the album available on their Gala Music page the same day.

The album was reissued on October 6, debuting on all major streaming platforms. The streaming release includes two bonus songs with California rapper Vince Staples.

This highly anticipated album contains some of the duo’s best tracks respectively. I was obsessed with the soul-inspired production on the record. My favorite track was “Heat Check,” where The Alchemist dug deep and sampled a 90s gospel song. The intro of “He’s My Friend” by Micheal Jemison provides a beautiful, dreamy atmosphere I could have mistaken for a Prince song. The next song continues with the gospel theme with “Mancala,” which samples “God Has Smiled On Me” by Sister Ida Maxey And The Tampa Chapter Mass Choir. I also appreciated the seamless transitions used frequently to bind songs together. The dialogue at the end of “27 Braids” transitions into “Mac Duece” with the phrase chopped in half: “If you believe you are… gone.”

Earl delivers lyrically, as usual. On “Sentry,” featuring MIKE, Earl spits a complex bar referencing a famous painting: “Had a couple things on my chest / That’s where the demons would sit / I took a seat at the head / It’s time to eat.” The lines refer to “The Nightmare” by Henry Fuseli, which depicts a demon sitting on a woman in agony. Earl continues the sitting imagery by stating he is now sitting at the head of the table, a seat usually reserved for leaders. The metaphor represents Earl’s triumph over his demons.

He ties the whole album together on a somber note with his final track, “Free The Ruler.” Earl bares vulnerability with one long verse to end. “Excavate what I can /How you ‘gon allocate me my own —- / Reanimated, I once had kicked the bucket / I’m back cuttin’ up a list of reasons I love my mother’s laugh.” This line begins by pondering his situation and admitting that he once was depressed and contemplating suicide. It ends by reassuring fans that he has worked past it, “cuttin’ up” what is implied to be a suicide note.

It is nearly impossible to find something to dislike about this album. The duo brought their expertise and put out dope tracks with soulful production and intricate lyricism to give us a cohesive record. After listening, I am only upset that they withheld such a masterpiece from fans for so long.

Score: 10