Live Review: Earlwolf

So the first thing that needs to be said about the Tyler, The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt show is that musically it was incredible. The two MCs traded rhymes like a pair of school kids, with the intimacy of brothers who constantly rib each other and give each other shit when someone makes a mistake or misses a beat. The addition of Odd Future cohorts Taco on decks and Jasper Dolphin as hypeman, Bezzing his way, gave the show more of a crew vibe and fleshed out the sound. Earl showcased some new solo material, which was easily the musical high point of the show. His new tracks represent an accelerated learning curve and growth – he is going to make an amazing record, it's a given. When a track called Hive is requested, Tyler has to push Taco off the 'decks' and show him how to load the song like a proper big brother. Tyler's shock raps are totally shocking, and hence don't have the same impact as Earl's actual style, which is classic and modern. Tyler's command of the crowd is amazing, at more than one point telling the audience not to move or talk during verses, which inconceivably they do. The eruptions after these lulls were overwhelming. He didn't even bother doing the first verse of Yonkers, the crowd took care of it for him. 

Seeing these two young guys, the same age as their young crowd, whip them up into such a frenzy was borderline terrifying. It would be wrong to pretend that it's not unsettling seeing a room full of young white 20-somethings yelling out “fuck you, faggots!” or all screaming the N-word at once. It really feels like the crowd are completely desensitised to the extreme lyrical content of Tyler's work. When Tyler finally got to the point of the show addressing the campaigners trying to pressure venues into cancelling his shows, the vitriol was vile, with every word echoed and shouted back by the crowd. Shock rappers and horror rap are surely nothing new, but whether it has penetrated on this scale before is hard to gauge. Plus the fact that it's all middle-class white kids revelling in it for some reason makes it a little harder to swallow. Hearing them all scream “wang!” in response to the cry of “golf!” however was altogether hilarious.