Rapper and former Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt released his fifth studio album, “Live Laugh Love,” on Aug. 22, 2025. The album consists of 11 tracks and has a 24-minute runtime, making it short yet sweet. This album is incredibly different from anything else he’s ever made, which is what makes it so interesting. How can an artist go from making a project called “I Don’t Like S*it I Don’t Go Outside” To “Live Laugh Love?”
The album kicks off with “gsw vs sac,” the title itself being a play on the names of the two NBA teams, the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings. The song consists of a sharp bass line combined with a chopped and spliced sample of a woman singing, giving it the feeling of walking down a busy road as he raps at you, “My peripheral’s decorated / That means you can’t get away ’cause I still can see you every day.” Combining an NBA reference with a personal point.
Sweatshirt’s lyricism to compare his mental health to such a plethora of topics has been notable his whole career and even more on this album on tracks like “WELL DONE!” with bars, “Tough like rye or spelt, Orion-sized heavyweight titles on the belt, son / Flying in on the wide eye of the maelstrom, wild side that I hail from” This verse is an absolute handful, with the first part of the line being two different bread varieties, Rye and Spelt; an ancient grain used in 5000 B.C.E. Both are hard to break, making them a metaphor for toughness. The next line contains a reference to the constellation Orion, with the lyric being “Orion-sized heavyweight titles on the belt” —a reference to the literal belt the stars make Orion appear to have. The last part of the line is,
“Flying in on the wide eye of the maelstrom, wild side that I hail from.” Here, the eye in this line, being the maelstrom—a powerful whirlpool—and the ‘wild side he hails from,’ refers to LA, showing his growth as a person. He went through awful times, got pushed around like he was in a whirlpool, but he is still going.
After hearing so much of Earl Sweatshirt’s old sound leading up to this album, it’s hard not to compare, the older version of the rapper might have written lyrics such as: “I spent the day drinking and missing my grandmother / Just grab a glass and pour up some cold white wine in it / Or Colt .45 in it, you know how I get it.”
The disconnect between his past and his current is clear, but not necessarily a key factor in his music. He can go from themes of being drunk for days on end with the thoughts of suicide, to making a project about his personal growth, all while keeping his familiar style with artists and producers from this time still appearing on his current albums.
This project featured production from longtime collaborator The Alchemist, frequent partner Navy Blue, experimental producer Black Noise and most notably Erykah Badu. Sweatshirt has been working with The Alchemist since both of their come-ups out of LA. The features are few on this project, but all that does is highlight Earl’s ability even more.
This album is one of the more fun and different ones I’ve seen come out so far this year. “Live Laugh Love” has everything a rap fan could want: good beats, good lyrics and production unlike any other project.
