Balance and Solace

Blog Post #2

Earl Sweatshirt (aka Thebe Kgositsile) is an LA rapper who rose to fame after joining the hip hop collective Odd Future in 2010. Since then, the group has broken up and Earl has released 2 solo albums and several independent tracks on Soundcloud. Two songs, in particular, posted to his Soundcloud showcase themes of racial injustice reminiscent of Ta-Nehisi Coates' "Letter to My Son" (Letter to My Son).

The first song was recently released by Earl and produced by Knxwledge, titled "Balance." It is relatively short, just under two minutes, and features a repeated chorus and a single, cogent verse (Balance Lyrics). The second song is titled "Solace" and was released as a tribute to his mother, with whom his relationship has not always been the best. It is split up into three very different sections that could easily have been released as three distinct songs. The first section is what will be referenced in this blog post (Solace Lyrics).

Within "Letter to My Son" from Between the World and Me, Coates discusses fear, violence, survival,  community, intellect, history, the American dream, and privilege from an African American perspective, told almost entirely through his life experiences.

The hook to Balance is as follows:

     I've been tryna tell a different story
     Find balance and I'm tippin' off

     And tell grandma I'll be with her shortly
     I won't panic when they send her for me

     Cause I ain't got time for feeling sorry

     I gotta be on point when duty calls

     And I'm prolly the worst nigga to get involved with

     These shoulders is not for you to sniffle on

These lyrics make me think of several of Coates' points addressing oppression and privilege; notably, "I never wanted you to be twice as good as them, so much as I have always wanted you to attack every day of your brief bright life determined to struggle," and "...they [White People] are shocked by the rages of logic and the natural world in a way that those of us who were born and bred to understand cause and effect can never be." These quotes feel quite aligned with Earl's attitudes towards death and black perspective: "tell grandma I'll with her shortly" juxtaposed with "...every day of your brief life;" "I won't panic when they send her for me" and "they are shocked...in a way that those of us who were born and bred to understand cause and effect can never be;" "I gotta be on point when duty calls" and "I never wanted you to be twice as good as them." 

Within this examples Earl expresses how he is hardened by the world to the point where he does not fear death, however "hardened" may not be the best word in this case, considering Earl expresses a depressingly large extent of self and societal awareness--an extent to which, Coates would argue, is inevitable as an African American man. Coates also claims this awareness brings individuals closer to understanding "the meaning of life." I interpret this to mean that oppressed peoples are subject to a more-or-less forced understanding of power structures and the less savory aspects of human consciousness. I have a feeling, based on these lyrics, Earl would agree. Furthermore, Coates addresses the necessity of portrayal of stoicism as a black man in the United States, which Earl similarly portrays as he paints an image of his response to hardship throughout the hook. The verse goes more into the detail of Earl's personal life, however much of it is related to stereotypically noted problems within African American communities. However, this line stands out in relation to Coates' writing: "focused so I know my skin tone is a cliff/ we on the edge and they hopin' we slip." This clearly shares Coates' sentiment expressing the nation's opposition toward people of color, actively hoping to see them fail. He warns his son of this reality many times throughout the letter.

Lastly, both Earl and Coates are critically aware of how they must act to survive. Neither "have time for feeling sorry" (" I am sorry that I cannot save you—but not that sorry." -Coates). They have bigger things to worry about and are both trying to deeper understand the world they live in--trying to find a balance--in order to properly respond and hopefully live a more meaningful life. A life far from void of vulnerability, that is unless within the context of police confrontation (or hegemonic masculine confrontation, but that post is for another day).

Similarly, Earl's first verse in Solace expresses comparable rhetoric. (As a side note, Earl's symbolism of a fist is dually expressed in his line in Balance, "watch the wall collide with my fist," and in Solace, "slip a fist up for my niggas in chains, mental was caged/ see, I ain't been to prison but the feeling's the same.") Both Coates and Earl, in both mentioned songs, discuss institutionalized racism and the murder of men of color "in the street." Physically, in Earl's line, "and when they drag me out the gutter, mail the ashes to my mother," and metaphorically in Coates' letter, "Everyone had lost a child, somehow, to the streets." Additionally, within Solace, Earl raises a "fist" for the mass of institutionalized people of color. This is followed by the line, "see, I ain't been to prison but the feeling's the same," commenting on the everyday oppression Earl faces regardless of his comparable "freedom." This concept is most of what Coates discusses in his letter, and thus is needless of reference--literally read any paragraph and you will find something blatantly correlated. 

Overall, Earl and Coates express much of the same ideology and experience concerning the systematic oppression they face as African American men. Where they differ is their reaction. Whereas there is some overlap, as noted in this blog, Coates takes a much more mature, "adult" approach, which comes across as almost optimistic considering the circumstances. Alternately, Earl, in both songs, is very distraught, depressed, defeated, and ultimately confused. Perhaps this is a difference in age and experience, but both are equally heartbreaking. If this is not immediately clear from reading Earl's lyrics, please give the songs a listen; you can hear it in his voice; you can hear it in the hazy self-production of his instrumentation; you can hear it in the spaces between each solemnly delivered phrase.