Return of the Prodigal Son

Doris has finally dropped after all the years of "Free Earl" chants, questions about his self induced seclusion, and general anticipation of OF faithfuls. The 15 track album isn't what most expected, but it is most definitely Earl. The album shows some growth in maturity, and more meticulous level of wordplay than I thought was possible. It does show show the signs of a bored adolescent at times, you can tell that some of the rhymes are just off  the top of the head at times, some tracks even make you feel like he isn't trying. The album does have it high points and at those moments it's definitely some of the most brilliant hip hop you will have flood through your speakers at the moment. Unfortunately, it is accompanied by a decent amount of filler. I don't know about you, but the good defined outweighed the bad for me.

I was a little underwhelmed by the first track, but "Burgundy" is the true intro in my mind.  It's short and sweet you get a quick sample of Earl's lyrical talent and then you get thrown directly into "20 Wave Caps" which is a classic gritty OF beat. The beat sounds like something from a slowed down theme from a haunted carnival. Earl spits a cacophony of assonance that leaves you in awe. The next track "Sunday" is quite possibly my favorite song on the album. It has a story and some substance and the feature from Frank is awesome. You gotta give it about 43 seconds until the main rifts drops and you'll be bobbing your head uncontrollably to the infectious beat. The hook is great as well, " nightmares got more vivid when I stopped smoking pot." The rare rapping we get from Frank is amazing, his unbalanced bars flow all over the unorthodox beat. It reminded me of what Andree 3000 would do this track. "Hive" is another one of my favorite tracks on the album, and it is one of the darker sounding tracks on the album. Very minimalist in terms of sound, this track just broods with malice and yet it's awesome at the same time. I definitely love Casey Veggies exchanging bars with Earl during the chorus. The "there's lead in that baby food" gets me every time. "Chum" is another highlight song on the album, however after this track the album kinda coasts a little bit. I thought "Sasquatch" and "Centurion" had a lot of potential but just missed it by a bit; however, the album saves itself in the last three tracks. "Whoa" made me smile, it sounds exactly like the kind of track Earl and Travis would have dropped 3 years ago minus all the sexual vulgarity.  The hook on this track is definitely concert worthy; It makes me want to attend the next OF concert in the NY area. This track is treat for OF fans. I found it funny that Tyler brags about making a quarter million off of socks; these kids have finally made it. I was digging the western vibe on "Hoarse."It was also nice to hear the talents of BadBadNotGood on the instruments for this track. The last track "Knight" features Domo Genesis once again. This track has the best sample of the whole album and the screwed and chopped voices at the ends of the verses are cool. Besides "Chum", I think this is one of the track where Earl is the most vulnerable and open about his situation. He and Domo reflect about the the lack of father figures in their lives, and how success has followed nonetheless. "So, searching for a way to state it right. Young, black, and jaded, vision hazy strolling through the night" really sums up the overall mood of the album. Earl has tons to say after his return to music, but as young man and artist this album was how he struggled to related that to us as listeners. Definitely far from perfect, yet someh ow strengthen by all its flaws this album gets a 8.5/10 from the Trenchtown Rockers.