Welcome to VOIR DIRE, the latest addition to the scene and collection of great music albums in the world. Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist come together to give everyone layered and groovy music to get down with. “Vin Skully” has to be one of my favorite songs this year: the flow of Earl’s words over an Alchemist beat composition is pure experimental funk and poetry.
Producing an experimental sound in the world of music is the name of the game. The contributions from Hip-Hop and R&B have a lot to offer with distinct lyrical and instrumental compositions both analog and digital, especially in the last half century. You can go as far back as Spoken Word, but I might be getting ahead of myself with acoustic compositions of free thought.
VOIR DIRE TOUR
TOUR DATES:
11/6 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
11/7 – Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
11/9 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
11/14 – Dallas, TX @ The Studio at the Factory
11/15 – Houston, TX @ The Ballroom at Warehouse Live
11/18 – Atlanta, GA @ Heaven at the Masquerade
11/20 – Washington, DC @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
11/21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
11/22 – New York City, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
11/24 – Boston, MA @ Royale
11/27 – Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall
Two Truths, One Album
Earl Sweatshirt
Let’s talk about young lyricist Earl Sweatshirt and the nuanced flow of his rap and production style. If you’ve been hibernating you might know this rapper, producer, singer, songwriter as Sly Tendencies, but since joining Tyler, the Creator’s collective, Odd Future, the name change to Earl Sweatshirt has stuck. Everyone should listen to Earl’s album, Doris, where you can hear the sonic nostalgia of 2013 with features like Mac Miller, Frank Ocean, and more. Vince Staples even appears on three different tracks in Doris, which brings a smile to my face when I hear the chemistry between these two rappers. You can find Vince featuring in Voir Dire, on tracks such as “Mancala” and “The Caliphate.”
The Alchemist
The Alchemist has been out here collaborating and laying it down since 1991. Some of us will remember The Whooliganz and hits like Put Your Handz Up, and a lot of us will recall countless tracks we know and love, by a variety of artists, not even realizing the likelihood of Alan Mamad being in the studio.
The Alchemist has bailed himself out of the “macro-brewing” of the music industry. Pleasing his fanbase through continuing to create art and music more “like a microbrewery.” Welcoming and showcasing other legends as well as new talent on the rise, ALC records is a masterpiece and sacred collective of its own, an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label was founded in 2004 by none other than The Alchemist himself as CEO.
Artists and Collaboration
Voir Dire has truth in the tracks. It makes total sense that Earl and Alan have come together to create augmented audio bliss. The features on Voir Dire with rappers MIKE and Vince Staples truly compliment the work and effort put towards the album throughout, like lettuce and tomato on a sandwich: complete and fresh. So buy your tickets now to the Voir Dire Tour where it’s kick off starts in Seattle, and ends in Detroit!
