Sick!
{{Other uses|Sick (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Sick!
| type = studio
| cover = Earl Sweatshirt - Sick!.png
| alt =
| artist = Earl Sweatshirt
| released = {{start date|2022|01|14}}
| recorded = 2020–2021
| genre =
| length = 24:00
| label = * Tan Cressida
| producer = {{hlist|The Alchemist|Alexander Spit|Black Noi$e|Navy Blue|Rob Chambers|Samiyam|Thebe Kgositsile|Theravada}}
| prev_title = Feet of Clay
| prev_year = 2019
| next_title = Voir Dire
| next_year = 2023
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Sick!
| type = studio
| single1 = 2010
| single1date = November 19, 2021
| single2 = Tabula Rasa
| single2date = December 10, 2021
| single3 = Titanic
| single3date = January 7, 2022
}}
}}
Sick! (stylized in all caps) is the fourth studio album by American rapper Earl Sweatshirt. It was released on January 14, 2022, through Tan Cressida and Warner Records.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/earl-sweatshirt-tabula-rasa-single-1269832/|title=Earl Sweatshirt Previews New Album With Single 'Tabula Rasa'|magazine=Rolling Stone|last=Zemler|first=Emily|date=December 10, 2021|access-date=December 10, 2021}} The album features collaborations with Armand Hammer and Zelooperz, along with additional vocals by Na-Kel Smith. Production was handled by the Alchemist, Black Noi$e, Navy Blue (under the alias Ancestors), Samiyam, Alexander Spit, Theravada, Rob Chambers, and some co-production by Earl himself.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/earl-sweatshirt-track-list-sick-album-titanic-single-1235016507/|title=Earl Sweatshirt Reveals Full Track List for 'Sick!' Album|magazine=Billboard|last=Kaufman|first=Gil|date=January 7, 2022|access-date=January 10, 2021}} It was preceded by the singles "2010", "Tabula Rasa" featuring Armand Hammer, and "Titanic".{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/earl-sweatshirt-announces-sick-project-shares-new-song-listen/|title=Earl Sweatshirt Announces Sick Project, Shares New Song: Listen|website=Pitchfork|last=Strauss|first=Matthew|date=December 10, 2021|access-date=December 10, 2021}}
Background
Earl Sweatshirt called the album his "humble offering of 10 songs recorded in the wake of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns",{{cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/news/earl-sweatshirt-announces-new-sick-project|title=Earl Sweatshirt Announces New 'Sick' Project|work=Clash|last=Murray|first=Robin|date=December 10, 2021|access-date=December 10, 2021}} as he "leaned into the chaos" of the world's growing "anger and restlessness".{{cite web|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.66425/title.earl-sweatshirt-new-album-sick-tabula-rose-armand-hammer#|title=Earl Sweatshirt Announces New Album 'Sick!'|website=HipHopDX|last=Bustard|first=Andy|date=December 10, 2021|access-date=December 10, 2021}} The album was announced on December 10, 2021.
Cover art
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| MC = 85/100{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/sick!/earl-sweatshirt |title=Sick! by Earl Sweatshirt Reviews and Tracks |publisher=Metacritic |access-date=January 16, 2022}}
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sick%21-mw0003635244 |title=Sick! – Earl Sweatshirt |last=Thomas |first=Fred |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=January 16, 2022 }}
| rev2 = The Arts Desk
| rev2score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/album-earl-sweatshirt-sick |title=Album: Earl Sweatshirt - Sick! |last=Thorfinn-George |first=Harry |publisher=The Arts Desk |access-date=January 16, 2022 }}
| rev3 = Beats Per Minute
| rev3score = 86%{{Cite web|url=https://beatsperminute.com/album-review-earl-sweatshirt-sick/|title=Album Review: Earl Sweatshirt - SICK!|website=Beats Per Minute|last=Sentz|first=Tim|date=January 21, 2022|access-date=April 17, 2022}}
| rev4 = Clash
| rev4score = 9/10{{Cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/earl-sweatshirt-sick|title=Earl Sweatshirt - SICK!|website=Clash|last=Murray|first=Robin|date=January 14, 2022|access-date=April 17, 2022}}
| rev5 = No Ripcord
| rev6 = The Observer
| rev6score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jan/16/earl-sweatshirt-sick-review-a-musically-rich-reset|title=Earl Sweatshirt: Sick! review - a musically rich reset|website=The Observer|last=Empire|first=Kitty|date=January 16, 2022|access-date=April 17, 2022}}
| rev7 = Paste
| rev7score = 8.2/10{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/earl-sweatshirt/sick-album-review/|title=Earl Sweatshirt: 'SICK!' Album Review - Paste|website=Paste|last=Buford|first=Jayson|date=January 21, 2022|access-date=April 17, 2022}}
| rev8 = Pitchfork
| rev8score = 8.1/10{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/earl-sweatshirt-sick/|title=Earl Sweatshirt: Sick! Album Review|website=Pitchfork|last=Green|first=Dylan|date=January 13, 2022|access-date=January 13, 2022}}
| rev9 = Rolling Stone
| rev9score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/earl-sweatshirt-sick-review-1282172/|title=Review: Earl Sweatshirt's 'Sick!'|magazine=Rolling Stone|last=Kearse|first=Stephen|date=January 14, 2022|access-date=April 17, 2022}}
| rev10 = Slant Magazine
| rev10score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/earl-sweatshirt-sick-album-review/|title=Earl Sweatshirt 'Sick!' Review: A Direct, In-Your-Face Account of Isolation|website=Slant Magazine|last=Bedenbaugh|first=Thomas|date=January 20, 2022|access-date=April 17, 2022}}
}}
Sick was met with widespread critical acclaim from critics upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 85, based on 17 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.9 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.
Tom Breihan of Stereogum named Sick! "Album of the Week", stating, "SICK! is the first Earl Sweatshirt album that doesn't sound more freaked-out and withdrawn than the one that came before. It's a dense, rich, contemplative piece of work... [it's] a strange and insular rap record, but it's a rap record nonetheless, and it's a great one".{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2172233/earl-sweatshirt-sick/reviews/album-of-the-week/|title=Album Of The Week: Earl Sweatshirt's 'SICK!'|website=Stereogum|last=Breihan|first=Tom|date=January 11, 2022|access-date=January 12, 2022}} Concluding the review for AllMusic, Fred Thomas felt that while " Sick! is brief, with just ten songs clocking in at around 24 minutes, but every move is placed with intention and forethought. Sharp, direct, and fluid in a way that's almost supernatural, Sick! perfectly conveys the duality of frustration and drive to persevere that arises from living through exceptionally difficult times." Reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Dylan Green compared the album to its predecessor; "Sick! doesn't recontextualize the genre in the same way Some Rap Songs did, but it's an act of self-revolution. It magnifies a newly assured Earl Sweatshirt, skin shed and free to ascend."
Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = Sick! track listing
| extra_column = Producer(s)
| title1 = Old Friend
| writer1 = {{hlist|Thebe Kgositsile|Daniel Alan Maman}}
| extra1 = The Alchemist
| length1 = 1:19
| title2 = 2010
| writer2 = {{hlist|Kgositsile|Robert Mansel}}
| extra2 = Black Noi$e
| length2 = 2:28
| title3 = Sick!
| writer3 = {{hlist|Kgositsile|Sage Elsesser}}
| extra3 = {{hlist|Ancestors|Kgositsile{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length3 = 1:51
| title4 = Vision
| note4 = featuring Zelooperz
| writer4 = {{hlist|Kgositsile|Walter Williams|Mansel}}
| extra4 = {{hlist|Black Noi$e|The Alchemist{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length4 = 4:14
| title5 = Tabula Rasa
| note5 = featuring Armand Hammer
| writer5 = {{hlist|Kgositsile|Elucid|Billy Woods|Xenophon Yialias|Thaniil Theoharis}}
| extra5 = {{hlist|Theravada|Rob Chambers|Kgositsile{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length5 = 4:11
| title6 = Lye
| writer6 = {{hlist|Kgositsile|Maman}}
| extra6 = The Alchemist
| length6 = 1:52
| title7 = Lobby
| note7 = interlude
| writer7 = {{hlist|Kgositsile|Sam Baker}}
| extra7 = Samiyam
| length7 = 1:12
| title8 = God Laughs
| writer8 = {{hlist|Kgositsile|Alexander Manzano}}
| extra8 = {{hlist|Alexander Spit|Kgositsile{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length8 = 1:24
| title9 = Titanic
| writer9 = {{hlist|Kgositsile|Mansel}}
| extra9 = Black Noi$e
| length9 = 1:52
| title10 = Fire in the Hole
| writer10 = {{hlist|Kgositsile|Mansel}}
| extra10 = Black Noi$e
| length10 = 3:37
| total_length = 24:00
}}
Notes
- {{sup|{{note|a|[a]}}}} signifies a recording engineer.
- "Titanic" features additional vocals by Na-Kel Smith.
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for Sick! ! scope="col"| Chart (2022) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA){{cite magazine|title=The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 24 January 2022|magazine=The ARIA Report|publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association|issue=1664|page=6|date=January 24, 2022}}
| 56 |
|---|
| {{album chart|Flanders|133|artist=Earl Sweatshirt|album=Sick!|rowheader=true|access-date=January 23, 2022}} |
| {{album chart|BillboardCanada|82|artist=Earl Sweatshirt|rowheader=true|access-date=January 25, 2022}} |
| scope="row"| Lithuanian Albums (AGATA){{cite web|url=https://www.agata.lt/lt/naujienos/s03/|title=2022 3-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)|publisher=AGATA|language=lt|date=January 21, 2022|access-date=January 22, 2022}}
| 86 |
| scope="row"| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ){{cite web|url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/albums/2022-01-21|title=NZ Top 40 Albums Chart|publisher=Recorded Music NZ|date=January 24, 2022|access-date=January 22, 2022}}
| 38 |
| {{album chart|UKR&B|23|date=20220121|rowheader=true|access-date=January 21, 2022}} |
| {{album chart|Billboard200|80|artist=Earl Sweatshirt|rowheader=true|access-date=January 25, 2022}} |
| {{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|45|artist=Earl Sweatshirt|rowheader=true|access-date=January 25, 2022}} |
References
{{reflist}}
{{Earl Sweatshirt}}
Category:Albums produced by the Alchemist (musician)