Churn and burn releases, and bloated tracklists plague us nearly every release week.

Over the past few years, for many artists, the anxiety to release new music and stay relevant has largely overtaken the time and care that needs to go into truly impactful and well-conceived projects. Speaking with Zane Lowe, the ever-elusive Earl Sweatshirt broke down the rising tension between wanting to release music and having a responsibility to release quality material.

“For sure,” Earl says of the feeling of worrying over his next project. “Not ‘I don't know if I'll make another one,’ but it's kind of like, ‘Okay, I got to do this.’ It's more like, ‘This has got to get done, and I don't really have an option to put out some shit that I don't fuck with.’ I feel like, I run the risk of sounding pretentious, but it's really the polar opposite. I really feel like I have a responsibility, with action, too, because you can talk about completing thoughts or whatever. You can talk about whatever you're doing, but unless you're doing it, then what's being communicated is that it's important to talk about it. Because it's so much now, and there's so much going on, it's like, bro, if a person is not fully passionate about their shit, it's like, bro, why should I be?”

It’s suddenly evident that Earl Sweatshirt does not necessarily want to go into hiding between releases, but rather he wants to hone his craft and level up before stepping back out into the spotlight. Entirely conscious of the saturated music market, Earl seems to understand his every move must count else he risks being lost in the shuffle.

The desire to release music constantly is not to be scoffed at. Creatives want to share, it’s par for the course of their trade. Yet, having the wherewithal and willpower to hold back and only release finely crafted work speaks to Earl Sweatshirt’s maturity.

To find out if this approach was a success, press play on Earl's newly-released single, "Nowhere2go."

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