Earl Sweatshirt Celebrates 10 Years of ‘Doris’ at Brooklyn Steel with Black Noi$e [Photos]

Thebe Kgositsile, professionally known as Earl Sweatshirt, released his debut album, Doris, on August 20, 2013. To celebrate the 10-year anniversary, Earl has announced shows in Los Angeles, Chicago, Brooklyn, and London to play songs off the album, some of which he hasn’t performed since 2015. Most of Odd Future was in attendance at the first show in Los Angeles, including appearances by Tyler, the Creator to perform “Whoa” and Vince Staples for “Hive.”

The sold-out night at Brooklyn Steel was jump-started with a half-hour set by Detroit-based Producer and DJ, Black Noi$e. Fresh off a pre-show nap, he opened with MF DOOM’s “Beef Rap” and continued on to play songs from Valee, Rico Nasty, and others until Earl Sweatshirt hit the stage looking cozy. Dressed in a white tank top and slippers, he wandered out to the sinister piano loop and muffled drums of “523” before dropping straight into the synth-filled intro track “Pre.” A beautiful symphony of remembrance filled the room during “Guild” as he let the crowd take over for Mac Miller’s opening verse. A few songs later, Earl insisted on bringing Frank Ocean out for his verse on “Sunday,” but he wasn’t sure if the crowd was ready for it. “He don’t want to play with y’all no more; he said he was finna do the whole shit for y’all, front to back, but y’all didn’t make enough noise. He said he was finna do the new shit, he got 2 Chainz all over that shit and y’all blew it.”

One of the most beloved singles off the album, “Chum,” details Earl’s fatherless childhood while relying on substances at a young age and lacking the comfort of peace. He also touches on his strained relationship with his mother following his time at a Samoan boarding school as a result of his vulgar and aggressive lyrics on his debut mixtape, Earl, when he was 16 years old. The crowd was amped when they heard the opening four count and started shouting the lyrics back at him. One fan was so excited that he screamed, “Let’s go,” after Earl finished his verse, causing a running joke throughout the rest of the show. Earl acknowledged the fan and laughed as he said, “That’s crazy on that song, bro.”

Since the crowd got their hopes up to see a rare Frank Ocean appearance, it was time for him to actually bring a few of his collaborators to the stage. First, MIKE popped out to perform his Dancehall-infused track, “Stop Worry!” The duo also premiered an unreleased song titled “Sentry,” with production by The Alchemist. Immediately after, Navy Blue graced the stage to perform “The Mint,” off of Earl’s 2018 project, Some Rap Songs. After playing another unreleased track, Navy Blue delivered a birthday cake illuminated by ten candles to Earl before the crowd started demanding to hear “EAST.” Earl responds with, “Who started that shit; I only wanna hear from my man, let’s go.” This song reflects on using alcohol to cope with the loss of those once in his life over an eccentric accordion and flute-filled instrumental. Upon completing the song, Earl states that everyone in the pit deserves jail time for moshing to a song with no drums.

Black Noi$e takes over to end the show with a set in honor of the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop by mixing records from artists such as Playboi Carti, Missy Elliot, Common, Future, and Patrick Star performing an AI cover of Marvin Sapp’s “Never Would’ve Made It” to close out a night of glorification to the start of Earl’s admirable discography.

Following the Los Angeles show, Sweatshirt and The Alchemist seem to have started promoting their highly anticipated album Voir Dire. The home page of Earl’s website contains a link labeled “hahaha” that takes you to a questionnaire page asking you to identify the coordinates of Camden Town in London, find three songs from the track list in a word search, and answer three questions related to a tweet by The Alchemist that reads “SPEAK THE TRUTH.” At the time of writing this, The Alchemist started teasing the project by posting a handwritten track list on Instagram, followed by a flyer announcing a show to premier the collaboration at The Jazz Cafe in London on August 25th.

Earl Sweatshirt (w/ Black Noi$e) @ Brooklyn Steel (Brooklyn, NY) on August 23, 2023

10 photos

Earl Sweatshirt’s Set List:

523
Pre
Burgundy
Guild
Molasses
Uncle Al
Sunday
Chum
20 Wave Caps
Hive
Whoa
2010
Stop Worry! (MIKE)
Sentry with MIKE
The Mint with Navy Blue
Making The Band (Danity Kane)
Unreleased
EAST
Titanic
Fire in the Hole

Black Noi$e’s DJ Set List:

Dreams and Nightmares – Meek Mill
Jump Out The House – Playboi Carti
I’m On One – Future
Mister – Young Nudy
Get Ur Freak On – Missy Elliot
Get Ya Mind Right – Jezzy
The Light – Common
I Serve The Base – Future
Nolia Clap – Juvenile
Greed – Lucki
Draft Day – Drake
Never Would’ve Made It – Marvin Sapp (Patrick Star AI Cover)