I lost 62 minutes and 20 seconds of my life to this extended play. 

The moment I finished my first round listening to Feet of Clay, I knew I was out of my league; this was a realm of music that I had gone to great lengths to avoid.

The beats were uncomfortable, and the music felt wrong in comparison to the playlist I had been listening to not ten minutes prior, Disney Hits on Spotify.

However, I was determined to try and redeem it, as a solitary experience is not enough to truly decide if the album passed the vibe check.

“74” is the first track on the album, not even two minutes long. With and without headphones, the beat and Earl’s almost slurred syllables caused a twinge in my stomach.

The twinge went away when the next track took over. “EAST” is a wholly bizarre song, robotic in the way that the instrumentals were completely void of variation, repeating the same trill over and over again for the entirety of the song. 

“MTOMB” was tolerable. Being the shortest track at barely over one minute, this was one of the only songs on “Feet of Clay” that I would revisit in the future without regret.

The next track, “OD” had an onslaught of lyrics themed around drugs, sex, and living life. While insightful in the way only rap lyrics can be, their themes were disturbing and not enjoyable.

Earl’s lyrics on their own have an almost poetic quality to them, with underlying meanings and a raw intensity that makes your mind think.

Nevertheless, these lyrics did not rescue “Feet of Clay” from the list of music that will not be gracing my ears again.

Therefore, four listens, on shuffle and in order, were not enough to allow my soul to vibe with Earl Sweatshirt’s extended play.