Posted by Andrew Unterberger on 07/18/2012 at 11:13 AM News, Videos

The Popdust Files: Earl Sweatshirt, frank ocean, super rich kids

So much for Free Earl, huh? After getting the promising rapper out of his Samoan prison—or boarding school, or whatever the hell was actually happening over there—emerged as one of the flashpoint movements for the early days of the Odd Future clan, we wondered if we’d ever actually get a look at the guy, much less hear recorded music from him again. Now here he is, showing up at his buddies’ gigs all willy-nilly, as he did last night when he took the stage at Frank Ocean’s gig at the Wiltern in L.A. for about a half-minute’s worth of channel ORANGE deep cut “Super Rich Kids.” He only showed up for about a half-minute, rapped his part, and then departed—though not before wishing Frank “Have a good show!” Awwww.

Impressive reception from the L.A. crowd, too, not just for Frank but for Earl, who we have to assume 95% of the crowd hasn’t seen before (or at least hasn’t seen since he was 16). Maybe Earl will be performing on Fallon, selling six digits and making dramatic internet announcements before we know it, too. Check out the clip before, as well as one of Ocean covering Prince’s Dirty Mind classic “When You Were Mine.” (Would it have killed you to break out the falsetto for the whole thing, though, Frank?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mICVyPC3cp0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbTNO72sL04

[RapRadar]