By Matthew Becerra, April 15, 2025
Earl Sweatshirt’s free, one-night-only show at the Echoplex in Los Angeles March 30 had people lined up since 8:30 a.m. to experience a nostalgic, high-energy celebration of his second studio album, “I Don’t Like S—, I Don’t Go Outside.”
The night opened with a set from artist Cletus Strap — whose energy helped set the tone for the night to come with high energy as he warmed up the crowd, even pulled a fan on stage — praising Sweatshirt for all he’s done in the past decade before introducing him on stage which felt like the beginning of the reunion theme as Sweatshirt was praised all night by friends with one of them even bringing out a cake to celebrate
As Sweatshirt came on stage and performed throughout the night, he would stop and point to the crowd to finish his lyrics. One of these instances included when Sweatshirt played “AM // Radio,” which featured rapper Wiki. Sweatshirt asked the crowd to scream the lyrics as he proclaimed “This was really the one” in reference to Wiki’s verse.
The crowd erupted, going bar for bar with Sweatshirt on Wiki’s verse as it continued into his verse, which at one point was louder than the speakers. Nearly every person in the seated sections stood up. It felt like a contagious energy came into the crowd, this song meant a lot to people and finally hearing it live is a moment we all shared
The opening songs had Sweatshirt in shock several times as the crowd filled in lyrics he admittedly didn’t remember and said, “Y’all got it. I’m telling y’all. Unc don’t know.”
Sweatshirt reflected on how much time had passed since he released his sophomore album and what was going on in his own life, laughing and joking with the very-involved crowd.
At one point, he told the fans to throw another fan on stage and let him dance to a song during the “unction” part of the show, which is a playful rebrand of the term function — but for the older audience members. Sweatshirt played into this theme all night, referring to himself as “Unc” and making age-related jokes during the show by saying comments like, “Y’all are my twins, but we’re all uncles tonight.”
The unc theme felt hilariously spot on for Sweatshirt, recently talking more about being a father and sharing his love for things like grilling. It is amazing to see his sense of humor from his earlier days mature along with him without losing his authenticity.
He continued to reminisce about the era during which he made the album, with several heartfelt and introspective moments, like his performance of album cut “DNA” with Na-Kel Smith. They then shared a moment on stage, hugging and calling each other brother for life.
The content of “DNA” served as a tribute to Smith’s late friend DJ. When Smith was in the studio writing “DNA,” he learned of DJ’s passing and wrote one of his best verses in his honor.
At one point during his performance, Smith stopped the track to pay homage to his late friend before continuing to perform the rest of the song. While going back and forth with Sweatshirt and on the final lyrics, Smith said to him, “I love you to the f—— dirt. I hope you know that.”
Smith and Sweatshirt’s relationship is one that is highlighted online through music and popular culture pages, watching them together over a decade later still having love for one another is very touching.
Another moment from the performance was when Sweatshirt brought out his friend and fellow artist Zelooperz to perform a small set, including their collaboration, “Easter Sunday.” The crowd was extremely alive with whistling and movement as Zelooperz performed with passion, getting up close with the crowd and being extremely animated along with Sweatshirt on stage.
Continuing the “unction” theme of the night, Sweatshirt and his DJ, Black Noise, took breaks from “I Don’t Like S—, I Don’t Go Outside” to play hits from 2015, which was a departure from the dark themes of the album.
This was a mix of several artists as Sweatshirt made comments about time passing over each song. He played “Columbia” by Young Scooter, who died just two days before the show, and he discussed aging and people dying, saying “times are confusing.”
Sweatshirt also used his onstage time for fun moments, like when he played “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd and had his friends and the crowd doing the Mannequin Challenge. There was also a mix of songs from Chief Keef, Future and other artists to which he reminisced with the crowd about what it was like a decade ago and what it was like to be older, saying, “If you’re low-key over 30, make some noise.”
The Echoplex was an ideal venue for the show. The stripped-down atmosphere made the concert feel more intimate as Sweatshirt’s friends surrounded him from backstage, around the venue and even at some points performing themselves, whether it was dancing, acting out memes like the Kevin Gates pose or singing along to songs. It felt like a true gathering of friends rather than a concert.
Sweatshirt’s 10-year celebration of “I Don’t Like S—, I Don’t Go Outside” wasn’t just a concert — it was a living tribute, a reflective, joyful look back at one of his most vulnerable projects. It gave fans a chance to not only relive the music, but to see how both Sweatshirt and the people who’ve grown with him have changed. Ten years later, the album still holds its own — and it sounds even better live.
The night closed on a high with one final track — “New Faces v2” by Mac Miller — that Sweatshirt was featured on. This brought everything full circle for fans after they begged for an encore, and as he walked off the stage, Sweatshirt left saying, “Unc’s out.”
Feature image courtesy of Ryan Fogg