It’s been over a year since Earl Sweatshirt released Doris, his great official debut. Since then, he hasn’t made any noises about a new album or EP or mixtape, but he has thrown spare shards of music out into the world. One of those songs is a new track called “45,” which barely lasts longer than one minute and which Alchemist may have produced. It’s a verbally dense and knotty piece of shit-talk with a splintered-haze beat, and it’s a welcome indicator that this kid can still rap better than just about anyone else out there. Listen to it below.

Is it my imagination, or is Earl’s voice getting deeper?