The first voice listeners hear on Some Rap Songs, Earl Sweatshirt‘s latest album, is James Baldwin’s. “Imprecise words,” he says before the pop of vinyl hits. The sample comes from a 1962 ...

Brevity may be Earl’s preferred M.O. at this stage in his career – ‘Some Rap Songs’’ 15 tracks disappointingly come in just under the 25-minute mark – but his lyrics feel denser than ever.

The phrase became hip-hop scripture, sampled in songs by De la Soul and Cypress Hill. But what did it all mean to Mr. Stein , who first laid that bit of code in? “He was the New York mayor ...