Mirrorland

While touring in 2016, EarthGang began conceptualizing a "deconstructed album" which would form the three EPs, leading up to their major label debut album, Mirrorland.[6] The trilogy: Rags, Robots, and Royalty were released between 2017 and 2018.[7] EarthGang describes the album as a "cinematic musical experience filled with delectation and delight."[8]

In an interview with Pitchfork, Olu said the album is inspired by The Wiz, the 1978 film adaptation of the Broadway musical based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

We thought about how, if we’re going to make a project sonically to rival The Wiz, we got to create another world for people to imagine and go to. You know when Dorothy got swept away and she met the Munchkins? That was such a beautiful thing. You could see Quincy Jones on the piano, just playing away. That’s what “La La Challenge” is about. Right now, that’s the intro to the whole record. It’s really colorful. It’s really dangerous. It’s really trippy. It’s literally Freaknik Atlanta in the summertime—folks riding around in cars with big rims with paint on their faces.[1]

On the album's opener, "LaLa Challenge," Olu says in his verse, "I been writing this album damn way too long." That song was recorded about halfway through completing Mirrorland, and it represented the frustration they had on the album's long-awaited release.[9] In late 2015, EarthGang joined Mac Miller on the GO:OD AM tour, where WowGr8 was informed about the death of a longtime friend of his, who was killed attempting a robbery. The night they created the song "Swivel," they were sleeping on the floor in Bink’s garage studio. It became one of the first songs they played for J. Cole before signing to Dreamville, and Cole suggested they hold the song for an album. As the song grew and changed like the rest of the album, it first appeared on Revenge of the Dreamers III.[9]

None of songs from the recording sessions of the Dreamville compilation made it on Mirrorland, Olu mentioned that it "opened up the creative space" as they continued to work on the album. "Top Down" was inspired from those sessions in Atlanta "because you can feel how the momentum was still there from the sessions where everybody just wanted to continue to [collaborate] and to be around one another in the studio." Although Cole isn't featured on the album, he played a direct and abstract role in the album's creation. "Tequila" was recorded at his North Carolina studio The Sheltuh.[9] In an interview with Vibe, WowGr8 said "We studied soundtracks and scores, not in any attempts to end up on anybody's movie, but just in an attempt to make a project that feels like a movie."[10]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[19]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Exclaim!	7/10[20]
HipHopDX	[21]
NME	[22]
Paste	7.5/10[23]
Pitchfork	7.2/10[3]

Mirrorland received generally positive reviews; aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalized rating of 79, based on 5 reviews.[19] Jewel Wicker of Pitchfork called the album EarthGang's most cohesive project to date, saying "Mirrorland seduces listeners into the eclectic world of these two Atlanta dreamers. This is most apparent on the bulbous funk of "Wings," where Olu name-drops local landmarks including Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, Interstate 85, and the Georgia Dome." She continued to write that the album "is a vivid ode to Southern black culture. Where the scratchy electric guitars in "Blue Moon" channel the region's soul and blues lineage, "Trippin" pays homage to turn-of-the-century R&B acts like Ginuwine. Elsewhere, standout "La La Challenge" shows the duo's restless curiosity as it twists and turns through Lil Wayne references, hip-hop minimalism, and an extended outro that brings to mind a fiery gospel service."[1] Writing for DJBooth, Yoh Phillips gave a positive review of the album saying "EarthGang not only wrote an album, but they also wrote a love letter. A letter to their blackness, to their musical roots, and to the city that raised them. The album represents EarthGang, an exhibition of their talents, and a glimpse into their world as they see it. Olu and WowGr8 avoid the allure of being anyone else, confident in their cool; comfortable with their weird."[24]

NME gave the album a four of five star rating saying "Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot prove to everyone that rap groups are on the rise. In a genre overpopulated with solo artists, it’s refreshing to see a duo emerge from the ashes. If you give the sick lyricism and jazz overtones a few more years, they could be the next Outkast."[22] Aaron Williams of Uproxx wrote a favorable review of the album saying "Mirrorland doesn’t quite paint a picture of a new place as it does thoroughly explain Earthgang’s unique outlook — and the history and locations that influenced it." The writer continued to say "it’s just the way Earthgang sees Atlanta, through their own wavy lenses and strange sensibilities. It’s also a strong argument that they’re a worthy successor to Atlanta’s inescapable, inimitable legacy."[2]

The album sold 11,856 album-equivalent units in the first week, debuting at number 40 on the US Billboard 200 chart and number 22 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[25]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer
• "This Side" contains additional vocals from Mereba
• "Fields" contains additional vocals from BJ the Chicago Kid

Sample credits

• "Proud of U" contains a sample of "Really Rong" performed by ¿Teo?
• "UP" contains an interpolation of "Lady Marmalade" performed by Labelle and "Blue Suede Shoes" performed by Elvis Presley