Album guide ·
Rags, Robots, Royalty: EarthGang's EP trilogy explained
How EarthGang's three Dreamville-era EPs (2017 to 2018) came together and set up the Mirrorland album.
Right after signing with Dreamville, EarthGang didn't drop one big album. They dropped three short EPs in about six months.
The release dates
- Rags: August 31, 2017
- Robots: October 20, 2017
- Royalty: February 23, 2018
A "deconstructed album"
The trilogy came from an idea the duo had on tour in 2016: instead of one album, release a deconstructed version in pieces. Each EP has its own mood, and the titles follow a path from rags to royalty. Spread out like that, the releases kept new Dreamville fans paying attention while the duo was on the road constantly.
Perfect timing
The EPs landed during one of the busiest touring stretches of EarthGang's career. They opened for J. Cole on his 4 Your Eyez Only tour in 2017 and toured with JID on the Never Had Shit tour in 2017 and 2018. In 2018 they rejoined Cole on the KOD tour, then went out with Billie Eilish on her 1 by 1 tour into 2019. Thousands of people heard them for the first time on those nights, and the EPs gave those new fans somewhere to go next.
What came next
The trilogy set the stage for Mirrorland. Its first single, "Stuck" featuring Arin Ray, arrived in September 2018, seven months after Royalty. If you liked the EPs, the album is the full movie. Read our Mirrorland guide.