Earl Sweatshirt

Earl Sweatshirt
Earl Sweatshirt
Background information
Birth name	Thebe Neruda Kgositsile
Also known as	Sly Tendencies, Early Man
Origin	Los Angeles, California, US
Genres	hip hop
Occupation	Rapper and Recording Artist
Years active	2006–present
Website	oddfuture.com

Thebe Kgositsile (born February 24, 1994), better known by his stage name Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper and member of the Los Angeles hip hop collective OFWGKTA.

Biography

His work (as well as the work of his fellow OFWGKTA members) is noted for its often obscene lyrical content. His music has been well reviewed online by various music websites and his group has recently been featured in mainstream magazines such as The New Yorker, Thrasher, Spin, The Wire, Billboard, and The Fader as well as appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon although Earl was not on the program, and completing a mini-tour of the North American east coast. His debut studio album, Earl, was self-released March 31, 2010 as a free digital download on the OFWGKTA website. Most of the album was produced by Tyler, The Creator. Earl was named the 24th best album of 2010 by Complex. Earl's rapping style is notable for its dark lyrical content, heavy wordplay, multi-syllabic rhymes, and double entendres. EARL SWEATSHIRT IS DOPE, GOLF WANG, SWA6

Various sources indicate that Earl is not currently making music with OFWGKTA. Posts from Tyler, the Creator's Twitter and Formspring seem to indicate that Earl's mother will not grant permission to release any of Earl's music. This was later confirmed by the fact that Fat Possum Records, the label releasing MellowHype's BlackenedWhite re-release, was unable to include the track "Chordaroy" which contained his vocals.

Following an abrupt absence from the public eye, Complex Magazine claimed to have found Earl in April 2011. Earl later confirmed his location at Samoa's Coral Reef Academy in an interview with The New Yorker. While there is speculation that he may leave when he becomes legally independent at 18 years of age, Samoan law is different from that of US law, with 21 being the legal age of adulthood. In the New Yorker interview, he also stated that he was not held against his will or forced to go to Samoa by his mother and requested that the "Free Earl" Campaign be stopped because he felt that his mother was being wrongly villainized by Odd Future fans trying to support him and his music. Tyler, The Creator later denied the interview and stated that the interview was Earl's mother speaking in his position. On Tyler the Creator's formspring, Tyler claims that Earl started the "Free Earl" campaign. A later interview carried out by Complex with another Coral Reef Academy attendee (Tyler Craven) confirmed that the interview in the New Yorker did not consist of Thebe's words. Tyler Craven claims he knows Thebe and that they became good friends while attending the academy. Tyler Craven originally led Complex Magazine to the photo of Thebe that was found. He had an interview with Complex answering many other speculations and questions people had about Thebe. Thebe attended New Roads High School in Santa Monica, California.

He is the son of famous South African poet and political activist Keorapetse Kgositsile.

A reference to Earl was made on the TV-show Childrens Hospital

Discography

• Kitchen Cutlery (unreleased)
• Earl (2010)