Thebe Neruda Kgositsile (born February 24, 1994), known professionally as Earl Sweatshirt (and the informal nickname "Early Man"), is an American rapper, record producer and songwriter who first came to prominence as a member of the music/skateboarding/artist collective Odd Future.
The son of famed poet and political activist Keorapetse Kgositsile, Earl started rapping in the seventh grade and began releasing music online at the ripe age of 13 under the name Sly Tendencies, with this music already containing the sharp-well-beyond-his-years lyricism he would become known for, as well as prominent influences from MF DOOM.
After corresponding through MySpace with Tyler, the Creator, as Earl was a fan of Tyler's and had caught his attention with his music, Earl joined Odd Future and quickly made a name for himself in the group. His lyrical content was arguably the most vitriolic and gruesome of the bunch when he started, constantly featuring wanton murder, rape, necrophilia and cannibalism. Despite this, his impressive and inventive uses of wordplay, double entendres and multi-syllabic rhyming garnered considerable praise.
Earl managed to squeeze out one mixtape and a handful of collaborations before mysteriously disappearing. Eventually, Complex magazine found him in a retreat school in Samoa (his mother's government job involved her working there for some time). Odd Future refused to comment on the situation, though Tyler expressed worry over fans coming after his mother for sending him there. Earl's mother also refused to allow additional songs featuring Earl to be released. His disappearance prompted the creation of the slogan "Free Earl", which was chanted in concerts and featured in songs.
In early 2012, Earl arrived back in the United States
. He officially made his return to music on the solo single "Home" and the Odd Future posse cut "Oldie", and held his first live performance back at New York in March 2012. In an interview, Earl confirmed that he was sent to Samoa, but only because he was "doing some bad stuff at the time" that was entirely unrelated to his rapping. Earl's lyrical content changed drastically after his return, trading in his horrorcore elements for dark introspection and even more impressive lyrical skills.
Earl announced his debut studio album Doris in late 2012, dropping several singles between then and early 2013. After much waiting, anticipation, and plenty of delays, Doris was released in August 2013 to critical acclaim, followed up by the near-surprise release of I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside in 2015. From there, Earl's sound has progressed into increasingly ambitious and un-commercial styles, prioritizing experimental lo-fi production and abstract lyricism.
Studio Discography
- Doris (2013)
- I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside (2015)
- Some Rap Songs (2018)
- Sick! (2022)
- VOIR DIRE (2023) (with the Alchemist)
Other Discography:
- Earl (Mixtape) (2010)
- Solace (EP) (2015)
- FEET OF CLAY (EP) (2019)
Tropes:
- Arc Words: “Keep faith, my nigga” throughout Some Rap Songs.
- A non-descript “Brodie” figure also appears in two of the album’s songs.
- Ax-Crazy: Earl's pre-Doris persona easily fell into this, with Earl's lyrics detailing gruesome and senseless acts of violence, often committed on impulse with no rhyme or reason.
- Darker and Edgier: In a rather shocking way, Some Rap Songs is this to all of Earl’s
already-dark previous works, due to Earl’s Creator Breakdown affecting the album’s production, making it an extremely personal experience for those who listen to it. - Deadpan Snarker
- Department of Redundancy Department: “Like it’s nothin’ cuz it’s nothin’, biiiitch” is part of the refrain to “Hive.”
- Disproportionate Retribution: In one song, Earl kills a girl because she turns off Eminem's Relapse and puts on The Blueprint 3.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Deconstructed in “Luper.” As the song goes from an ode to unrequited love to an Obsession Song, the narrator transitions to a Stalker with a Crush whom abducts the target of his obsession and murders her in his basement.
- Establishing Character Moment: Two:
- The first was “Earl,” which established him as the most brutal and young of the group, and introduced his impeccable wordplay. The music video has more Gorn than any of the groups video output since.
- The second being “Chum,” upon his return from Samoa shows that he’s actually a far more intelligent, introspective person with a lot of flaws and issues but is generally the Only Sane Man, and even more insane wordplay.
- For the Evulz
- Gargle Blaster: In the video for “Earl.” Cocaine, marijuana, cough syrup and loads of other drugs are blended into a smoothie and consumed. Everyone starts bleeding and dying as a result.
- The Ghost: From March 2010 to February 8th 2012.
- He's Back!: He returned triumphantly from his disappearance with "Home", and has kept up appearances on “Chum” and “Whoa.”
- Hurricane of Puns: His lyrical style pretty much boils down to taking this as far as it will possibly go, and then taking it even further. You may need to take notes sometimes.
- Miniscule Rocking: A common element in both his songs and albums. With the exception of Doris, none of his albums or mixtapes are longer than 30 minutes, and many of his songs, particularly on Some Rap Songs and Feet Of Clay, are two minutes or shorter.
- Mood Whiplash:
- “Wakeupfaggot,” the skit on Earl where his mom (played by Syd tha Kyd) wakes him up, is a pretty funny break from all the hate that bookends it.
- There’s a double-whammy with the last three tracks on Some Rap Songs; “Playing Possum” is a saddeningly heartwarming song Earl made to dedicate to his parents, “Peanut” is the lyrical equivalent to Earl’s lowest psychological point with its growly, distorted and loose production, and “Riot!” is a calming song that, while dark in meaning, being a dedication to Earl’s Honorary Uncle Hugh Masekela, who passed away shortly after Earl's father did, is a perfect send-off to such an emotionally-draining album.
- Murder Ballad: Earl’s are the most gruesome of the bunch. Necrophilia, cannibalism, wanton violence, you got it. He even stabs a woman in the group’s Anti-Christmas Song just because she’d look “nicer in a bag.”
- New Sound Album: Every one of his albums could be described as being this to the one before it.
- Only Sane Man: He’s usually this when he’s on Loiter Squad.
- Rap Opera: Earl.
- Refuge in Audacity: “Couch” has Earl and Tyler one-upping themselves in a gross out contest, ending with Tyler coming up with “Drown your bitch in a tub of cum and throw a shark in it,” then stabbing Earl and setting him on fire.
- Rock Me, Asmodeus!: Earl is a full-on atheist.note He used to use satanic imagery primarily to piss people off; now he makes insanely clever remarks, such as the venison line in "Whoa".
- Stylistic Suck: His more emotionally intense outputs have an established style of mixing and mastering the instrumentals to make them sound more muddy and glitchy to better portray his state of mind.
- The beat of "Grief" has a distinctly low bitrate that helps build its cold, dark atmosphere.
- solace dips into the same blocky textures at points.
- Some Rap Songs had a notable lo-fi element to its sound as well.
- Surprisingly Gentle Song: His first official single back from Samoa, "Chum," marks a turning point in his character, but is also the first song he ever released that wasn't horrifying or audacious in any way.
- Teen Genius: Earl’s lyrical skill has received the most praise from critics.
- Earl once claimed on twitter all of his music released up to that point (minus the stuff on Radical) was written & performed between the ages of 13-15.
- Earl once claimed on twitter
- Textless Album Cover: solace, Some Rap Songs, and FEET OF CLAY.
- This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: Earl often pauses at the end of a verse, before saying a single swear word.
- Wolverine Publicity: RZA of Wu-Tang Clan provides the hook of “Molasses.”
