Earl Sweatshirt

Thebe Neruda Kgositsile, known professionally as Earl Sweatshirt, was born on February 24, 1994, in Chicago, Illinois. He began rapping in the seventh grade, initially under the moniker Sly Tendencies, and self-released tracks from his mixtape, *Kitchen Cutlery*, on MySpace. His career took a pivotal turn in late 2009 when Tyler, the Creator invited him to join the alternative hip-hop collective Odd Future. In 2010, at the age of 16, he released his second mixtape, *Earl*, to critical acclaim. Shortly after, his mother sent him to a boarding school in Samoa for a year and a half, leading to the “Free Earl” movement among fans. He returned to Los Angeles in February 2012, rejoining Odd Future and signing a recording contract with Columbia Records.

His debut studio album, *Doris*, released in 2013, peaked within the top five of the *Billboard* 200 and received critical praise for its lyrical depth and gritty production. He continued to release acclaimed albums, including *I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside* (2015) and *Some Rap Songs* (2018), both reaching the top 20 of the charts. *Some Rap Songs* marked his final album with Columbia Records, after which he signed with Warner Records to release his EP *Feet of Clay* (2019) and subsequent studio albums *Sick!* (2022) and *Live Laugh Love* (2025). Earl Sweatshirt has also engaged in significant collaborations, notably with producer The Alchemist on their 2023 project *Voir Dire*.

Throughout his career, Kgositsile has established himself as a “hip-hop prodigy,” recognized for his unique voice and complex rhyme schemes. His work has influenced a niche of lo-fi, lyrically dense hip-hop, attracting a dedicated following. In recent years, his personal life has also evolved, becoming a father to two children and marrying actress and comedian Aida Osman in 2025, developments that have influenced his artistic perspective, as expressed in his most recent work.