Quick Facts About Earl Sweatshirt
- Regarding his relationship with his father, Keorapetse Kgositsile, a South African poet and activist, Thebe told Pitchfork, "Me and my dad had a relationship that's not uncommon for people to have with their fathers, which is a non-perfect one, talking to him is symbolic and non-symbolic, but it's literally closure for my childhood. Not getting to have that moment left me to figure out a lot with my damn self."
- Thebe’s mother is a UCLA law school professor and critical race theorist named Cheryl Harris. She is well-known for her work in academia.
- Thebe grew up Buddhist but chose to abandon the religion in his teens. In 2016, he told Fact Magazine that he was back to practicing Buddhism.
- While he grew up in Chicago, Thebe relocated to Los Angeles, California, when his music career started taking off.
- In an interview with The Guardian, Thebe shared that he struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse when he was younger, but that his time in boarding school in Samoa helped him get clean for a time. He suffered a relapse as a young adult but has since gotten sober again.
- Earl Sweatshirt has an estimated net worth of $4-5 million.
- He is 5’ 11”.
Earl Sweatshirt’s Origin Story
- Born in Chicago to a law professor mother and a poet and activist father, Thebe Kgositsile is of South African descent. His parents split when he was young, and he quickly started relying on music as a creative outlet.
- Just after Thebe released his first mixtape as Earl Sweatshirt, his mother sent him away to a boarding school. There, 16-year-old Thebe couldn’t make any music and was separated from his group, Odd Future. Right before he turned 18, Thebe came home and reunited with Odd Future back in Chicago.
- Not long after his return from boarding school, Thebe dropped his first full-length solo album, Doris. The record was produced by Frank Ocean, Tyler, the Creator, RZA, Christian Rich, BadBadNotGood, and several other notable artists. Released via Odd Future, Tan Cressida, and Columbia Records, Doris helped Earl Sweatshirt make a name for himself in mainstream hip-hop.
Earl Sweatshirt’s Music
Below are descriptions of the most notable entries in Earl Sweatshirt’s discography.
Doris: A Critically-Acclaimed Debut
After scoring a deal with Columbia Records, Thebe’s debut studio album was met with widespread acclaim. Doris hit No. 5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with the album’s singles, “Chum,” “Whoa,” and “Hive” all performing well.
Doris received notably high reviews from a number of high-profile music outlets, including Pitchfork, NME, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, AllMusic, and more.
I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside
In 2016, Earl co-produced a second album, I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside, alongside Left Brain. Released via Tan Cressida and Columbia, Earl’s sophomore record was met with critical acclaim and reached No. 12 on the US albums chart. The record was described by David Jeffries of AllMusic as “Heavy and [lacking] much hope, and yet it communicates these feelings with such skill and artful understanding that it still fills the soul."
Some Rap Songs & Feet of Clay
On November 30, 2018, Earl dropped Some Rap Songs, his third full-length release. The record was produced by Ade Hakim, Black Noise, Daryl Anthony, Denmark, Sage Elsesser, Shamel of SOTC, and Earl himself.
Some Rap Songs was Earl’s third album in a row to be met with universal acclaim. It yielded two singles – “Nowhere2go” and “The Mint,” both of which performed well on the charts. The record was featured on numerous Best of 2018 lists, including those published by Pitchfork, Noisey, NME, Fact, Complex, The A.V. Club, and more.
Following the release of Some Rap Songs, Earl dropped Feet of Clay, an EP via Warner Records. It’s his most recent release to date. Like his previous work, it earned rave reviews from critics.
