Thebe Neruda Kgositsile, known by his stage name, Earl Sweatshirt, is a rapper, record producer and songwriter from Los Angeles. He was born in Chicago to UCLA law professor and a South African poet and political activist.

Kgositsile first started rapping in the eighth grade. Kgositsile originally rapped under the name Sly Tendencies, but after Tyler, the Creator, took notice of his music and invited him to join his hip-hop collective in late 2009, he changed his stage name to Earl Sweatshirt.

In 2010, Earl Sweatshirt’s first mixtape, simply titled Earl, was released to critical acclaim. Tyler, the Creator had produced most of the mixtape. At the time of its release, Earl was only 16 years old.

Complex named the mixtape the 24th best album of 2010. Soon thereafter, though, his mother found out about his drug habit, and sent him to a boarding school in Samoa where he stayed for a year and a half.

While there, Earl was not allowed to record music. After returning to Los Angeles, Earl rejoined Odd Future and released his debut full-length album, Doris, in August 2013. It was followed by I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside in March 2015.

In November 2018, Earl released his third full-length album, Some Rap Songs. His musical influences include Eminem, MF Doom, Radiohead, James Pants, Jay-Z , Cam’ron and RZA. Earl’s deep baritone voice helps to make his music instantly recognizable, as does his use of poetic device.

Leila Steinberg, the former manager of the late Tupac, has managed Earl’s career since 2011 when she brought him back from boarding school in Samoa.