Thebe Neruda Kgositsile (born February 24, 1994), better known by his stage name Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper-producer and member of the Los Angeles-based hip hop collective Odd Future. He is signed to Columbia Records, as well as his own label, Tan Cressida. Earl gained recognition and critical praise for his debut mixtape, Earl. Following its release, he was sent to a boarding school in Samoa by his mother until his 18th birthday. On August 20, 2013, he released his debut studio album, Doris to universal acclaim. Earl Sweatshirt was born to Cheryl Harris, a law professor at University of California, Los Angeles, and Keorapetse Kgositsile, a South African poet and political activist who left the family when Earl was six years old. He grew up in the Los Angeles area and graduated from New Roads High School in Santa Monica. In 2009, Tyler, The Creator discovered Earl Sweatshirt, then known as Sly Tendencies, via his MySpace account, where he recorded tracks for his Kitchen Cut...