Earl Sweatshirt has seen a lot of growth in his career since his mom sent him all the way to Samoa for reform school, just a few months prior to which his debut mixtape Earl dropped and the OF member started to develop a following. Since the rapper has returned to the United States a year ago, he's drummed up anticipation for his latest release, Doris, which shows a different side of the artist and a more mature Earl.
In an interview with GQ, the West Coast native speaks about how he no longer raps about raping and killing woman, something which may have been influenced by his stay in Samoa, where he worked with sexual assault victims. "I'm an adult. I can't be fucking talking about raping people and shit. That shit's crazy. As an adult, if you want to talk about rape, there's certain shit that comes along with it," Earl says of his changed ways.
He continued to discuss working with victims of sexual assault abroad. "Yeah, so you get to see that side of the fence, and then it's just fucked. That's what I'm saying. That fully draws the line, where it's like you can stand on either side. Either you're a fool that is down with fucked up shit – I mean, I'm a fan of macabre shit, you know what I'm saying? But not like that. At the end of the day, I'm not some evil guy," Earl explains.
Earl also spoke on how the content in Doris differs than Earl. This is also credited to the artist's growth, "Yeah. I didn't know how to say anything [back in 2010]. I didn't know how to keep a thought focused when I was young, and it kind of sounds like that. Like, it's tight or whatever, but it's just all over the place. I'm still figuring that shit out. I feel like that's probably my next thing – focusing more. Because I can do it when I'm writing. That's probably better for the music anyway, when it's more impulsive."
Finally Earl spoke on if he thought he might lose fans or have less appeal because his subject matter in Doris has changed since Earl, the project which initially blew him up. He says, "Hey, one thing I've learned in this past year is that motherfuckers are really stupid. There's a lot of really retarded people. That's not being a dick or anything; that's some real life shit. Like, I've actually been amazed."
The rapper also discusses mental illness and addiction, you can read the full interview here. Doris is out now.
