Upon the release of Odd Future emcee Earl Sweatshirt’s 2010 debut, Earl, the mixtape received a moderate amount of praise, but also drew a great deal of criticism due to lyrics that referenced rape and sexual assault. It’s been well over three years since Earl dropped his famed mixtape and according to the rapper he’s done a great deal of maturing since its release.
When questioned about his upcoming album Doris being less abrasive than Earl during an interview with GQ magazine, the 19-year-old emcee referred to lyrics that reference rape and sexual assault as “crazy” and later spoke on the personal effect working with sexual assault victims while at Samoa’s Coral Reef Academy had on him.
“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….Yeah, so you get to see that side of the fence, and then it’s just fucked,” said Earl when asked about his work with sexual assault victims. “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 was also asked about possible mentions of mental illness on his upcoming studio album. According to the rapper, while mental illness may be a stretch, he does feed off of all things “moody and unstable” when it comes to crafting his music.
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“I don’t know about mental illness, but I’m a sad bitch sometimes,” he revealed. “That’s the shit I’m more attracted to, so even if I’m not, the shit that gets me excited is all very moody and unstable. That’s some shit that I don’t even see changing. Like, I can’t make that good of music when I’m happy. Some shit has to happen that either pisses me off or that’s very grave.”
Doris, Earl Sweatshirt’s debut studio album, was released today (August 20).
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