It’s debatable, but some might argue that one of the most interesting stories surrounding the Odd Future crew would have to be the story of missing member Earl Sweatshirt. Last week, we did a story regarding the teen’s disappearance, but it seems Earl’s gotten wind of the buzz surrounding him being M.I.A. and isn’t entertained by any of it … at least not anymore.
Earl spoke out about his disappearing act and the “Free Earl” campaign in a recent interview with The New Yorker (lucky bastards)!
“The couple of months leading up to my departure were a mess for me … I’ve had to do a lot of growing up since I left, so naturally my perspective has changed. A lot less effort is exerted toward proving that I care less than you about everything, so I’m a lot less frantic. I guess the simplest way to put it is that I’m more comfortable with myself, which is something that I couldn’t have told you like eleven months ago,” Earl told The New Yorker’s Kelefa Sanneh.
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Interesting. From the sounds of it, Earl is onboard with being away from his crew and is seemingly handling the situation in a mature manner. The New Yorker failed to confirm whether the 17-year-old is actually at the Coral Reef Academy, a center for troubled teens, in Samoa, as rumored, but Earl himself has cleared up a few things regarding his protective mother.
OFWGKTA fans jumped to blaming the teen’s mom for ripping him from the limelight and shutting down his career (for the time being), but Earl supports his mother’s decision and is disturbed by the new campaign against her.
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“Initially I was really pleased that all these people claimed that they wanted me released because I thought that translated into ‘they care,’” Earl the New Yorker. “So time progresses and the fan base gets bigger and the ‘Free Earl’ chants get louder but now with the ‘Free Earl’ chants come a barely indirect ‘F*ck Earl’s Mom’ and in the blink of an eye my worry changes from ‘will there still be this hype when I get back’ to ‘Oh shit I just inspired a widespread movement of people who are dedicated to the downfall of my mom.’”
Earl added, “The only thing I need as of right now is space. I’ve still got work to do and don’t need the additional stress of fearing for my family’s physical well-being. Space means no more ‘Free Earl.’”
Duly noted.
