Earl Sweatshirt, the elusive member of Odd Future, has given his first interview since his whereabouts were made public last month.
The rapper, who real name Thebe Kgositsile, had not been seen with the Los Angeles hip-hop collective for months until he was discovered to be staying at the Coral Reef Academy on the South Pacific island of American Samoa.
Odd Future have encouraged fans to chant “Free Earl” at their live shows and have spoken about the rapper being hidden away by his mother against his will. But Kgositsile says that he is in American Samoa voluntarily.
He told the New Yorker: “Initially I was really pleased that all these people claimed that they wanted me released because I thought that translated into ‘They care’.”
He continued: “So time progresses and the ‘Free Earl‘ chants get louder but now comes an indirect ‘Fuck 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.'”
The rapper said he did not have a definite date for when he would be back with Odd Future, but added: “You’ll hear from me when I’m ready.”
Odd Future tour the UK in July.