Thebe Kgositsile has lived more than a third of his life in public view, as Earl Sweatshirt, the prodigious rap talent who came up at 16 during the Odd Future boom. Over the seven-odd years since his debut album Doris, Thebe’s developed a to-be-expected degree of psychic distance from Earl, as much as any twenty-something would from their teenage self. With his latest album, Feet of Clay, it’s clear that Earl Sweatshirt is a very different project than it once was, 'cause the man himself is older and certainly wiser.

Thebe was born in Chicago and raised in LA, where still lives today. His mother, UCLA law professor Cheryl Harris, sent him Samoa for a brief period as a teenager to straighten out, roiling his young fans. His father, Keorapetse Kgositsile, was widely respected South African poet who passed away in 2018. Lately, both of Thebe's parents have made frequent appearances in his music, through lyrics gesturing at family dynamics and, more explicitly, in 2018's ‘Play Possum’ which samples their speech and formally credits them with features.

Feet of Clay, released through Earl’s own imprint Tan Cressida, is remarkably short: only two of its seven songs clock in over two minutes. Earl’s delivery is deliberately imprecise and at-ease, skimming over lo-fi, loosely mixed beats. Guest verses come from protégé MAVI, frequent collaborator Mach-Hommy, and Dallas artist Liv.e. Once brash and provocative, Earl’s lyrics are more abstract, peppered with mythological references, often reflecting his personal appetite for knowledge.

Speaking with Acclaim over the phone from Sydney, where he'd stopped off with Laneway Festival, Thebe is an easy conversationalist, cautious not to have his work misinterpreted.