comrades and friends, it is with a heavy heart to inform you about the sad news of the passing Prof William Keorapetse Kgositsile, Bra Willie, the National Poet Laureate and a giant of our struggle for liberation. #RIPProf pic.twitter.com/Feu7nGHgM3
— ANC Greater Johannesburg Region (@ANCJHB) January 3, 2018
Earl Sweatshirt is regarded as one of the most talented lyricists in the game. From the age of 17, he stepped onto the hip-hop scene with Odd Future and displayed a lyrical acumen far beyond peers his age. We quickly learned that his way with words is simply a way of life for his family. Not only is his mother an accomplished law professor, his father is poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, who recently died at the age of 79.
Kgotsitsile was a National poet laureate of South Africa, and achieved a long, esteemed career in activism and creative writing. He studied at numerous colleges in the United States and became a fixture in the New York poetry scene before heading back to his native South Africa. Kgotsitsile left Earl’s family when the rapper was just six, and Earl wrote about their relationship on 2013’s “Chum.” The pair apparently reunited in 2012 based on a tweet from Earl’s Twitter.
Seeing your father after you haven't for as long as you can remember is strange. Especially when he's shorter than you.
— thebe kgositsile (@earlxsweat) March 23, 2012
In brighter news, Earl is planning to release a long-anticipated follow-up to his hilariously-titled and well-crafted I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside: An Album by Earl Sweatshirt album. Perhaps Earl will further delve into his feelings about his father on the new project. Regardless, we offer condolences to him and his family.
