Doris’ Day

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All — an L.A. hip-hop collective — burst out of nowhere toward the end of the aughts, filled with young, snot-nosed hooligans that acted as fresh tinder to a flickering rap scene. Consisting of mostly teenagers, OFWGKTA’s brightest star happened to be its youngest. Earl Sweatshirt, born Thebe Kgositsile, was barely 16 when he released his self-titled debut mixtape in 2010. It took only a few seconds into his every-mom’s-nightmare music video “Earl” for you to realize he was something both twisted and special. (In the video, he and his friends take drugs, skate around and eat In-N-Out Burger before dying in a mass extinction.)

Clever wordplay and dark delivery captivated the underground internet, but his mother believed he was en route to destruction and sent Kgositsile to a boarding school in Samoa in 2010 just as his fame started to rise. While in Samoa, he worked at the Samoa Victims Support Group, where he learned to grow beyond his earlier lyrical content, which focused on death, rape and lewd situations.

Kgositsile’s absence from the spotlight only fueled his hype and he released his much-anticipated album, Doris, in August. Doris picks up where his debut left off, with dense, lyrical matter splattered over murky beats that sound like they’re escaping through the corridors of rap’s dank dungeon. Kgositsile can switch from confessional to conservative in a matter of verses, but both Earl Sweatshirts rap with the same honest swagger. He’s been compared to an early Eminem for his choice of diction and rhyming style, and it shows in his recent single “Chum.”

Kgositsile came through Eugene with Tyler the Creator last May and their show was just short of a zoo gone wild.

Earl Sweatshirt performs with Vince Staples 9 pm Tuesday, Oct. 29, at WOW Hall; $18 adv., $20 door.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!