Earl Sweatshirt Gets Own Label Tan Cressida, Working on Solo Album and Joint LP With Tyler, The Creator

Earl Sweatshirt may have just gotten his best homecoming gift to date. According to The New York Times, the hyped-up, once-exiled Odd Future rapper has locked in a deal that will give him his own imprint label, which will be distributed through Columbia Records.

Though not many details about the venture were revealed in the piece, The NY Times mentioned that the label will be called Tan Cressida. The parent company of Columbia is Sony Music Entertainment, which includes Sony RED Distribution, which distributes Odd Future's releases. According to the story, this element was important for the young rhymer, as he still wants to be considered alongside all Odd Future cohorts. “I want it to look seamless,” Earl told the Times. This partnership will allow him to include the Odd Future logo on his releases, as well.

That's a great thing, considering Earl is working on his solo major-label debut LP and the joint collaboration, EarlWolf, with Odd Future frontman, Tyler, The Creator, all according to the Times as well.

Sweatshirt, a California native, began buzzing widely last year, thanks in part to the rise of Odd Future and his solo video, "Earl," which showed both a gifted lyricist and excitable youth causing commotion with his friends. During the crew's rise throughout 2011, a staple of their narrative included the "Free Earl" campaign, which centered around the teenaged rhymeslinger, who was nowhere to be found during group performances and promo runs. It turned out that he was away at a boarding school in Samoa, and only returned earlier this year. He made his live show debut during Odd Future's concert at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom.

As of press time, there is no official release date for Earl Sweatshirt's solo effort.—Adam Fleischer