Earl Hatton (December 8, 1995 – January 9, 2022), also known as Earl Swavey, was an American rapper. A noted figure in the

West Coast hip hop West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during th ...

scene, he was first noticed and mentored by A$AP Yams, releasing a plethora of projects. He died in 2022, after being shot in possible gang activity.

Early life

Earl Hatton was born on December 8, 1995, in

Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...

. His father died when he was a two years old, so he was raised by a single mother. While still young, Swavey was inspired by his brother rapping; his cousin was also rapper

Jay Rock Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1985), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. Rock signed with local independent label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005. He secured a major lab ...

Career

Swavey ventured into the rap scene by first releasing the mixtape ''Business Before Pleasure (BBP)'' in 2013. One of its songs, "Beef", led to A$AP Yams getting in touch with him and mentoring him. In 2021, he dropped three albums, ''Unphuckwithable'', ''Gangland 4'', and ''The Dirtiest''.

Influences and artistry

Swavey was influenced by the artists

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

, and

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

Death

Swavey died on January 9, 2022. An autopsy report later stated that he was driving a car with multiple passengers outside a party in Downtown Los Angeles when he was shot in the back but an unknown assailant and crashed into a parked

motorhome A motorhome (or coach) is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle (RV) which is as the name suggests, like a home on wheels. Features Motorhomes usually have sleeping spaces for two to eight people. Each sleeping space is either fixed o ...

. The head trauma Swavey sustained from the collision was a contributing factor in his death along with the gunshot wound. A detective for the

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

stated that it was most likely that a passenger in Swavey's vehicle shot first before others fired back, in gang-related activities.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swavey, Earl 1995 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American rappers 21st-century African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers Rappers from Compton, California Rappers from Los Angeles West Coast hip-hop musicians