Twitter was ablaze on Thursday Night when Odd Future's leader tweeted that rapper, Earl Sweatshirt, was back in L.A. Earl Sweatshirt is Free, and his nickname Thebe quickly begun to trend, only to be shut down by a second tweet announcing that it was nothing more than a prank.

Thebe Kgositsle, who goes by the stage name of ,Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper of the LA hip-hop collective OFWGKTA. He is also the son of the South African poet and political activist Keorapetse Kgositsile.

The rapper received great acclaim for his music aged just 15. His album Earl was chosen as the 24th best album of 2010 by Complex magazine, but at the height of his success Earl mysteriously disappeared from the music scene.

Odd Future's leader, Tyler the Creator, has dropped clues over time, suggesting that Earl's mother will not permit her son to release anymore music until he is an adult. Tyler quickly started a Free Earl campaign.

Many rumors circulating around Earl were shut down when he revealed to the New Yorker that he was at Samoa's Coral Reef Academy. He told the magazine that he was not in Samoa against his own will and asked for the Free Earl campaign to be stopped. But rumors started to blossom again when Earl's friend from the Reef Academy told Complex magazine that the quotes published in the New Yorker were not the rapper's own words.

Since Tyler's false tweet of Earl's return to L.A he has continued to have fun with his prank. Thebe said I need the award for biggest troll of 2011 hahahahaha, he wrote.

The tweets have caused great confusion among Earl's fans on twitter. Many fans are still tweeting that he is back while others have been venting their disappointment at the prank.

Michaelarroooyo Michael Arroyo

The whole Thebe thin was a joke. Tylers a troll.

SKY_HAWKE Skylar Hawke

@

@AVintageOreo he said my baby Thebe was back but it was just a joke :(

TheBasedDog Young Butane

People still think Thebe is back. Fail.

killCody Alex English

Thebe is not free :(

SageElsesser Sage Elsesser

man. Don't play around about Thebe. We love him and miss him. We honestly love him. It can be as personal to us as it is to OF

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