2010–2014: Independent projects
On March 25, 2010, Hamilton released his mixtape entitled The Binge Vol. 3: Charles Hamilton's Last Mixtape. Although he announced that The Binge Vol. 3 would be his last mixtape, Hamilton, along with fellow rapper B.o.B, released a video trailer to promote the song "Paperboy". In the video, B.o.B hinted that the two may be making a mixtape together. The single "Paperboy" ended up being released on May 21, 2010, and was produced by Woody. Also in March, Hamilton dedicated a song called "Choices (A Wave to Alex)" in honor of a friend who died after getting in the car with a drunk driver. Hamilton released a new single called "Gauchos" on May 4, 2010.
On July 3, 2010, Hamilton released six mixtapes entitled Well This Isn't Awkward (Winner Takes All), Autumn Harvest, Gynophobia, Atlantis and A..., 10 Things I Hate About Me and The L Word II (INcomplete). That August, Hamilton released his compilation album originally to be his debut studio album for Interscope Records T.A.F.I.E.T.U (The Album For Interscope Executives To Understand), but due to Interscope's dislike for the tracks "North Pole" and "Laffy Taffy Outro", it was shelved by the label. On September 9, 2010, Hamilton released his extended play entitled For Your Locker.
On September 23, 2011, one day after his discharge from Community Assessment and Treatment Services Rehab, Hamilton released two mixtapes, Gynophobia 2 and C.A.T.S. Can. Hamilton later publicly released his mixtape What the Hell Is Wrong with You?!; the project was written during his rehabilitation and later recorded following his discharge from rehab on September 22, 2011. The next year, Hamilton announced through Twitter hat he was releasing an independent album entitled Ill Doesn't Mean Classic. It would include the Eminem produced song "I Don't Care"; it was released as a mixtape on July 7, 2012. On July 30, 2012, Hamilton released a collaboration mixtape entitled Cinematic Hallucinations: The Bully And The Pet with rapper S.K.E. The Heistman, and later that year, on December 21, 2012, Hamilton released his extended play entitled The Come Down.
On April 18, 2013, Hamilton's other shelved Interscope debut studio album Substance Abuse was leaked. A year later, on April 1, 2014, Hamilton released a collaboration album with rappers Spud Mack and S.K.E. Heistman entitled Hip Hop. On May 30, 2014, it was announced Hamilton had allowed a friend to release his albums My Heart and The Zone, though Hamilton would later claim that this was false. My Heart was originally supposed to be released as Hamilton's debut studio album in 2010 while he was signed to NewCo Records but it was later shelved.
During an interview on July 27, 2010, Hamilton announced that he had checked himself into a psychiatric hospital. He stated: "My stay here is like identical to my stay in the industry. As far as being the new guy in here having to deal with politics and people trying to control you. The critics would have to be the doctors and the rounds. So you can say this is like an experiment to see if the industry is really like an asylum or if I was the one bugging. Some say the industry is like high school but its just like a [mental hospital]. All I wanted to do and still want to do is make music. It got to the point where I started talking in rhymes all the time, even in just regular conversations. And music just became me, so I thought it be a good idea if I checked into the hospital just to get my mind right."After being released on August 10, 2010, Hamilton discussed in an interview his stay at the psychiatric hospital and why upon filming of his release in a video why he was in a wheelchair, stating: "The reason Im in a wheelchair is because I have sharp pains since I was in the hospital and a little bit before, he said. I have sharp pains when Im walking and literally I want to collapse but I can't I have to continue to walk. So my right leg has been acting kinda funny. I still have a little bit of mobility, I can still stand up in the booth but I'd rather the mobility of my legs be jeopardized than my musicality be jeopardized at any given point of time."
That December, Hamilton was arrested in Cleveland, Ohio after assaulting an officer. Hamilton would later post bail for $25,000 and was referred for psychiatric treatment. During a 2015 interview, Hamilton would go more into detail about what happened, saying that he "knew better than to punch a cop". Hamilton had just crashed his father's girlfriend's car, which he took without permission or a drivers license. Unharmed, he wandered to Quicken Loans Arena where he began playing what he says was an imaginary basketball with exiting Cavalier fans. "This cop walks over and was like, what are you doing?. I said, Basketball. He puts his arms out to guard me, so I crossed him and he slipped. His partner came over like, What's going on? He grabbed my arm and I punched him."
Hamilton would later ultimately be diagnosed with bipolar disorder; during the time he was undiagnosed, he stated that "I just didn't trust anybody. I didn't leave my house, I just made music all the time. I was fighting depression – I shut myself in." Hamilton would also discuss how in his early career before he started his recovery, that he wanted to commit suicide: "I wanted to commit career suicide, physical suicide, spiritual suicide, I didn't care anymore."
