I’ve said it before and I’m going to say it again, hip hop has gone soft, too soft for my liking. I don’t know what happened. Outside of Eminem, I feel like the genre has lost the edge that made it what it was. Between wheelchair Jimmy and Kanye, I’ve had an impacted ass full of shitty rap music. I was hoping A$AP Rocky would bring something to the table, but after a few listens of his first album Long.Live.A$AP, I didn’t feel the menace that I missed. I’m at a loss. I love rap for the message and the energy. What is the message on hits like Fuckin Problems? Not only is it one of the worst pop rap songs that I’ve heard in years, it has one of the most boring music videos accompanying it.
Sure it’s catchy as hell. But when I’m at parties, now I’m forced to listen to chicks, drunk off their ass, screaming the chorus like it’s their song of worship. It’s always a bit weird when women sing about “fucking bitches.” Don’t they get that they are these bitches? None of them believe that though. They aren’t the bitch being referred to. It’s some other girl with bad hair, that’s the bitch. I’m over it. This week’s AOTW gives me a glint of hope though. These guys make me think that maybe not all of hip-hop’s up and comers are factory made cats playing gangster (2Chainz). Maybe some of them are still about putting on a good show, making noise, and fucking stuff up. This week’s ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All.
I first became aware of Odd Future in 2011. I was sitting in my office at the WB. It was 2:30AM and I was sitting in a depressing cubicle waiting for the night to end. I was debating whether or not I was awake enough to drive home or if I wanted to sleep on the couch and just shower at the gym in the morning. I know. My lifestyle is fucking glamorous. As I was surfing the internet I began reading about the musical performance that had happened on Jimmy Fallon earlier that evening. Blogs were a buzz with talk of the new hip hop sensations Tyler The Creator and Hodgy Beats of the LA based Odd Future. After a few strokes of the keys I found this.
I certainly hadn’t seen anything like this in quite some time, and I’m pretty sure rap music in general hadn’t seen anything like them in an even longer time. The energy, the anger, the stage presence, it was all there. Dudes were wearing masks for half of the set with zombie chicks in hospital gowns roaming the stage. I, like much of the hip hop community, was plugged in and wanted to know everything I could about Odd Future.
The LA based crew is made up of the following:
Earl Sweat Shirt, Tyler the creator, Syd The Kid, Hodgy Beats, Matt Martians, Jasper Dolphin, Domo Genesis, Frank Ocean, Mike G, Left Brain, and Hal Williams.
They assembled in Los Angeles in the mid 2000’s when they began a version of DIY production and marketing that hadn’t fully been utilized by artists that came before. They released song after song, and soon mixtape after mixtape, all for free. Their sound was unlike anything on the scene. Terrifying lyrics and explosive live performances got them the attention of the national media and it wasn’t long before they became a world wide phenomenon.
Things were getting crazy. The crowds were more hardcore than hip hop.
The group came under fire early and often from Women’s and Gay Rights Groups as well as frightened parents for their dark lyrics that hit on everything from rape, murder, and cannibalism to necrophilia, gay bashing, and rape. Why did I say rape twice? Well…I like rape. I’m a big time first amendment guy, so I don’t think it’s anyone’s damn business what people say on a 
record. I can’t say I was surprised by any of this though. When your front man has crowds of thousands screaming “kill people, burn shit, fuck school,” people are bound to take notice.
I will say that seeing this sort of abhorrence towards musical act was a bit refreshing. It was a flashback to when I was a kid and parents were terrified that somehow N.W.A. was going to break into their homes and murder everyone I love a good pot stirrer and Odd Futre was certainly stirring the pot.
The most boisterous of the group, Tyler The Creator, established himself early on with his gravelly voice, chaotic stage presence, and enigmatic persona. He was a media journalist’s wet dream. He’s the type of person who sits down for an interview, and there is actually no telling what is going to happen. Not only is he a talented rapper but Tyler also created all of the graphic designs for O.F. and directed his own music videos. The video for Yonkers was hands down one of my favorites of the past few years. It was the first single off of his debut album Goblin which charted #1 on the hip-hop charts and as high as #5 on the Billboard 200.
It’s a simple concept executed perfectly.
While Tyler is publicly the most vocal of the group, the most fascinating character in Odd Future to me is Earl Sweatshirt. Missing from the group for a majority of their rise to fame, the phrase “free Earl” became a common war cry. It spawned rumors 
that Erals mother had institutionalized Earl after hearing his music. To me Earl is the real deal through and through. His word play while at times perverse, is incredibly dynamic. He is a throwback that I am happy to have. I could sit here and write out his full story, but to be honest, The New York Times’ piece on him from last May is really the best you are going to get. Really worth the read. Find it here.
His video Earl really gives you a glimpse at reasons why Earl may have need the time out in Samoa.
He also gives a good interview on Hot 97. Hearing the music I forget the fact that these guys are so young.
In December he released his first single since returning titled Chum. The song and the video are fucking amazing.
The other members in the group have done amazing work as well. If I touched on them all this would be a fifteen page article. If you sample Tyler and Earl you’ll get a pretty good idea for their style. If you’re into it, you can find it all on the Internet. Most for free. If not, go back to listening to Drake…eerrrr I mean Wheelchair Jimmy.
big hugs
Kelly
 
LINKS:
http://www.oddfuture.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/
http://oddfuture.tumblr.com/
https://twitter.com/ofwgkta