Odd Future

Writing about music is probably the trickiest form of criticism out there. What's good to one set of ears can be hemlock to another and vice versa, and no two opinions are ever the same in intensity, regardless of medium. I've often heard "I don't love it" after I profess to do so, or "I see what it's trying to do but thought it was a bit much," a line I really hate though did use in regards to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. (Really, it was a bit much.) So I only try to write about things I feel passionately about, things that stir me to write, things that make me want to tell everyone within earshot about them and keep hounding them down like some sort of relentless pop-culturally obsessed bounty hunter. And that's exactly how I feel about Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All.

OFWGKTA is an LA based hip-hop collective nine members deep, ages ranging from 17 to 20. The group is led by Tyler, the Creator, a charismatic, deep-voiced 19 year old who shows heaps of talent both behind and in front of the mic. The whole group does, actually, so much so that in two years they have gone from kids fooling around to indie-cult internet darlings, making enough noise with their free mixtapes and albums that two of the members recently performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, where they absolutely, irrefutably killed it.



These kids are just beginning to make their mark, and part of the appeal of OFWGKTA is knowing in a few years' time they'll will be on a whole other level, so high up and unknown not even Charlie Sheen could process it. And sure, they're damn talented, but this isn't the first time we've heard good rappers come out of nowhere; they'll continue to come and go, and as long as there's an ear to the ground, someone will be listening. To me, what I most like about this group--and believe me when I say I really like their music--is the ethos that holds them together, which can be summed up thus: Fuck Steve Harvey.

This three-word phrase can be likened to their mantra, but why Steve Harvey? you might be asking. Who knows? Maybe they don't like him and his uber-black mustache, and every utterance is a chance to voice their hate; maybe they do like him but are being subversive in an attempt to not lose their cool; maybe it's all calculated and the name evokes just the right level of celebrity to make people go, "Huh?" Honestly though, if you're asking yourself why Steve Harvey then you're missing the bigger picture: anyone and anything is fair game. They rap about rape, scat, necrophilia, violence, murder, along with the usual rap suspects drugs, sex, and hoes. And why not? It's not like they mean it, or have any intention of doing these disgusting acts in real life. I've always been of the persuasion the more you say "No" to something, the more someone else is saying "Yes," and Odd Future is saying yes to everything. They're a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale room, doing whatever it is they want to because they know better, and we know they know better; that's what makes it so great, and so captivating. OFWGKTA isn't just hip-hop, though it is, and they're not just swag (their term of endearment for something cool), though they most certainly are, Odd Future is fucking punk. Just check out their videos and tell me otherwise.

Odd Future Gets Signed from Odd Future