Bright, Odd Future

December 8, 2010 4:07 PM

2010 Has seen its share of one-hit-wonder hip hop acts. Standing out from the crowd is a collective of creative youngsters (ages 16-19) from Los Angeles known as OFWGKTA (Odd Future/Wolf Gang/Kill Them All).

Under the leadership of Tyler Creator, the Odd Future kids are making some of the most creative and fresh hip hop to come from any coast in a long, long time. Keeping the creation of every element of the product in-house, OF has flooded the rap blogosphere with some amazing music, videos, production, and design. In doing so, OFWGKTA has made listeners ask two big questions: can kids this age keep it up, and what lucky label will sign the crew?
*warning*: some links contain rape, swastikas, blood, violence, and other unsavory things

posted by broadway bill (34 comments total)

Childish, as they are still children, and insane. I've been following their mixtape output for a while and I can't wait to hear what the Odd Future holds as they mature.

Great post.
posted by basicchannel at 4:19 PM on December 8, 2010

Wow, the "videos" link is kind of nauseating.
posted by kenko at 4:37 PM on December 8, 2010

Fuck Steve Harvey.
posted by naju at 4:48 PM on December 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

I resent the implication that the New Boyz are anything but the next Tupac.
posted by schroedinger at 4:51 PM on December 8, 2010

"I'm a ninja and a jedi and I'm from Compton." Nice.
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:00 PM on December 8, 2010

Tyler the Creator is a star in the making. The rest of the crew is good and I love the creativity. It's easy to get turned off by the lyrics but it's really just wordplay and shock/horror/dystopia/whatever. Sounds good in my car too.
posted by cell divide at 5:03 PM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

naju: Fuck Steve Harvey.

Is there anything behind their constant badmouthing of Steve Harvey or is it simply an injoke?
posted by Kattullus at 5:04 PM on December 8, 2010

Technically slightly better than awful, lyrically considerably worse than awful.
posted by clockzero at 5:06 PM on December 8, 2010

Steve Harvey takes on rap as a musical style in his stand up routines.
posted by vito90 at 5:08 PM on December 8, 2010

They should tweak the name for a better acronym. It'd be easy to reconfigure to "OMGWTF."
posted by hjo3 at 5:13 PM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

The tweens at my library would love this shit.
posted by box at 6:24 PM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

White indie kids' hip-hop fantasy come to life
posted by Joseph Gurl at 6:51 PM on December 8, 2010

White indie kids' hip-hop fantasy come to life

repaired
posted by humannaire at 7:21 PM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Still trying to appreciate Odd Future in any way production wise... Their lyrics are... run of the mill indie rap lyrics to my ear... perhaps with an ICP bent (sadly not a Kool Keith edge).

My money is on Das Racist to be consistently funnier, better, wiser, but perhaps less commercially successful than the extensively confusing odd future.

Das Racist on Mudd Up
posted by nutate at 7:38 PM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Das Racist, not commercially successful? Have you not heard of Combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell?
posted by Rory Marinich at 7:48 PM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'd bet on Das Racist eventually becoming a successful production/song-writing team for other artists - when you strip away the production and hilarious, creative lyrics, it becomes obvious that they're not really all that talented at mc'ing.
posted by mannequito at 7:53 PM on December 8, 2010

Earl Sweatshirt
posted by louche mustachio at 7:56 PM on December 8, 2010

I see you have linked that already. Still mindblowing.
posted by louche mustachio at 7:58 PM on December 8, 2010

yes it is time for the new darkness

the youth crew's back but they dont want to dance and they have no emotions

that Earl video completely rocked my world
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:03 PM on December 8, 2010

It's too early to call anyone with a first hit in 2010 a one-hit wonder.
posted by yellowcandy at 8:18 PM on December 8, 2010

Loving this, thanks a million
posted by p3on at 8:18 PM on December 8, 2010

.

In memory of good music.

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In memory of of the memory of real possibility.


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In memory of wasted minds that didn't waste other minds.
posted by Vibrissae at 10:34 PM on December 8, 2010

i don't like this music so it's the end of culture
posted by p3on at 10:50 PM on December 8, 2010 [8 favorites]

that Earl video is beyond popomodern. i'm all for teenagers/everyone getting their shits and giggles in creative ways (the more irreverent the better IMO)
posted by nikoniko at 12:12 AM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

i don't like this music so it's the end of culture

No, it's the degradation of culture.

i'm all for teenagers/everyone getting their shits and giggles in creative ways (the more irreverent the better IMO)

Irreverent? Oh, I see, irreverent now translates to bashing women, and showing your fucked up teeth and tattoos that will keep you in the ghetto forever. Irreverent? How about creatively shallow, and clueless? I mean, how hard is it to throw some rhymes over a backbeat, show your fucked up teeth, and pretend at "cool"?

Again....

.

In memory of culture
posted by Vibrissae at 1:11 AM on December 9, 2010

entartete kunst amirite
posted by p3on at 1:38 AM on December 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

Seriously though, if this is so simple why don't you spend a weekend knocking together something like this and make some bank? 'Cause it's like clueless and just some rhymes on a backbeat (lmao jesus christ) and showin fucked up teeth right? So go ahead
posted by p3on at 1:40 AM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

I like Das Racist, too, but comparing them to Odd Future is apples and oranges. For one thing, DR is, basically, a jokey/gimmick act. They make music for fun and dancing. OF makes music for (as far as I can tell) their own pleasure (they have yet to have a single product to sell), and for the pleasure of other skate rat hip hop kids. Beyond that, I can not imagine Das Racist having any genuine staying power; I would not be shocked if they landed on something that really took hold and gave them some potential for longevity, but I also would not be shocked if I never heard of them again after next month. OF, on the other hand, I can easily imagine as being around, relevant, and involved for many years to come. This is evidenced by the insane amount of attention and following they have gotten in the past 6 months from people that obsessively pay attention to rap, versus the brush-off that those same fans gave DR. All of that attention is why, to me, the question of sustainability comes up with OF; can kids that young and wild handle such a quick rise to prominence?

These are kids. They are going to act like it.
posted by broadway bill at 5:30 AM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

One other thing (at the risk of getting chatfiltery): Vibrissae, I am not sure where you got the "fucked up teeth and tattoos" from, but I assume it was that Tyler video. For what it's worth, he does not have tattoos on his fingers, that is Sharpie. He also has normal, upstanding teeth that just happen to be covered in aluminum foil in that video. Why? Because he is a kid, dreaming of being a rap star while playing the piano and talking candidly about his relationship with his absentee father, all while his friend is filming it for youtube. He is also the intelligent, gifted, and energetic mastermind behind a collective that is garnering major attention for making rap music that is decidedly different. Lets all just hope he can keep himself from being stuck "in the ghetto forever."
posted by broadway bill at 5:44 AM on December 9, 2010 [3 favorites]

White indie kids' hip-hop fantasy come to life

repaired

Thank you, humannaire.

CAN WE GET PAST THE OUTDATED AND IMPLICITLY RACIST IDEA THAT RAP IS "RACE" MUSIC? It's been mainstream, multi-racial, multi-language, and multi-cultural for decades now.


Also:

.

In memory of Vibrissae's ability to see simple props and makeup.
posted by IAmBroom at 11:58 AM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Hey broadway bill, I don't know if you're still checking this thread but because of your post this has grown into one of my favorite musical discoveries of the last year. Thanks again.
posted by p3on at 1:15 PM on December 12, 2010

Sure, IAmBroom, never said or thought otherwise. But I haven't seen any real interest for these guys on the serious hip-hop sites--instead, they're all over places like MeFi, Fangs&Arrows, & all the indie/noise kid boards. This is tailor made for those fans, like De La Soul was tailor made for teenage me back in 1990 or whatever.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 5:43 PM on December 12, 2010

p3on, I had not checked back in here until today, but in any event I am glad you enjoy it. I am more certain each day that OF is doing great things, and is sure to make a huge mark.

Joseph Gurl, as a daily reader of and contributor to a handful of the biggest, most serious, most trafficked rap sites around, I can comfortably say that OF is getting TONS of attention. Hell, philaflava.com has a massive thread about these kids going, and that place hates everything. You are certainly right, though, in your assessment of their popularity outside of the hip hop community. Indie people in general are very excited about OF (perhaps a bit too excited).
posted by broadway bill at 3:29 PM on December 15, 2010

Thanks, Joseph Gurl. I'm surrounded by people who do have that attitude.
posted by IAmBroom at 11:01 AM on December 19, 2010