Odd Future will fuck you

They will. They really will. No offense. These kids are NOT alright. They are pretty damn twisted, really.

A friend of mine introduced me to Tyler the Creator a few weeks back. 

Tyler and his crew Odd Future, who fancy the abbreviation OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All – I know, right?),  have proceeded to violently explode in popularity the last three weeks. Not saying I was the good luck charm or anything, but the group caught my eye the moment before they exploded, which is pretty cool. If you watch that video, you're in for a treat. 

Tyler, or Wolf Haley (hence the term Wolf Gang) is a madman. He seems like a mastermind but at the same time there's undeniable proof that he's really dumb. Not in like a Kanye West way where he says the wrong thing at the wrong time, but in like a he doesn't know better way where he says the wrong thing all the time. 

His Twitter name is @fucktyler. He capitalizes each word in his tweets for some reason (save for a missed one here or there) and tweets all the time. He uses the word fuck as if it's giving him an endorsement. He has been tweeting all week about how fucking cool his life is, now that he's getting popular. He has been on MTV and has gotten approving tweets from Diddy and Kanye West, and has been vehemently enthralled about every second of it. He's like a kid. And he is a kid, at just 19 years old.

His crew consists of himself, 16 year old Earl Sweatshirt, Hodgy Beats, Left Brain, Syd Tha Kyd (a female!),  Frank Ocean, Domo Genesis, The Super 3, Jasper, Taco, and Mike G. I've never heard of half those guys. Whatever. They sound pretty cool.

Being different has been done before. Being weird, being scary, being "about murder" has been done before. So what's the difference with the Wolf Gang? They're young, they have a pretty big roster, they're energetic, they're in a new era, they're fucking crazy, but most importantly, these kids are really good.

Warning–Fucked up shit

Odd Future's simple yet creative beats and utterly fucked up lyrics almost get lost in the culture of the gang. The beats are groggy and raw, with Tyler and crew coming full blast with energy infused rhymes and their lyrics are raunchy, humorous and uncontainable. But that's just half the gang's appeal. They're just some kids in Los Angeles taking life by the balls, living it in the way they see fit with no real restrictions. Except for in the case of Earl Sweatshirt. Earl's mom noticed how twisted Odd Future was, and sent her son off to boarding school, prompting a Free Earl campaign from the other members of OFWGKTA and showing the group's age. Once Earl is a big enough boy to make his own living decisions, however, the group will be right back into the swing of going against societal norms.

Despite being so young and so popular for only about a month, Odd Future has actually been around for quite some time. Tyler dropped an album in Christmas of 2009 that you can actually get for free right here if you want. He's coming out with his second album, Goblin, in April. I for one, am excited as shit for it.

Tyler, the Creator is a huge Justin Bieber fan. He got really excited when Rob Dyrdek tweeted at him. As much of a star as he's becoming. He's still a fan. He's still a kid. And all this makes you forget how explicitly he talks about murder and rape in his music. Almost. As I sit here watching Dragonball Z, he reminds me of Majin Buu, one of my favorite villains of all time. He's like a big puffy pink baby, but he murders millions and doesn't really give a shit.

Tyler likes to skateboard, too. He has a punk rock element in him that shines through in his music, his apparel and his goofy antics, making it hard to guess that he would have such a somber darker side. His crew are young, and enjoy taking the fucked up things in life and putting them to beats.

It's been a while since rap had a kick in the ass. OFWGKTA has beaten their own oddities and secured a place in rap's future. It's something to get excited about. Just ask Tyler, he's bugging the fuck out.

I'll end this with a video. Why not?

I'm not the most informed person I know on rap. But I know good rap when I see it. This is good clean fun. Except very dirty with inverted morals and an extreme lack of fucks given. Which is good too. If you can stomach it.

--Eliot Sill