IN DEFENSE: Why I Like Odd Future

  

    Liek, omigod! #OFWGKTA is da shit thay have soo much $WAG seeriusley I want too looze my job becuz Odd Fuchur has a lot of $WAG maeks no sense but wuteva da Wu Tang Klan IS sumthing to fuck wit now holee shit fuck 2 doe boyz thay can suck sum pimpul coverd dicks like Tyler sed it will onlee give him mor $WAG

$WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG $WAG

   Hello everyone. Kvltwalter here, and today, I'll be discussing a polarizing, relatively recent face in the world of hip-hop: Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All. This is the REAL reason I like them, not the fake shit I posted above. And before going forward, I should immediately take back what I said about the Wu-Tang Clan. They are absolutely NOTHING to fuck with. It is not advisable. Under no circumstances should you EVER fuck with the Wu-Tang Clan. With that out of the way, I now have a task in front of me that I shouldn't avoid any longer: defending my love for Odd Future. 

   They are a group that many consider to be a joke and a novelty act, devoid of substance, lacking in talent, and even on par with the laughably bad "MC" Lil B. I totally disagree with this, but why? What qualities about Odd Future do I think justifies me buying and downloading everything they've ever released? Let me think...

   Maybe my interest lies in the rappers themselves. You have Tyler, the Creator with his dark, tortured and angsty lyrical content on songs like "Yonkers" and "Tron Cat", but on songs like "Radicals" and "Her" he displays very little lyrical prowess. When it comes to lyricism and flow, the young Earl Sweatshirt is easily the most talented MC in the group with his clever wordplay and multiple-syllable rhyme schemes, and Mike G is also very consistent, but if you look at the other two MCs in the group (Hodgy Beats, Domo Genesis) you will notice competent flows but woefully unoriginal lyrical topics. On top of that, these topics (usually bitches and weed) aren't even presented in an interesting or clever way; the wordplay, point of view or any of that shit I would expect to make these generic topics not groan inducing are pretty much absent. Oh, and then there's Left Brain. Let's just say that he barely qualifies as an MC. So, in the rapping department, you honestly don't have a lot to admire other than Earl and sometimes Mike G and Tyler, only a fraction of the group, so that's not the reason...

   What about the beats? The production (handled mainly by Tyler and Left Brain) has come under fire by some critics like The Needle Drop's Anthony Fantano, who estimated the budget of Tyler's last album, Goblin, to be "zero dollars". Ouch. I wholly disagree with this. Odd Future has one hell of a signature sound, I know an Odd Future instrumental when I hear it, and the "cheap" synth sounds are all part of the charm for me. Tyler's production in particular makes me reminisce of old video game music, and just about anything that reminds me of Castlevania and Legend of Zelda gets a "like" by me (it's my goddamned childhood!) In fact the instrumental for Hodgy's "Memorex CDs" of The Dena Tape is based off of a sample from the SNES classic Chrono Trigger, and Domo's recent song "Till the Angels Come" contains what I'm pretty sure is a sample from the same game (I've never been able to get past those fucking golem sisters, but that's besides the point.) While I do find a lot to enjoy in the music itself seperate from the lyrics, I still don't think that that's the main reason I'm attracted to Odd Future.

   So what the hell is it? I seem to be one of the only people out there who thinks that their beats are any good and only a small portion of the groups many members produce lyrical content that interests me. I am reminded of this video...

   I think that's the reason. When you watch this, don't you feel like you want to be in the room with them? I know I do. Listening to Odd Future makes me feel like I'm a part of the fun, hanging out with a bunch of people in my age bracket (I'm 19, I think that's another factor in my liking of the group)just making the music we want to make and having a great time doing it. It doesn't have to be deep or meaningful, and yes, it can get pretty stupid (songs like "Stripclub" "Bitch Suck Dick")but when you take a step back and look at everything Odd Future has made, you will notice some inconsistency as far as overall quality, but you'll also see a group of really honest kids making something that they're proud of, and shit, they're taking over with their own record label and their albums are sold by major retailers, not bad for an internet based rap collective from suburban California. I feel like this group of friends could be my very own friends, and that probably keeps me buying their albums. It's like supporting a friend you really care about, and is that being a dickrider? You could say that, but I would, under no circumstances label myself in a manner that implies me riding on a large penis :)

What do you guys think? Is Odd Future a legitimate force in hip-hop or are they an unfunny joke? Feel free to weigh in with your comments below. See you tomorrow!