Odd Future
Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (or Odd Future, as they'll be referred to for the rest of this piece) performed at last night's MTV U Woodie Awards. The performance at the college music award show wasn't the teenage hip-hop crew's first appearance on television, that would be last months diabolical rendition of "Sandwiches" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, but it was their first since the they came to the attention of listeners other than obsessive music blog readers.
The rise to fame (or at least internet version of it) has been relatively quick for the Los Angeles crew and at a quick listen it's easy to understand why. They rap with fury and charisma, running their way through intricate rhymes and evocative imagery in a way that few rappers can. Whether it be leader Tyler's billion-year-old growl, Earl's adenoidal clarity, or the fact that they produce and release all of their output themselves, there's a lot to like about Odd Future, as long as you don't pay attention to their lyrics.
But lyrics are made to be listened to and Odd Future's tend to make people's skin crawl. White Americans have long had a difficult relationship with rap, but they've rarely been confronted by a group like this. Pick a random moment from any song and prepare to encounter homophobia, anti-semitism, rape, murder, mutilation, all unrepentantly delivered with a smile. "They make Eminem sound about as violent as Wolf Blitzer. They are intent on terrifying every parent and Republican in America," Esquire's Foster Kamer wrote last month. That they're all teenagers only makes it worse. These are horrible things to hear coming out of anyone's mouth, let alone America's youth.
Which leads to big question about Odd Future: is it okay to like them? Do you like them because they're really great rappers who've created something possibly special by themselves or hate them because they so readily revel in all things sordid. Oh, and throw out the "well, they're just kids" excuse, because that doesn't really apply to Tyler and his compatriots. As Bethlehem Shoals wrote in an essay for Poetry Foundation, "At the same time, OFWGKTA makes such doggedly creative and self-aware music that it sometimes feels as if they've chosen depravity not because they want to, but because they can." It takes smarts to be this articulate about such screwed up things. Young as they may be, Odd Future know what they're doing, and for that they can either be admired or abhorred.
There is one thing that cannot be denied about Odd Future: their music demands notice from the listener. Can something this rancid be art? And can it be appreciated for its craft and technical merit, when it's substance is so repulsive? These are questions that confront every listener, and Odd Future wants it that way.
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Sources:
Odd Future Bring Their Destruction Tour to MTV, Amos Barshad, Vulture
Who Is Odd Future, Foster Kamer, Esquire
Odd Futurism, Bethlehem Shoals, Poetry Foundation
