Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All is a name that is turning heads and snapping necks in the hip hop world today. Tyler, The Creator’s 2nd LP debuted at number 5, they have performed on Jimmy Fallon, been interviewed for Rolling Stone and have almost hit mainstream appeal. Working a Skater-Horrorcore angle, attracting everyone from teenage white girls, to thirty year old Eminem fans, Odd Future is the ‘next big thing’ for the underground hip hop world. Consisting of 11(with only 7 of whom actually rap) kids from LA (and adding more with some regularity), they spit vulgar, rape-y and overall fucked-up content over dark synths (for the most part). Every member brings something slightly different to the party (though some seem eerily similar, though more on that later) to create a conglomeration not worth fucking with.
Due to their large numbers and their supergroup-mentality, many similarities have been drawn between OF and the undeniably classic Wu-Tang Clan. However, while surface deep appearance may paint the illusion that the groups are inherently alike; the groups could not be more different.
Any half-baked fuck can offer an explanation for the founding of OFWGKTA, but The Wu had a clear intent: an industry shift and takeover. Wu-Tang never had any intention of becoming one of hip-hop’s most darling and successful groups, they all just wanted their piece of the pie, and it just so happened pie-snatching occurs the easiest in posses. Even with the within Wu, they functioned as a group. 36 Chambers (their debut album) had a whooping five posse cuts on a 11 track album. To date, I have not heard a single Odd Future song with more than three members. Odd Future is a collective, Wu is a group. The WolfGang should run as a pack, not as pairs.
At least every individual Killa Bee had their own identity. I’d be hard pressed for anyone listening to Wu to confused RZA with GZA, Ghostface with Raekwon, or Method Man with Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Hell, any mildly seasoned hip-hop fan could tell Masta Killa apart from Inspecta Deck. Every member of Wu shined bright. I wish the same could be said of Odd Future. Outside of Tyler, The Creator, Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt, not a single member of Odd Future really stands out. Could be Jasper Dolphin, could be Hodgy Beats; like I could give a fuck. You could say, “but durrrr danneh dere voicez r diffrnt…” bitch that’s not what I meant. Listen to ‘Bitch Suck Dick’ and ‘Sandwiches’ and see how bright Tyler shines, then focus on the guests. Besides the overall theme of the songs, notice how both seem to bring an identical style, which is just Tyler-lite. Shit, if you take out all of the rape in Jasper’s verse from ‘Bitch suck Dick’ and had Timberland produce it instead, you could have had a club single. Earl also brings a Tyler-lite style, but his age and his sheer technical skill set him apart. Frank Ocean is just so talented (and fairly normal) that he stand head and shoulders over anyone else in the collective.
Will anyone say they’re ‘influenced by Odd Future’? Of course. But that’s more of a generational thing. Anyone from 5 years ago who brought a similar style would have blamed DMX or Eminem, 10 years ago the Getto Boyz or Esham hell, maybe even Ganksta N.I.P. (bonus points if you’ve ever heard of him). Really, besides the rape being taken to a new level (though COUGHMINDOFALUNATICCOUGH) they add nothing new to horrorcore. And fuck yeah they’re horrorcore, maybe a little more from left field than ever before, but the themes are the same. Honestly, I would give more kudos to their image than their music. Maybe a little-bit more outlandish, but nothing special.
Wu, on the other hand helped shape the landscape of the 90’s. Mafioso (and talking about hustling in general), which gave us the downfall of Nas, and Kool-G-Rap (two of the best to ever spit) and birthed AZ, Jay-Z and Notorious B.I.G., was forever changed by Ghostface Killah and Raekwon, even within a year or two period. RZA along with Dj Premier helped pioneer the Boom-Bap style of production, which rivaled G-funk as the most popular style of production from 1993-1997. Perhaps most important they, along with Onyx, helped define Hardcore rap.
Now I’m just rambling. My final point is that Odd Future, besides Frank Ocean’s Multi-talented gifts and Earl Sweatshirt’s amazing rhyme-schemes, do not offer much technical skill. Yes, Tyler one of the best voices and biggest personas in hip-hop today, and the production can be extremely good. But would anyone put any member of Odd Future in the category of GZA, Raekwon, Ghostface or even Method Man? Doubt it. Hell, even new school emcees enjoying roughly the same popularity as them (J. Cole, Lupe Fiasco, Blu to name a few) are much better emcees than any found in OFWGKTA.
Though don’t call me a hater. I still like Odd Future, and will continue to listen and follow their their movement. Hell, if they ever show up next to my hometown, I’d love to see them live. However, I find them overhyped and starting to become overexposed. Remember how Eminem could only produce two albums of good horrorcore in the mainstream eye? Odd Future could easily lose all shock-value and simply fall back into the dank LA underground from whence they came. Although that would be bad for the music, and that’s the last thing I want. Though a second coming of Wu-Tang would be better…
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