THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

Odd Future, though, is a bit of an anomaly. They are clearly rap/hip-hop and yet their mindset is punk. It it through this special amalgamation (and plenty of youthful chutzpah) that generated a special kind of music – one that is clearly a well-aimed bullet into the head of political-correctness. As the mouthpiece of this generation - with fans that number in the hundred thousands - Odd Future is the many-headed hydra: cut one down and two more will take its place.

 

Based in Los Angeles, Odd Future consists of de facto leader, Tyler, The Creator; Hodgy Beats; Earl Sweatshirt; Mike G; Domo Genesis; Frank Ocean and others. It was their self-produced debut 2008 mixtape, The Odd Future Tape, that got the attention of the Internet.

 

Lyrics from Odd Future range from misogyny to homophobia to murder. Yet when de facto leader, Tyler, The Creator, raps "Chronic youth, I'm shovin' blunt wraps in bitches ovaries / Punches to the stomach where that bastard kid supposed to be" you can't help but notice he has his tongue firmly in cheek.

 

Sure, it sound like a bunch of kids just messing around to looped beats but there's a certain mastery in their flow that has garnered a wide fan base of teenagers who just want to subvert conventions and fart in the general direction of anything resembling authority.

 

Take the music video, Oldie, where despite photographer Terry Richardson's attempt to reel them in for a photo shoot, Odd Future go on to rap to the song. It may be lip-synching but the way each member steps up to the plate, in spite of the levity of the situation, the crew still want to put on a good show.

 

Odd Future might fly in the face of good taste but it didn't stop them from opportunities other artists would kill for: Tyler, The Creator won himself an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artiste for his solo album, Goblin; the group filmed a sketch comedy show called Loiter Squad; endorsement deals; finished a tour in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia; Frank Ocean is currently hard at work at his debut album; other rappers want to collaborate with them and on and on...

 

For the moment, Odd Future is the zeitgeist of the hip-hop world and in a culture where manufactured pop holds sway, a little subversion from a bunch of hoodrats from L.A. that is slowly discovering his or her own identity. Whatever the result, it's bound to be interesting.