The Hippest Kids In Town

If you haven’t heard of Odd Future up until this point then you must have been living under a rock, no scratch that, you must have been living under a mountain glacier. Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All are internet hype-machines, a bunch of angrily enthusiastic teenagers screaming “SWAG!” at your granny, kick-flipping skateboards at authority figures, and body-bagging anybody that dare refer to them as “hipsters”. Odd Future are the “next big thing” in hip-hop.

A self-styled collective of young adolescents from Los Angeles, California, made up of rappers, producers, artists, and skaters, Odd Future are at times immature in their lyrics and YouTube videos, but at the same time they are brimming with self-awareness, and understand their image, branding, and their place in the current hip-hop market.

The most self-aware yet psychotic member is the group’s figurehead Tyler Okonma aka Tyler the Creator, a 20 year old, supposedly straight-edge, atheistic rapper/producer, who burst the internet in to flames with his self-directed video for “Yonkers” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSbZidsgMfw). Tyler has poked and prodded the world with his violent lyrics, childish Twitter ramblings, and maniacal eye-rolling stage presence, and the future of the group currently rests on his shoulders.

Self-produced albums, wild performances on Jimmy Fallon Live, stage-diving at the Woodies, and co-signs from Kanye West, all helped Tyler and Odd Future develop a rabid cult following, and propelled them towards the mainstream, now it is time to see if the Wolf Gang can capitalise on that opportunity with Tyler’s first major label debut, Goblin [XL].

Outside of Dr Dre’s Detox no hip-hop album has received this much hype and anticipation for quite some time. We’ve had a taste of what Tyler and the Odd Future gang are about on their self-released albums in 2010, and now Goblin is the culmination of that; all the hard-work, all the expectations, all the talk, all lie in this one album. And does Goblin live up to the hype? Well, sort of.

It’s unfortunate to not be more definitive in my answer, but I’m conflicted with this album. Tyler has created something special I’m sure, Goblin is dark and dense, and a million miles away from any hip-hop currently clogging up the charts. It is a menacing album that kids will love and parents will hate. The lyrical content will piss off Middle America, and have Sunday morning church-goers drawing up picket signs as we speak. This is surely what Tyler intended, and he succeeds on all counts. The 14 year old me would have loved this album, and I would have taken on it’s mantra of “Kill people. Burn shit. F-k school” and worn it as a badge of honour. But the thing is, I’m not 14 any more.

“Life’s a cute bitch full of estrogen, and when she gives you lemons, n-gga, throw ‘em at pedestrians.”

Goblin begins with the title-track, and Tyler adopts the deep vocal-effect to play the “psychiatrist”, who interjects throughout the album offering his insights into Tyler’s mind-state, and provides a contextual string that ties the album together, and it works incredibly well. Those familiar with Tyler’s first album Bastard will recognise the similarities in the opening track, with its ominous orchestration and brooding atmosphere, as Tyler confirms or denies all that has been written about him in the last year. “Bastard was good though. What you think I record it for? To have critics call my sh-t a bunch of horrorcore?”

Next we dive straight into “Yonkers”, which still hits as hard as that first time I clicked the play button on YouTube. The beat is Hitchcockian with its satanic synths, and if there was to ever be a hip-hop version of Psycho then this would be the theme tune. Now with an added third verse, “Yonkers” is the album’s strongest track, and you can understand why Tyler wanted the world to hear this first.

“Jesus called he said he’s sick of the disses, I told him to quit bitching, this isn’t a f-king hotline.”

“Radicals” opens with a humorous disclaimer from Tyler warning the listener “Don’t do anything that I say in this song. It’s f-king fiction. If anything happens don’t f-king blame me White America. F-k Bill O’Reilly.” It’s another example of Tyler’s self-awareness and understanding of the image that is projected onto him by the media, and he’s preparing himself for the reaction that Goblin is likely to receive. “Radicals” is the Wolf Gang anthem, with a Rage Against The Machine-like hook that begs the audience to chant “Kill people! Burn Shit! F-k School!”, its not a literal demand but a call to arms to all outsiders. The track could do with a couple of minutes shaving off the end, a problem that plagues the entire album, with many songs running overly long.

Frank Ocean opens up “She” rapping rather than singing, and surprisingly he handles himself well, proving that he is one of the group’s most talented members, and that’s why the music industry’s biggest stars are climbing over each other to work with him. Ocean’s women-drop-your-panties voice serenades the chorus, while Tyler surrounds it with his vitriolic laments. One of the album’s stand-out songs, and I believe a music video is in the works.

On “Translyvania” Tyler turns in to Dracula to deliver a misogynistic tirade over a creepy, Scooby-Doo beat. This track is a feminist’s wet-dream, and the type of song that is purposefully antagonising. “I can’t eat p-sy because I might leave cuts. Then there’s blood on my sheets, but that might be a plus”, Tyler’s lyrics are so over-the-top offensive that you can’t help but laugh, although you do feel in need of a good scrub afterwards to clean yourself.

“Don’t look at me, I’m 6’5 and I’m about to cry over another guy.”

“Nightmare” is pure stream-of-conscious rap, and Tyler takes direct shots at his critics, his fans, his friends, and his family, and talks about the effects his sudden catapult in to the limelight has had on his life. “I ain’t killed myself yet, and I already want my life back”. The production here is lacking that extra something to make it stand out, but that could also be the disadvantage of being sandwiched between “Translyvania” and the explosive “Tron Cat”.

“La, la, la…” leads us in to a false sense of security on the opening of “Tron Cat” before it explodes in to Tyler’s now trademark choppy synths. With a bunch of barely quotable punchlines Tyler produces a punk-flavoured track that is another stand-out on Goblin, and perhaps the only song that could sit side-by-side with “Yonkers” and not look like a tiny kitten in comparison. “Satan says we’re dangerous, we’re trading kids for Angel Dust.”

“Her” slows the pace down with a fairly uninspiring beat, taking a more gentle approach to production, and it is here where the album begins to lag a little, when the repetition starts to set in. Tyler raps about unrequited love, and is similar in tone to Bastard’s “Sarah” but doesn’t go near as hard as that track.

“The Golf Wang hooligans, f-king up the school again, and showing you and yours that breaking rules is f-king cool again.”

“Sandwiches” is a brief reprieve from the latter half of the album’s slump, again with the choppy synths and chaotic drums, it’s another Wolf Gang anthem. Most of us were introduced to this track on Jimmy Fallon Live, where a masked Tyler the Creator jumped around the studio scaring the guests, and inciting Mos Def to repeatedly shout “SWAG!” down the camera-lens. Hodgy Beats features on this track and fits alongside Tyler with great ease, and is another of Odd Future’s must-watch members.

I’m afraid to say that this is where the album takes a massive halt for me, and the next four songs “Fish”, “Analog”, “Bitch Suck Dick”, and “Window” begin to blur in to each other. The minimalist Neptunes style production works for Tyler’s dark tone and vivid lyrical content, and it does offer a much needed alternative to the B.O.Bs and Bruno Mars’ of this world, but there are only so much Fruity Loops drum patterns one man can take, and the running time of some of these tracks really pushes the limits of patience.

It is also at this juncture of the album that really misses an Earl Sweatshirt feature, easily the group’s most talented member lyrically and flow-wise. Now, I understand that Earl couldn’t be involved with Goblin, it is out of his hands, and wherever he may be (boarding school, correction facility, his Mum’s basement) he cannot leave until he is 18, but that doesn’t mean his absence isn’t felt.

The truth is, outside of Tyler, Earl, Frank Ocean and Hodgy Beats, the other members of Odd Future leave a lot to be desired, Domo Genesis is decent enough, but when it comes to the likes of Jasper and Taco, their youth and lack of experience really shows, and songs like “Bitch Suck Dick” become a chore to listen to because of their inability on the mic. And I don’t have time to wait around for 8 minutes just to hear a Mike G verse on “Window”. I don’t want to sound too harsh, because these are just young kids and have plenty of time to grow and improve, but right now they just don’t cut it.

The lyrics and production unfortunately suffer from repetition, and the lack of variation and diversity really hurt the album as a whole.

“I miss the days when this was fun, but now it turned in to work. We’re getting legal so I gotta watch the sh-t that I blurt, out.”

But just when you think the album has fallen in to a pattern of stuttering synths, tinny drum loops, and rape references, then comes “AU79” an atmospheric, dreamy instrumental track that really shows off Tyler’s skills as a producer, and is just as impressive as it is disappointing - disappointing because it leaves you wishing the previous four tracks were as good as this.

“Golden” brings the album to a close with another personal track where Tyler once again raps about how his life is changing, the effects of fame, and how he is handling these changes. The production steps up its darkness as Tyler slowly begins to lose his mind, and lashes out at his psychiatrist who finally reveals himself to be “Dr TC, Tron Cat, Ace, Wolf Haley…I’m me.” It’s a perfectly suitable ending for a psychologically twisted album.

“Let’s buy guns and kill those kids with Dads and Moms.”

Goblin is an impressive feat for a 20 year old rapper charged with the task of reinventing hip-hop and carrying himself and his group’s cult status in to the mainstream. If I was still a 14 year old school kid, and not prone to picking apart each individual track on an album, then Goblin would be perfect, and I’m sure it will be perfect for many of today’s youth who are lacking the rebellious iconography and the outspoken leaders that have influenced music in years gone-by. When I was at secondary school Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP was my personal soundtrack, and I’m sure Tyler the Creator’s Goblin will provide that same tool to today’s school kids.

Where the album falls short of perfection is in its repetitive nature towards the latter half, almost as if Tyler settles on a winning formula and is afraid to break out of it, the only problem being that once the listener becomes used to that formula and aware of its tricks and techniques, it is no longer winning. If the album was cut down to 11 tracks, dramatically shortening the running time, and dropping a couple of the feature artists, then Goblin could have been an instant classic.

But regardless of my criticisms that isn’t going to stop Goblin from being one of the year’s most successful albums, and it is bound to stir up a whole lot of controversy from various media circles, angry parents, and political powers. Those offended by this album will be quick to pick out all the references to rape, murder, and violence, but will ignore Tyler’s uncanny ability for deeply personal insight, and his undeniable self-awareness. Tyler is at his best when rapping about himself; his passion and vitiriol is felt when he talks about his absent father, we empathise with him when he raps about friends, girlfriends and family, and we can only begin to understand his struggles with new-found fame.

As a provocative, offensive, indignant album Goblin ticks all the boxes, and as a companion piece with Bastard the albums fit together extremely well. As a stand-alone album it’s a shame to say that Goblin falls a little short of the hype. But the fact that remains is that Tyler the Creator and Odd Future won’t be leaving the scene any time soon, and as these irritable kids grow in confidence so will their talent and their music - the future is most certainly Odd.

Buy Goblin at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Goblin-Tyler-Creator/dp/B004OT7PRO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304697659&sr=8-1

by Martin Holmes