By Malice Intended

It is best to think of Hip-Hop as a living entity that needs sustenance to grow and survive.  In order for it to evolve, the makeup of that diet needs to change from time to time.  That change is characterized as essential by the self-proclaimed keepers and protectors of the music.  It is ironic then, that those some people are often resistant to any deviation from the norm.  The culture is expected to adhere to a blueprint that was allegedly perfected decades ago.  Due to that attitude, true innovation is often not recognized in its own time.  Such might be the case with Tyler the Creator’s latest, Goblin.

Tyler is the leader of the hip-hop collective known as Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, or just Odd Future for short.  He serves double duty as both rapper and producer.  His latest album Goblin has been released amidst a deafening buzz that began with a February 18th performance with the Roots on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.  That buzz has been accompanied by cosigns from some of Hip-Hop’s more respected and celebrated artists.  Odd Future would seem to be on the cusp of becoming a true rap phenomenon in the vein of Wu-Tang or Hieroglyphics.

Yet they seem to be meeting with a certain amount of resistance that neither of those beloved and storied crews had to face in their day.  Many so-called “real Hip-Hoppers” have expressed their distaste with Odd Future on message boards and the like.  Much of their disdain has is centered on the groups perceived association with the horrorcore subgenre.  Horrorcore revels in the most extreme shock value, and none of its practitioners have ever ascended to hip-hop royalty save for Eminem.

While Odd Future’s music does have more than a few similarities with horrorcore, it also has a lot in common with the various forms of underground rap that purists celebrate.  You won’t find Tyler rapping over the pseudo-techno beats that many of his mainstream contemporaries do.  Tyler’s skeletal, minimalist compositions owe more to sample laden boom-bap than they do to Lex Luger and his ilk.  Content wise, Goblin is more than a little reminiscent of Redman’s classic debut Whut? Thee Album.  Though Tyler is not a weed enthusiast a’la Redman, but his sense dark sense of humor owes a bit to that of Reggie Noble (As well as the psychiatrist mechanism that frames Bastard and Goblin).

Yet, the reluctance to embrace Odd Future is both noticeable and palpable.  It’s a little surprising given how purists (including myself) continuously lament the current state of mainstream rap music.  The songs on radio playlists blend into an endless drone of monotony, with the same themes being rehashed over and over.  One would think a dose of genuine weirdness and irreverence would be welcomed into such a situation.  Many people have clamoring for an antidote to the perceived blight of artists like Waka, Gucci, and the like.  When that antidote comes in a package that they don’t recognize, they refuse it outright.

Perhaps they are waiting for classic artists of past eras to return the music to its former glory.  Well they better not hold their breath.  Gangsta music and politically conscious rap were born and perfected in the midst of the crack cocaine epidemic.  Artists from the 80’s and 90’s had entirely different things on their minds.  It’s silly to expect today’s young rappers to carry on traditions that may no longer be relevant to their experience.  They go through a different kind of struggle.  They live in an era where Bloods and Crips aren’t a new and growing phenomenon and dope boys rarely if ever get rich.  They see many institutions continuing on in the same old fashion regardless of the fact that they are no longer effective.

Since “Rapper’s Delight,” the peanut gallery has always found a target for their collective bitching. The Sugar Hill Gang, Run DMC, and N.W.A all had their authenticity questioned at the height of their popularity.  Now, they are all seen as pioneers and innovators.  Not to place Odd Future in such ranks prematurely, but I think they should be given a chance.  They are leading hip-hop down a decidedly weird and baffling road, but I think the culture can afford to take the journey.  Hip-Hop has accommodated gangsters, revolutionaries, party animals and much, much worse.  If Odd Future is truly nothing more than a glorified gimmick, that will be revealed in time.  For now, let’s take a step back and see what they have to offer.

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