One of the most polarizing figures in alternative rap comes to Minglewood Hall this Friday night. The world was introduced to Tyler, The Creator (whose real name is Tyler Okonma) and his hip-hop collective Odd Future (short for Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All) in 2011 when Okonma dropped the album Goblin and released the cutting-edge video for the single “Yonkers” shortly after. While Tyler, The Creator was obviously the leader and music-industry favorite of this controversial hip-hop collective, artists like Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt also found super stardom during Odd Future’s reign of terror. From 2011 to 2014, the music press paid close attention to every move Tyler and his minions made, sometimes focusing on the group’s off-stage behavior more than the groundbreaking music they created.
That’s not to say that Odd Future didn’t deserve the bad reputation they developed. In February 2014, Odd Future was banned from performing in New Zealand due to a “potential threat to public order and the public interest.” Tyler, The Creator followed up the New Zealand fiasco by getting arrested in Austin, Texas, at the South by Southwest music festival the very next month, this time for inciting a riot. Not one to be held down, he celebrated his release from jail by playing a sold-out show the next day.
While the antics of Odd Future were obviously a huge part of their success, it seems that even the most immature members of the collective had to grow up at some point. In a series of tweets posted in late May, Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, The Creator acknowledged the fact that Odd Future had run its course. Both artists put out amazing albums within a month of each other earlier this year, perhaps a sign that while Odd Future might be dead, Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler, The Creator, and Frank Ocean have no plans of slowing down.