Let me start off this review by saying that Odd Future is a love em or hate em posse of artists. If you look past the cockroach eating shock tactics (Tyler, the Creator's "Goblin" video) then you'll see that these dudes got some real life talent . The original Odd Future Tape came out back when the group was still in its infancy before Tyler was winning MTV awards and getting props around the industry along with Hodgy Beats and Frank Ocean.
The OF crew refuses to bask in their own successes and instead take a chance to take shots at themselves in the intro skit "Hi". Following this Hodgy kicks off the musical portion of the cd on "NY (Ned Flander)" throwing out the type of bars that have helped his group (Mellowhype) gain notoriety.
"I'm throwin' T-Bones, to these wannabe me clones
in they wannabe me clothes, b**** I'm actually old
I spin ya like the cover we on, between the pages
I'm 21 now been runnin these fairfax blocks for ages
Organic for breakfast free rangin on stages
12 noon on my clock, engaged for 12 gauges
I spit the plague and don't believe in bein pagan
I send ya wife dead photos of ya taken by Satan...B****"
-Hodgy Beats
Tyler comes in on the 2nd verse and does a his thing dropping comical but clever stuff like
"This that we sh*t hot sh*t piss off custodians, and get rich and marry fat b**** Lamar O-dioms".
-Tyler, The Creator
So far we're off to a good start with the tag team combo from "NY" continuing throughout the rest of the album using the other OF artists on tracks like Mike G, Domo Genesis, Frank Ocean, and yes even the long lost Earl Sweatshirt fresh outta boarding school.
My personal favorite moments on the CD however aren't even full fledged rap with The Internet and Frank Ocean stealing the spotlight on a few tracks. The Internet (Syd the Kid and Matt Martians) effectively pull off their best N.E.R.D. impression on "Ya Know" and Frank slows things way down in the best way on "White". Bringing it back around to the strictly Hip-Hop sounds the two aforementioned artists bring a great element to Tyler's "Analog 2" which is imo the 2nd best track on the album thanks to Frank killing the r&b portion of the first half and Syd joining in on the songs 2nd half when the beat swtiches up.
Mellowhype's "50" has Tyler and Hodgy once again trading overly aggresive bars over the slept on Left Brain's hard hitting instrumental. You literally CAN'T sit still while playing this track.
Speaking of beats the variety of sounds showcased on this cd from OF's in-house production talent shows that these dudes have some heat cooking up in Syd's studio.
All is not exactly top notch on the CD as there are some forgettable tracks on here like "Hcad", "Real B****", and the hilariously ignorant "We Got B*****s" with OF's resident non-rappers Taco and Jasper. On 2nd thought I'd still say give that track a listen for laughs.
No compilation album would be complete without the expected posse cut and "Oldie" shines through as the best track on the CD as well as one of the best posse cuts I've heard in a good moment. Tyler clearly channeled his inner RZA when he put together the beat for this as it brings back all the memories of a grimy Wu-Tang posse track from the 90's. The beat definitely brings out the best of everybody that spits on it even the getting Frank to spit some unexpectedly hot bars that you wouldn't expect from a singer of his stature. Earl Sweatshirt steals the show as fans hoped following his long absence after being sent away to boarding school.
Overall Score: 8 out of 10.
-Dre
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