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Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All

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Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, often abbreviated OFWGKTA or Odd Future, are a music, skateboarding and artist collective out of Los Angeles, California. The main members are Tyler, the Creator, Hodgy Beats, Earl Sweatshirt, Domo Genesis, Mike G, Frank Ocean, Left Brain, Matt Martians, Syd tha Kyd, Jasper "Dolphin" Loc and Taco Bennett. The group itself consists not only of hip hop and R&B artists but also skaters and other traditional artists; Tyler has given an estimate of 60 members total, all ranging in age from 17 to 25.

From left to right: Taco Bennett, Frank Ocean, Jasper, Matt, Domo Genesis, Wolf Haley, Tyler, The Creator, Mike G, Hodgy Beats, Syd Tha Kyd, Earl Sweatshirt, and Left Brain

There are multiple groups inside the collective: MellowHype (rapper Hodgy Beats and producer Left Brain); EarlWolf (Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, the Creator); The Jet Age of Tomorrow (producers Matt Martians and Hal Williams); The Internet (Syd tha Kyd and Matt Martians); The Super 3 (Matt Martians and others, see below) and I Smell Panties (Jasper Dolphin and Tyler, the Creator). The group's net-based promotion has also produced a staggering amount of individual tracks, including an R&B parody song called "Love in Da Mall" by T.T.D.D. (Tyler, Taco, DeVon and Domo Genesis) and a parody of Lil B by Young Nigga (aka Tyler in a wig) called "Come Threw Looking Clean".

They have garnered a cult following and have been receiving steady press from blogs as well as magazines. Tyler recently won the 2011 MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist (for his viral "Yonkers" video) and Frank Ocean snagged a few hooks on Kanye West's and Jay-Z's Watch the Throne. Cartoon Network will be broadcasting their own live-action TV show Loiter Squad, produced by Jackass producers Dickhouse, in 2012.

Because of the sprawling nature of this Troperiffic group, we've split up each artist and group within the collective into manageable entries below.

Tyler, the Creator

De facto leader and, as his name suggests, creator of Odd Future. Tyler (aka Ace Creator, Wolf Haley, Young Nigga) saw the talents he and his peers had after years of being friends and decided to form a group where they could make their own rules. His song "Bastard" explicitly states, "I feel we're more talented than 40 year old rappers talking about Gucci when they have kids they haven't seen in years." Tyler's interest in music started a young age, when he would design his own albums with cover art and tracklistings. By fourteen, he was teaching himself how to play the piano and by fifteen, he was producing his own music.

Tyler's chiefly influenced by horror films and the slick electro funk of The Neptunes, and it shows. A sizable portion of Tyler's output is autobiographical, referencing his missing father, being used in a rebound relationship and his confessional thoughts on his own life. The rest of his work incorporates elaborate storytelling scenarios involving tales of rape, murder and substance abuse. The latter part has gotten him in trouble with advocacy groups and the press, with no help from Tyler's tell-it-like-it-is demeanour and general wackiness. He famously told lesbian rock band Tegan and Sara to call him if they needed "some hard dick" after they called him out on his language.

Discography:

  • The Odd Future Tape (Odd Future compilation, 2008)
  • Bastard (2009; chopped and screwed version by Mike G, 2010)
  • Radical (Odd Future compilation, 2010)
  • Goblin (2011)
  • 12 Odd Future Songs (Odd Future compilation, 2011)
  • OF Tape Vol. 2 (Odd Future compilation, 2012)

Tyler, the Creator provides examples of:

  • The Ace: Ace Creator.
  • A Darker Me: Two of them: Ace Creator and Wolf Haley. Ace is more of a boastful hotshot while Wolf is an evil, Slim Shady-esque figure. Wolf predominately collaborates with Earl Sweatshirt.
  • Ascended Fanboy: Tyler's biggest influence is Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes. The two finally met and apparently Pharrell has signed Tyler to his record label. Tyler even called Pharrell to wish him a happy Father's Day in 2011.
  • Audience Participation Song: "Inglorious" asks for all legitimate bastards to yell "Fuck You" to the fathers that left them. Subverted, since the song has never been performed live, and according to Tyler, never will be.
    • Attempted again in "Golden", but declared "corny as fuck" a few seconds into it.
  • Basso Profundo: Tyler uses an octave-shifting effect on his voice to achieve this.
  • Big Bad
  • Black Eyes of Evil: Tyler has these in "Yonkers" and "She."
  • Breakout Character: As a result of getting all of the media attention up until MellowHype re-issued BlackenedWhite, Tyler has been trying to avoid this trope like the plague, urging his fans to give attention to the other members of Odd Future as he did not want to leave them behind.
  • Cloudcuckoolander - It's unclear how much of it is an act, though. His wikipedia page notes that he has referred to himself as a unicorn, a table, and a purse. Both in raps and out of them.
 

Tyler's twitter: "I AM STILL THE MOST SWAGGED OUT UNICORN IN THE FUCKING EXISTENCE OF FUCKING UNICORNS NIGGA. FUCK PEGASUS, HE'S A FUCKING FAGGOT. OFUGKTA"

 
  • The Cameo: Tyler produced most of Domo Genesis' album Rolling Papers and makes plenty of uncredited cameos across it.
  • Cluster F-Bomb: Used with both F-words and the N-word.
  • Concept Album: Tyler's first album, Bastard, starts with school therapist Dr. TC introducing himself to Tyler and all of the rapping that follows is in response to the therapist's questions. It has an overt theme about how Tyler is a bastard in the literal sense, and how he feels about it.
    • Goblin starts off exactly where Bastard ended (introducing Wolf Haley and Tron Cat, the evil voice in Tyler's head) and it's likely Wolf will do the same for Goblin.
  • Continuity Nod: Tina never did perm her weave.
  • Creepy Basement: The one all the women get locked up in.
  • Deliberately Monochrome: the music videos for "Yonkers" and "French".
  • Determinator: Tyler. Break a foot at the beginning of a concert? Finish concert... after going to a doctor of course.
  • Did Not Get the Girl: Raquel befriended Tyler in high school, confiding her personal secrets and relationship issues in him. When he made his move to solidify a relationship with her by asking her out to the prom, she threw him into the Friend Zone and got back with her man. Tyler's thoughts about Raquel show up in his work as much as his issues with his negligent father does. Early on, the character of Sarah was used as a placeholder for Raquel so he could viciously assault her through song. Leads to...
  • Disproportionate Retribution: In "Sarah", she said no to being Tyler's date to the homecoming prom. So she's abducted, dragged into a Creepy Basement, raped, killed, eaten and raped again.
  • Don't Try This At Home/This Is a Work of Fiction: The intro to "Radicals":
 

Tyler: Random disclaimer... Hey, don't do anything that I say in this song, okay? It's fuckin' fiction. If anything happens, don't fuckin' blame me, white America. Fuck Bill O'Reilly.[1]

 
  • Evil Sounds Deep: Inverted with Dr. TC, who is probably the sanest person on Tyler's albums; played straight by Tyler's Wolf Haley persona. For those who have trouble telling them apart, Wolf has a slight growl to it. However...
  • Foreshadowing: ...the first clue that Dr. TC isn't all he's cracked up to be comes in the first few seconds of "Goblin", where he says that Tyler "don't even have the balls" to kill himself. Choice words coming from a supposed health professional...
    • Additional signs: Dr. TC finishes one of Tyler's sentences in "Goblin" and starts one of them in "Nightmare".
  • Gratuitous Panning: The codas to "Yonkers" and "Tron Cat".
    • Also a fun example in Radical:
 
 
    • First time you hear that, you reverse you headphones, because you think you're wearing them backwards.
    • Although, eventually in the chorus they do say left and right on the left and right headphones.
    • Also used to great effect during "She," where Wolf Haley finally talks to the object of his obsession one on one. The effect is rather unsettling:
 

"I just wanna talk, conversate/'Cause I usually just stalk you and masturbate/And I finally got the courage to ask you on a date, so just say yes/And let the future fall into place, cunt."

 
 

Tyler: "Well, I have gay fans and they don't really take it offensive, so I don't know. If it offends you, it offends you."

 
 

Dr. TC, from Bastard's "Inglorious": Well Tyler, it's about that time... You're a good kid, just misguided. Is there anything else you wanna say before we end this?
Dr. TC, from Goblin's "Golden": Tyler, you... obviously have some fucking problems and this is the end of this session. Let's... Anything else you've gotta say?

 
  • Kill'Em All: The endings of "Bitch Suck Dick" and "Window".
    • Except, of course, for Earl Sweatshirt, who doesn't appear on the album. However, considering the throwaway instrumental "AU79" placed right after, as well as the track "Llama" that featured Earl and was cut, it can be assumed that Earl was killed between "Bitch Suck Dick" and "Window", even if we didn't hear it.
    • Tyler has said that "Llama" will appear on Wolf however, so that may not have happened.
  • Leave the Camera Running: The "Yonkers" video keeps the camera centered on Tyler rapping while sitting on a stool, although the shot goes in and out of focus and Tyler sometimes gets uncomfortably close to the camera.
  • List Song: "Fin", the closing track of their first mixtape, is basically a credits and special thanks roll set to music.
  • Lyrical Dissonance: "She" probably stands out as the biggest winner, considering it's close to a Neptunes-produced slow jam and features resident R&B singer Frank Ocean...only he's singing a chorus full of Paranoia Fuel as well...
 

Frank Ocean: "Ain't no men allowed in your bedroom, you're sleeping alone in bed... Check your window. He's at your window."
Tyler: "I just wanna drag your lifeless body to the forest and fornicate with it but that’s because I’m in love with you... cunt."

 
 

Tyler: "Bitch, fuck your feelings, you wasn't feelin' shit when you was down there kneelin'
now shut the fuck up, you've got another dick to deal with."

 
  • Mood Whiplash: Tyler's really tongue-in-cheek about a lot of things, considering how dark his music is. However, some of his songs have sections in which he has small acting performances that come across as genuinely disturbing. For example, in "Sarah" and "Window".
    • The transition from "Bitch Suck Dick" to "Window" on Goblin.
  • Murder Ballad: Several on Bastard. "Sarah" is the most gruesome example, featuring necrophilia and cannibalism. A handful of other tracks released before and after Bastard apply as well.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: "Window" ends with Tyler employing a Cluster F-Bomb version of this after killing the rest of OFWGKTA.
  • N-Word Privileges: To the point that Tyler calls everyone "nigga", regardless of age, race, gender or species. When he accidentally stepped on a snail, he tweeted,
 

"Like, he Didnt Do Anything To Me. It Was An Accident. Fuck, I'm Sorry Snail Nigga."

 
    • Tyler also told MTV, "If you call me a nigga, I really don't care, but that's just me, personally. Some people might take it the other way; I personally don't give a shit."
  • Nice Hat: His oft-referenced green Supreme hat.
  • Obsession Song: "Her". His song "Sarah" a very grim version of this.
  • One of Us: Tyler, the Creator is a huge fan of Cartoon Network, and has specifically cited Adventure Time, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force in the lyrics to various songs. Additionally, in the track "Fin", he lists off several influences, which include Dr. Seuss and Salvador Dali.
    • He also referenced Max Keeble's Big Move in the title track on Bastard. The line was surrounded by lyrics about how evil his music is.
  • Parental Abandonment: Tyler, the Creator's father left before he was born.
  • Piss-Take Rap: His work as part of I Smell Panties (granted, it's a comedy rap group) and any track where Taco or Jasper show up with him.
  • Record Producer: Tyler not only creates nearly every single beat he uses, but produces beats for most of the Odd Future roster, including Hodgy Beats, Domo Genesis and Earl Sweatshirt. One of Tyler's signatures is using keyboards and drum samples that have been pitched down severely.
  • Recycled Lyrics: The line, "Free Earl, that's the fucking shit and if you disagree, lick a couple pimple covered dicks" from "Sandwitches" appears again in "Burger" with the final word changed to "clits".
    • The final verse of "Cult Shit" was re-used to end "Yonkers".
    • The opening line of "Pimp Slap" reappeared halfway during "Window".
    • Tyler has a habit of referencing things from "Yonkers" in his guest verses, including Pusha T's "Trouble On My Mind" and The Game's "Martians vs Goblins".
  • Refuge in Audacity: "I'm not crazy, I'm a fucking table!"
    • "Come Threw Looking Clean".
    • From "Bitch Suck Dick":
 

Tyler: "At the fucking mall, 40 bitches on my nutsack
Pulled up on a motherfuckin' unicorn (I'm gettin' ponies, nigga!)"

 
  • Refuge in Vulgarity: Especially when paired with Earl and Jasper.
  • The Reveal: Fans have known explicitly that Wolf Haley is an alter ego of Tyler, but the true reveal is at the end of his song "Golden": Dr. TC, in an attempt to calm Tyler after Wolf Haley forced him to kill all of his friends, tells him that TC is Wolf Haley as well as Tron Cat, the voice giving Tyler evil thoughts.
  • Rhyming with Itself: Tyler, the Creator plays with it on the song "The Tape Intro":
 

"Whether you nigga or esé

The [Odd Future] magazine is great because the article's an essay

Half you dumb niggas can't even write an essay

'Cause all of y'all some stupid asses. S.A."

 
  • Rock Me, Asmodeus: Tyler doesn't care about religion and uses Satanic imagery primarily to piss people off.
  • Sanity Slippage Song: Pretty much all of Goblin after "Her". Tyler hits the Despair Event Horizon, Mode Locking on his Wolf Haley persona (the crowdless rally at the beginning of "Sandwitches" being very telling of the loss of sanity.) Ultimately, Tyler snaps back to sanity after shooting the rest of OFWGKTA in cold blood during an intervention. If you want to count "Analog" (a track about a trip to the beach) as part of that, go right ahead.
  • Self-Deprecation: From Tyler's Twitter account:
 

"Odd Future Is Just A Trend, NONE Of Them Niggas Have Actually Talent In Any Form Of Way. Their Gimmick Is Gonna Die Out Soon."

"I Give It A Month Before Everyone Hates Odd Future."

 
    • From "Goblin":
 

"I mean, I'm not that great of a rapper but as a whole, I'm pretty cool, right?"

 
  • Self-Made Man: To the point that Tyler won the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in 2011 for a song he wrote, produced and recorded himself, paired with a video that he directed for it. Understandably, he fell off the stage and wept openly after giving his acceptance speech.
  • Shout-Out: "Window"'s opening couplet is lifted straight from The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy".
    • The "She" video opens up on Nilbog street.
  • Significant Monogram: On Goblin, Tyler the Creator, Tron Cat, Doctor TC...noticing a trend?
  • Song Style Shift: Tyler's "Radicals" features a vitriolic first half with brief subdued sections. The second half gives way to a sung refrain and a Chinese harp.
  • Streisand Effect: The main reason why anyone knows of brandUn DeShay is because Tyler fell out with him and mentioned beating him up in "Yonkers".
  • Studio Chatter: "Oh I don't need the metronome, bro." at the beginning of "Her".
  • Stylistic Suck: "Swag Me Out", "Tina", "Bitch Suck Dick"...hell, pretty much any song with Taco and/or Jasper qualifies.
    • "Come Threw Lookin Clean", a parody of Lil B.
  • Surprisingly Gentle Song: Goblin has "She" (despite heavy Lyrical Dissonance), "Her" and "Analog". The latter is about lighting fireworks and swimming in a lake.
  • Take That, Critics!: Tyler is exceptionally vocal about hip hop blogs 2DopeBoyz and Nah Right not supporting Odd Future early on, but the opening seconds of his album Bastard really takes the cake:
 

"Yo, fuck 2DopeBoyz and fuck Nah Right and any other fuck-nigga-ass blog that can't put an 18 year old nigga making his own fucking beats, covers, videos and all that shit; fuck you post-Drake-ass cliche-jerking, LA-slauson rapping fuck-nigga-ass Hypebeast niggas, now back to the album."

 
 

from "Her": "She is who I'm thinking of when I am beating Richard up."
from "Sandwitches": "The way your daughter smackin' dicks, surprised she hasn't taken gymnastic dick inside her alley oop."

 
  • Where Da White Women At?: White women? All sorts of sex (and possibly dismemberment.) Black women? Expect a dismissive attitude about their temper or body weight.
  • Wolverine Publicity: In an interesting twist on this trope, Tyler is being used in this way already for other, more experienced artists. He's already appeared on Pusha T's new single, and is slated to appear on The Game's upcoming album. He's alluded to getting many more offers.


Hodgy Beats

Rapper and one half of MellowHype. Originally exhibiting a mellow, unsure delivery, Hodgy Beats' rapping style hardened to a more aggressive style after working with producer Left Brain. Has a rather distinctive laugh that is heard across many tracks. Hodgy also has a good singing voice and has used it on several tracks, including Tyler's "Analog" and Domo Genesis' "Drunk".

Discography:

  • The Odd Future Tape (Odd Future compilation, 2008)
  • The Dena Tape (2009)
  • Radical (Odd Future compilation, 2010)
  • 12 Odd Future Songs (Odd Future compilation, 2011)
  • OF Tape Vol. 2 (Odd Future compilation, 2012)

Hodgy Beats provides examples of:

  • The Cameo: Some uncredited singing appearances across the board, most notably on Domo Genesis' "Drunk" (though he is mentioned by Domo himself in the first verse.)
  • Characterization Marches On: Early on, Hodgy was The Stoner. After hooking up with Left Brain, his delivery grew more aggressive and moved towards more gangsta rap topics such as money, police and illicit substances.
  • Department of Redundancy Department: On Domo Genesis' "Steam Roller": "Weed, you got it, I want it, I want it if you got weed."
  • One of Us: "Memorex CDs" samples a song from Chrono Trigger.
  • Piss-Take Rap: His songs performed under the name of Young Swag.
  • Rock Me, Asmodeus: Employed liberally in later works.
  • The Stoner: Hodgy's early records made him really look like a stoner. He enjoys weed, too.
  • Studio Chatter: His lone album is full of it.
  • Stylistic Suck: "Real Niggas" and "Respect My Gangsta", parodies of rap clichés released under the name Young Swag.


MellowHype

Hip hop group composed of rapper Hodgy Beats and producer Left Brain.

Discography:

  • YelloWhite (2010)
  • BlackenedWhite (2010)
  • 12 Odd Future Songs (Odd Future compilation, 2011)
  • OF Tape Vol. 2 (Odd Future compilation, 2012)

MellowHype provides examples of:

  • Cluster F-Bomb
  • Nice Hat: Left Brain's dog hat, as seen in the page image.
  • Prophet Eyes: Hodgy Beats and Left Brain in "64."
  • Record Producer: Left Brain focuses mainly on producing and leaves Hodgy to appear in the press. He has produced not only for Hodgy and MellowHype, but for other members in the group.
  • Rock Me, Asmodeus: To the point that the re-issue cover of BlackenedWhite is an upside-down cross.
  • Shout-Out: "64" has shout outs to Village of the Damned and The Ring.
  • Updated Rerelease: BlackenedWhite was originally released online on October 31st, 2010, but a remastered version with a new cover was released on July 12, 2011. The tracklist was changed, notably removing the songs with Earl Sweatshirt due to his mother not signing release forms for his verses to be used.
  • White Mask of Doom: The Ring girl in MellowHype's video for "64."


Earl Sweatshirt

One of the most prodigous members of the group, Earl Sweatshirt (aka Sly Tendencies and Early Man) is the son of famed poet and political activist Keorapetse Kgositsile. His lyrical content is the most vitriolic and gruesome of the bunch, constantly featuring wanton murder, rape, necrophilia and cannibalism. Despite this, his impressive and inventive uses of wordplay, double entendres and multi-syllabic rhyming have garnered considerable critical praise.

Earl managed to squeeze out one album and a handful of collaborations before mysteriously disappearing. Eventually, Complex magazine found him in a boarding school in Samoa (his mother's government job involved her working there for some time.) Odd Future refused to comment on the situation, though Tyler expressed worry over fans coming after Earl's mom for sending him there. Earl's mother also refused to allow additional songs featuring Earl to be released. Earl's disappearance prompted the chanting of "Free Earl" in concerts and in songs.

Early 2012, Earl arrived back in the United States. He officially made his return on the songs "Home" and "Oldie", and made his return performance at a New York show in March 2012. In a recent interview, Earl confirmed that he was sent to Samoa but only because he was "doing some bad stuff at the time" that was entirely unrelated to his rapping.

Discography:

  • Kitchen Cutlery (2009; unreleased)
  • EARL (2010)
  • Radical (Odd Future compilation, 2010)
  • The OF Tape Vol. 2 (2012)

Earl Sweatshirt provides examples of:

Frank Ocean

Ocean is an R&B singer-songwriter originally from Louisiana who began writing music professionally in 2005 under his birth name of Christopher Breaux (aka Lonny Breaux.) His records focus mainly on interpersonal relationships, personal reflection and social commentary. He met Odd Future and Tricky Stewart in 2009 through his business connections, the latter of which got him signed to Def Jam. When Def Jam would not release nostalgia, ULTRA., he released it as part of Odd Future's label online, generating considerable interest in Ocean's talents. Some of his clients include Kanye West and Jay-Z (who featured him on their collab album Watch the Throne), Beyoncé (whose song "I Miss You" was written by him), Justin Bieber, John Legend and Brandy. Ocean also is proficient in rapping and has done so on some Odd Future songs. Several fans didn't notice that the first verse on Tyler's "She" was him rapping, for instance.

Discography:

  • nostalgia, ULTRA. (2010)
  • The Lonny Breaux Collection (unofficial mixtape, 2011)
  • OF Tape Vol. 2 (Odd Future compilation, 2012)

Frank Ocean provides examples of:


Domo Genesis

Rapper with an affinity for marijuana.

Discography:

  • Rolling Papers (2010)
  • Radical (Odd Future compilation, 2010)
  • Under the Influence (mixtape, 2011)
  • 12 Odd Future Songs (Odd Future compilation, 2011)
  • OF Tape Vol. 2 (Odd Future compilation, 2012)

Domo Genesis provides examples of:

  • Name's the Same: Rolling Papers is also an album by Wiz Khalifa, released in under a year from Domo's album.
  • The Stoner: Under the Influence was out at 4:20pm on the day it was released, even.


Mike G

Laidback rapper with a respectable flow. Produces chopped and screwed remixes on the side, including remixing the entirety of Tyler's Bastard.

Discography:

  • Mike Check (2009)
  • ALI (2010)
  • Radical (Odd Future compilation, 2010)
  • Screwed Up Saturdays (mixtape, 2011)
  • Screwed Up Saturdays Vol. II (mixtape, 2011)
  • 12 Odd Future Songs (Odd Future compilation, 2011)
  • OF Tape Vol. 2 (Odd Future compilation, 2012)

Mike G provides examples of:


Matt Martians

Matt Martians is Odd Future's foray into instrumental hip hop, with a decidedly psychedelic bent. When lyrics are employed, they usually revolve around women or space themes. Martians has headed two projects within OFWGKTA: The Super 3, featuring himself and either Hal Williams, or Betty Vasolean and Yoshi Jankins, Jr. (the internet is a bit fuzzy about this) and The Jet Age of Tomorrow with Hal Williams. A few of Odd Future's rappers appeared on Jet Age's album Journey to the 5th Echelon. Jet Age produced Kilo Kush's Homeschool album under the name Junior Varsity, as well as two songs for Soulja Boy. They've also used the name Dem Acura Boyz.

The Super 3 Discography:

  • The Purple Cows EP (unreleased, 2008)
  • The Odd Future Tape (Odd Future compilation, 2008)
  • Panic on Pluto! (unreleased, 2009)
  • The Super D3Shay EP (with brandUn DeShay, 2009)
  • The Super 3 Instrumentals (2011)

The Jet Age of Tomorrow Discography:

  • Voyager (2010)
  • Journey to the 5th Echelon (2011)
  • The Story of Marsha Lotus (2011)
  • 12 Odd Future Songs (Odd Future compilation, 2011)

Matt Martians and his projects provide examples of:

Taco Bennett and Jasper Dolphin

Two friends of Tyler's who happen to appear on a handful of songs. Neither has much skill in writing lyrics, but that doesn't necessarily stop them from trying. They have admitted to not doing much else and work very much like hype men during live performances. Jasper is one half of I Smell Panties, while Taco is one of the group's photographers. Taco is also OFWGKTA engineer Syd tha Kyd's younger brother and their house is used as the group's recording studio. Tyler, the Creator has thus far had both of them appear on one song off of each of his albums.

Taco and Jasper provide examples of:

  • Butt Monkey: Taco. Roughly a third of Earl's twitter is talking shit about him (calling him by his real name, "Travis"). He also gets messed with the most on Loiter Squad.
  • Piss-Take Rap: Almost every time Taco or Jasper step up to the mic, they produce this. Especially hilarious is Tyler's song "Tina", where Taco is given eight bars to rap and ends up spending six of them eating potato chips very loudly instead. With no backing beat whatsoever.
  • Refuge in Audacity: During Tyler's "Tina", Jasper is in the mall and the club simulatneously. Taco is "with your girlfriend eating chips" and manages to prove so directly afterward.
  • Refuge in Vulgarity: Especially when paired with Tyler and Earl.
  • Rhyming with Itself: Jasper Dolphin ends up rhyming "shit" and "bitch" with themselves on occasion:
 

"I'm loud as fuck, I'm ignorant
Beat your bitch in her mouth just for talkin' shit
You lurkin' bitch? Well, I see that shit
Once again I gotta punch a bitch in her shit"

 
 

Jasper Dolphin: "You dead bitch, I'm hot as fuck
I ain't never cold, but I'm icy BITCH"

 


I Smell Panties

An early project by Tyler, the Creator and Jasper Dolphin. I Smell Panties was a comedy rap group, poking fun at all of the rap cliches that were big in the late noughties including clothes, bling, gang warfare and club culture. The most prominent subject was that of slutty women giving the group herpes and other STDs. Jasper's lyrical skill is practically non-existent in this group, providing off-the-cuff spoken word remarks and nervous laughter. While Tyler has to this day still recorded songs with Jasper, they have not released them under the I Smell Panties name.

Discography:

  • I Smell Panties (2008)
  • The Odd Future Tape (Odd Future compilation, 2008)

I Smell Panties provides examples of:

  • Basso Profundo: Even at this early stage, Tyler was using pitchshifting software to drop his already low-pitched voice even further. Inverted as well, as both his and Jasper's voices are sped up; in "Hi to Me", Jasper plays a woman with his sped up voice.
  • Instrumentals: Drop the left channel on "Bapes" and "Bapes (freestyle)" and you suddenly have instrumental versions.
  • Mood Whiplash: The sudden hilarity of "Lisa" really brightened up The Odd Future Tape.
  • Piss-Take Rap: Everything. The start of "Bapes (freestyle)" is the only exception.
  • Refuge in Audacity
  • Rule 34: I Smell Panties made their own with the aptly titled "Lilo Fucks Stitch".
  • Spoken Word in Music: Aside from Jasper not being able to rap at this stage, "Hi to Me" contains extended speaking passages.
  • What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?: After everyone (and their families) gets fantastical STDs in "Lisa", Jasper walks in and says, "Wait wait wait, that bitch stole my motherfuckin' Bapes!" A response of "She stole your Bapes!?" follows.


The Internet

An R&B project combining Odd Future engineer Syd tha Kyd's vocals with Matt Martians' production.

Discography:

  • 12 Odd Future Songs (Odd Future compilation, 2011)
  • Purple Naked Ladies (2011)
  • OF Tape Vol. 2 (Odd Future compilation, 2012)

The Internet provides examples of:

The Creative Bunch

a "sub-clique" within OFWGKTA that consists of some of the "other 40 or so" members of the group making rap music. They are officially a part of Odd Future, but rarely interact with the rest of the group outside the odd production credit. The group consists mainly of Jack Mushroom, Trizz, and Skoolie 300.

  • One of Us - "Kings" samples the original source of the "THIS! IS! SPARTA!" meme, so it's likely.

OFWGKTA as a whole provides examples of:

  • Alternative Hip Hop: One of the few modern day groups to fit into this genre.
  • Anti-Christmas Song: "Fuck This Christmas" by Tyler, Earl and Hodgy.
  • Berserk Button: A few reporters learned firsthand not to ask about Earl's whereabouts.
  • Catch Phrase: Swag me out, Fuck Steve Harvey, and FREE EARL.
    • As well as KILL PEOPLE BURN SHIT FUCK SCHOOL, which is chanted at their concerts.
  • Circus of Fear: Used early on as part of their imagery.
  • Cowboy Bebop at His Computer: Everyone in the group raps about rape, misogyny and murder, no expections. Fact of the matter is, Tyler and Earl are the only ones who do so and even then, a lot of Tyler's songs have nothing to do with evil (see Horrorcore, below.) Odd Future are apparently all devil worshippers, but several of them are atheist (or don't care about spirituality) and they only actively use anti-Christian imagery and lyrics to piss people off.
 

Tyler, from "Goblin": "'Oh that's a triple three six, isn't he a devil worshipper 'cause I'm too fuckin' ignorant to do some research?"

 
  • Fun with Acronyms - Casey Veggies featured several members of the group on his most recent mixtape (Custom #3), Casey's crew is called Peas n' Carrots International. PNCIN for short. Now what would be a good name for a song featuring both PNCIN and OFWGKTA? PNCINOFWGKTA of course.
  • Genre Shift: While most of the publicly known group raps, Frank Ocean is an R&B singer. His lyrics are extremely heartfelt. Additionally, The Jet Age of Tomorrow and The Internet are far more psychedelic and less profane (when there's even lyrics) than the rest of the group's output.
  • Horrorcore: Odd Future have dismissed this label in multiple tweets and songs.
    • To elaborate, Tyler's said that he treats some of his songs like they're horror films and writes in the style of famous serial killers, like Jeffrey Dahmer, as if he was a storyteller; hence the dismissal of the Horrorcore tag. Only about eight of the 32 songs spread across Tyler's two albums actually hit the trope's definition full tilt (one of them, "Transylvania", goes to the extreme of being written from Dracula's perspective.) In the lyrics to "Goblin", Tyler cites "Parade" and "Inglorious" as songs that have nothing to do with horrorcore (they deal with his DIY outlook on life, specifically.)
    • All of Earl Sweatshirt's output either falls squarely into the horrorcore box or dances along the edge of it (even the Anti-Christmas Song, where he stabs a woman for no reason) and Hodgy Beats is the poster child for Rock Me, Asmodeus within the group. All of the other members of Odd Future go nowhere near horrorcore.
  • Kill'Em All: Part of the group's name.
  • Lyrical Dissonance: Most of their beats are smooth and laid-back, drawing heavy influence from The Neptunes and MF Doom. While not all of their lyrics are as gruesome as those that dominate Tyler and Earl's solo material, even their tamest material usually contains nods to vandalism, drug use, rough sex and heavy use of profanity (the latter often bordering on the politically incorrect side). This isn't always the case, though, as their beats can also be quite eerie to match the themes of songs like Tyler's "Transylvania" and Earl's "epaR", but even those songs' beats are nowhere near the grimdark theatrics of, say, Insane Clown Posse (who the group are sometimes asininely compared to).
  • Mind Screw/Surreal Music Video: Rella. And how.
  • Mood Whiplash: Going between Analog 2, a soft, slower love song, and 50, a loud, fast, and aggressive song, on OF Tape Vol. 2.
  • Refuge in Audacity: As much as humanly possible. In a very recent example, Tyler is a centaur, Hodgy's penis is a laser and Domo Genesis can slap women so hard they go from African-American to Asian.
  • Rock Me, Asmodeus: Though only some of them are atheists, they often use satanic imagery to piss people off.
  • Sampling: They usually avoid this (preferring original beats), with the exception of their Radical mixtape, in which each track was based on an already established beat that each member chose so they could outdo the original's lyrics.
  • Scary Musician, Harmless Music: Inverted. While Tyler, Earl, Jasper and even Hodgy's outputs are offensive and vitriolic, they're pretty down-to-earth people in street clothes and have good senses of humour.
  • Self-Made Man: Odd Future itself. All sixty members are skateboarding buddies and all have contributed to each other's works, whether it be shooting photos or videos, recording or engineer songs, providing artwork, lyrics, etc. Tyler brings this up a lot, including during his Best New Artist acceptance speech during the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards:
 

"To all the kids that's watchin', you can do this shit too. Be yourself. Fuck the system. Golf Wang. Thank you."

 
  • School Tropes: As several members were still in high school when they started out, a couple tropes show up in their early recordings. One track has Tyler as a teacher announcing that each rapper's verse is equivalent to a written assignment.
  • Stage Names: Every member uses one, save for Frank Ocean, who changed his legal name to Christopher Francis Ocean.
  • Studio Chatter: A lot of older songs feature this and it is all hilarious.
  • Supergroup: PNCINOFWGKTA, currently a one-song only deal. Consisting of Casey Veggies, Earl, Hodgy, Domo, and Tyler. Somewhat funny when you consider that Casey used to be a part of OFWGKTA too.
  • Tagalong Kid: Arguably, the other 40+ members of the group that skate and create art as they are rarely visible from a public standpoint (a few have shown up in their music videos, most notably a blonde boy named Lucas.)
    • There are also the OF-"affiliates" like Trizz and Jack Mushroom.
  • True Companions: Tyler and Hodgy have said in a few interviews that because they write, record and produce their own songs, direct their own videos and create their own artwork and photography that they don't require anyone but themselves and would prefer to work without outside influences. Each member is supportive of each other's work entirely and they appear as one unit during live shows.
  • Up to Eleven: The bar is currently set at the video for "Rella"
  • What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?: In the Funny or Die video "Odd Future Gets Signed", they only walk out when the label guy sets his glass down on his table.
 

Tyler: What the fuck is your problem? Are you fucking stupid? It's a fucking coaster right there. You don't have any fucking respect? I know this table was expensive, fuckboy. You don't have the decency and respect to use a fucking coaster? I would never in my fucking life allow me and my fucking peers to work with someone with low class - fuck you, let's get out of here. Use a fucking coaster next time, bitch.

 
  1. ↑ Bill O'Reilly is a critic of violent lyrics, believing that hearing them incites violent behaviour and criminal activity.
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