A shadowy figure sits in the distance like Auguste Rodin’s “The Thinker” as an eerie but simple hip-hop beat starts playing amidst guttural mumblings. As the camera lens slowly zooms in and adjusts into focus, Tyler The Creator snaps out of his reverie as he opens with “I’m a fuckin’ walking paradox / No, I’m not.”
The music video for “Yonkers” goes on to feature a jittery Tyler sending death threats to other artists, vomiting after eating a cockroach and finally committing suicide by tying a noose around his neck. With dark, aggressive lyrics, near-deadpan delivery and morbid imagery, the song — the first on his upcoming album “GOBLIN” — captures Tyler’s style. And at only 19 years old, Tyler The Creator has become one of the most interesting characters in hip-hop.
He’s the leader of a hip-hop collective based in Los Angeles known as Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA), made up entirely of teenagers such as himself. He produces his own music and directs his own music videos. He made his first live television performance early in February on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” with fellow Odd Future member Hodgy Beats to an excited crowd that shouted inside jokes such as “Swag” and “Free Earl.” He recently signed with XL Recordings and received a very public cosign from Kanye West when he tweeted about “Yonkers,” calling it the “video of 2011.”
But it’s Tyler’s music that really makes him noteworthy. He’s obviously disgusted with the current state of hip-hop as he says in his opening track, “Bastard,” from his album of the same name: “I created O.F. ‘cause I feel we’re more talented than 40-year-old rappers talkin’ ‘bout Gucci.” His lyrics are offensive, funny and ultimately revealing — his hatred for his father and his sexual fantasies seem to not only be common themes, but also the inspiration for his music. There’s a definite artistry in his songs that’s sure to be overlooked in favor of his ostensible anger and subject matter.
Members of Odd Future have always had a heavy presence on the Internet. Tyler tweets constantly and even maintains both a Tumblr and a Formspring where he regularly communicates with fans. In the throes of success, it’s relieving to know that Tyler stays true to his roots.
Despite his do-it-yourself work ethic and underground roots, he’s made multiple claims online and in his music that he can’t wait to “sell out” so he can buy a new house for his mother and win a Grammy. Keep track of Tyler and Odd Future because with youth and originality on their side, they just might become mainstream.
scho@theeagleonline.com