It seems like an eternity has passed since the hype surrounding a collective of kids called Odd Future had SXSW 2011 ablaze with anticipation and near rioting at every performance. And here we are, some seven and a half years later, the boys and girls of said collective mostly going their own ways to different degrees of success, but the constant still being the unwavering talent of the enigmatic Earl Sweatshirt. Several years removed from the "FREE EARL" days, the artist finds himself growing with each subsequent release, the latest of which, "Some Rap Songs," fuses elements of free form jazz, avant garde sounds, and hazy, subdued hip-hop. You can hear the MF Doom and J Dilla influence for sure. The record is deep and searching, finding Earl mourning the loss of his father and recontextualizing his own life and past, and could be a contender for all of your year-end lists. Anyway, listen to album opener "Shattered Dreams" below and get it here.
Somehow, i managed to sleep on this for the last couple of weeks, but Tyler The Creator just released a new record called "Flower Boy," and from what i've heard so far, it's really damn good. Listen to synthy, underground R&B leaning "Boredom" below.
Check out the video for Earl Sweatshirt's excellent new jam "Grief," taken from his new album, "I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside." This kid just gets better and better and better.
I'm getting to the dance a couple of months late on this one, but after two plus years in the making, i'm going to forgive myself for letting it slip. Rapper Freddie Gibbs and producer extraordinaire Madlib, after some stellar EP's, finally released a proper full-length on Stones Throw. And they work with everybody. Take a listen to "Robes" featuring Odd Future's Earl Sweatshirt and Domo Genesis below. It kind of makes me want to smoke weed.
The insanely hyped upcoming album from Odd Future's Earl Sweatshirt is very steadily turning into an event, as each subsequent single and leaked track proves to be even more awesome than the one that came before. The latest jam "Sunday" features R&B crooner and fellow Odd Future member Frank Ocean actually taking a rap verse instead of singing (allegedly about perennial woman beater and crybaby Chris Brown), and it's damn good. Listen to the song here.
Odd Future front man Tyler The Creator will release his new album "Wolf" in April from Odd Future's own record label. Above is one of the three album covers (and my favorite). Below, watch the video for first single "Domo 23."
"Everybody on My Dick Like They Supposed to Be." Indeed. Paul Banks of Interpol fame just release a hip-hop mixtape today...and it's actually pretty good. Mr. Banks has the good manners to not rap himself, and the largely instrumental and sample heavy affair is momentarily graced by the likes of El-P, Mike G from Odd Future, and Talib Kweli. And it's called "Everybody on My Dick Like They Supposed to Be." Stream below and download for free here.
