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The (Odd) Future of soul is ‘Purple Naked Ladies’

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…or flip that headline around and it could read Purple Naked Ladies is the soul of Odd Future.

Purple Naked Ladies is the first album by The Internet, nom-de-artiste of Matt Martians and Syd Tha Kid. Syd is best known as dj and beat-maker for Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All and Tyler The Creator. And those guys are controversial, right? Notorious for their misogyny and homophobia, it’s hard to make those ideals square with an album that is co-written, performed and produced by an out-lesbian who sings songs that are explicity about relationships with other women.

OFWGKTA’s music is complex, bizarre, and most definitely not pop in any way. In contrast, The Internet is not so much a rap group as a modern soul outfit, one that lies closer to the breathy vocal sensuality of Erykah Badu and Aaliyah than the melismatic histrionics of Alicia Keys, but which shares with Tyler et al a kind of dizzy modern psychedelia that’s utterly divorced from the pastorailsm of the hippies and weened on a diet of Cribs and animal tranquillizers. It’s also the most musically-accomplished release from the OFWGKTA camp to date - dare I say it’s accessible, even?

There are two videos taken from the album that can be watched sequentially. Both are directed by Matt Alonzo and featuring Syd and her girlfriend/accomplice as they alternately rob diners á la Pulp Fiction or snort drugs at the fairground. The first is called “Fastlane” and is featured below. The second is “Cocaine” which is after the jump, where you will also find a 20-minute documentary/interview with The Internet.  You can buy Purple Naked Ladies here.

The Internet “Fastlane”
 

 
After the jump, “Cocaine” and The Internet interviewed…

READ ON
Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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03.08.2012
08:00 am
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Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All’s Earl Sweatshirt FOUND

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There’s been a question for some time about the whereabouts of MIA Odd Future rapper Earl Sweatshirt and whether or not he’ll be appearing with the group during their hotly anticipated show at the Coachella music festival this weekend in Southern California.

Probably not if Odd Future leader Tyler, the Creator’s recent tweets are any indication:
 
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No one seemed to know exactly where Earl Sweatshirt (real name Thebe Kgositsile) was and rumors have run rampant that the 17-year old rapper’s parents were horrified when they got a load of their son’s work and immediately shipped him off to a military boarding school, where he’s been for some months.

This appears to be the case as Complex magazine seem to have solved the mystery: Apparently he’s in Samoa as part of the “therapeutic” military academy for “at risk” teenage boys called the Coral Reef Academy. David Huebner, a U.S. official visiting the school provided the evidence:
 
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From Complex:

On September 13, 2010, the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa delivered concrete evidence to support our suspicions that Earl was staying at the Coral Reef Academy. He published the photo above in a blog post about his visit to the “off-shore treatment program for at-risk teenage boys.” Apparently, he was there for a fire-knife dance competition and variety show. We contacted the Coral Reef Academy to confirm with them that Thebe Kgositsile is or was ever a guest, but they couldn’t legally divulge that information.

Yep. It’s Earl.

If Earl Sweatshirt’s parents really want to completely alienate their son from them to the extent that he never speaks to them again, my guess is that they’re going about it in exactly the right way. What 17-year-old kid wants to hear that his partners-in-crime are about to get their own fucking TV show on Adult Swim (a surreal, half-animated hip hop Jackass is what I’m imagining from this crew) and is okay with missing out that action? Methinks Earl’s got just a slightly odder future planned for himself than his parents have… Just sayin’...

I’d imagine that the next chapter in this saga will be “Earl Sweatshirt: The Breakout!” Stay tuned.

Read the whole story: We found Earl Sweatshirt (Complex)
 

 
More Earl Sweatshirt with “Molliwop”:
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
My Name is Earl (Sweatshirt)

Posted by Richard Metzger
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04.14.2011
06:46 pm
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Odd Future: My Name is Earl (Sweatshirt)
02.25.2011
03:49 pm
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Lately I’ve been really intrigued by LA-based teen hip hop collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (or Odd Future for short) and I’ve been going back and checking out their musical output and videos. Odd Future is like the collective id of 4chan set to a beat. As a longtime watcher/commentator on underground culture, I’m thrilled to report that—finally, at long last—there is actually some truly rebellious music being created again by young people. Something as insane, nihilistic and as thrilling as punk rock was for me when I was a kid. I’m not saying I completely understand their appeal or that I necessarily relate to what the members of Odd Future are rapping about, but then again, I’m a married 45-year-old white guy and I don’t think the teenagers in Odd Future give a flying fuck what I think. Or what you or anybody else thinks, for that matter. Nor should they. They’re teenagers.

The kids in this scene are both media savvy and fearless in the extreme—not unlike the Jackass crew, who they have a fair amount in common with, as you’ll see. With the goal being to create a viral YouTube clip, this really is a brilliant example of how you would go about topping what has come before you. This video, “Earl,” features Odd Future’s Earl Sweatshirt (who was 16-years-old when this was made) and friends drinking something nasty and getting way fucked-up, going skateboarding, pulling off their fingernails, vomiting, spitting blood and pulling their own teeth out. You think I’m joking? Hit play.

A lot of you will probably watch this video with shock and disgust, but before you condemn their artform, keep in mind that the object of this video WAS to shock and disgust folks like you!  (Pasolini didn’t exactly make Salo to entertain people, either). More than that, it was made to thrill Odd Future’s fanbase and that it does. If you ask me, their artistic strategy is right on the money—Were you a little shocked? Check. A little upset? Check—and 100% successful in delivering on what it promises in extremely NSFW amounts! Say what you like about this video, young Mr. Sweatshirt and co. certainly have the courage of their convictions, whatever these convictions… may be… Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All are the honey badger of hip hop and as we all know, honey badger don’t give a shit.

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All are booked to play this year’s Coachella Festival but it’s up in the air if Earl Sweatshirt, currently doing time in some sort of “boot camp” for juvenile offenders, will be able to join them. With the lame line-up this year, Odd Future’s set should get loads of attention. I suspect they’re going to go all out, but how do you top something like this? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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02.25.2011
03:49 pm
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Tyler The Creator: ‘Bastard’ LP free download

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Depending on how much you loved or hated Richard’s post about Odd Future live on Jimmy Kimmel, oops I mean Jimmy Fallon, you might be interested to know that the debut album by Tyler The Creator (kingpin of that crew) is available as a free download from the Odd Future blog**. Released at the very tail end of 2009 (presumably to foil end of year lists) rumor has it that Bastard has had over a million downloads at this point. This doesn’t seem so far fetched. It might explain why the hype is so strong for Tyler, and how Odd Future got on Jimmy Fallon in the first place. Tyler’s new single “Yonkers” (not bad but not his best work) is also gaining a lot of hype, not least due to the video, and his follow up to Bastard is set to drop in April.
 

 
Hip-hop hasn’t been pushing sonic boundaries in the last few years, for me anyway, but it’s great to see it pushing other envelopes. The album brings to mind memories of late 90s Rawkus records, acts like Cannibal Ox and Anti-Pop Consortium/Beans and even vaguely the detuned synth-styles of the RZA, updated here for the Garageband/soft-synth age. I really like some of his music, but what I like most about Tyler is his methods of getting himself out there, creating a buzz without having to resort to the usual mainstream channels. Of course, if his music was terrible it would be different, but as it is, he might become the most high profile emerging artist yet to give away his product for free.

** Looks like the original upload has expired. You can still find Bastard for download very easily though, at links like this one. The Odd Future blog is worth having a look at, for other releases and general wackiness.

Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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02.18.2011
09:51 am
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Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All are going to get you
02.17.2011
05:45 pm
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I would be lying if I wrote that I was a Jimmy Fallon fan (I’m not) but he does have some pretty good musical guests on from time to time. Last night two members of LA-based teenage horrorcore rap collective Odd Future (AKA Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All or OFWGKTA) provided one of the most wonderfully anarchic musical moments in recent TV memory. Totally insane, totally inspired. Those of you lamenting the lack of good old fashion rebellion in the younger generation’s music should appreciate this inspired performance.  I’ve watched this three times already, grinning from ear to ear.

Witness “Sandwiches” performed by Tyler, The Creator and Hodgy Beats. I just love how these kid are so obviously gleeful to be getting away with singing shit like this on national television. Hilarious. And Mos Def is most definitely having a good time, too. Kick out the jams, motherfuckers, kick out the jams.
 

 
Via Elvin Estella AKA DJ Nobody

Posted by Richard Metzger
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02.17.2011
05:45 pm
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