Debut studio album by Los Angeles, California hip hop group OFWGKTA. Released on March 20, 2012 the album acts as the sequel to OFWGKTA's 2008 debut mixtape, The Odd Future Tape. The first track released, Forest Green by Mike G was released online on March 18, 2011, ten months before The OF Tape Vol. 2 was even announced. Originally intended for Mike G's solo album Gold, Forest Green then appeared on Odd Future's compilation album, 12 Odd Future Songs released in October 3, 2011. The OF Tape Vol. 2 was then announced on January 17, 2012 through an official video Read more on Last.fm.
The LA skate punks are here for primetime. The mic gets passed around to everybody in the collective for just over an hour of crazy, crude, and comical rhymes. Since everybody appears on the album, you can see how much they’ve stepped up since OF Tape. That being said, the album does seem kind of sporadic and random (much like many of the Odd Futurists) and thrown together just to get everyone on a track. Basically a rap cluster until the album redeems itself in its big finale, “Oldie”. Everyone gets a verse in the limelight, and it happens to be combined with the most awesome beat, so you won’t care if it’s just over ten minutes long. In the end, a great foot in the door, but very crowded. Oh, and Hodgy killed it.
Provocative lyrics are not in short supply, so when Odd Future relies on them to carry the uninteresting beats, this tape comes out. It’s not a deal-breaker for listening to OF, but it’s nearly a waste of an hour.
Yikes…I consider myself something of a alt/underground hip hop connoisseur and much to my chagrin I’ve never heard of this group and only heard the name Tyler, The Creator in passing. This whole album makes me wish I never had. If this is underground rap lets just keep it that way, my ears have to be assaulted by BS on the radio everyday with modern rap/hip-hop but at least it’s catchy. This whole album reeks of amatuer bravado and trash. Too much vulgarity not enough flow, to quote their track Hcapd, “I’d rather be at home with my crew and my new rooms”…”Listening to MF Doom.”
Me too Tyler, Me too.
In order to cleanse your ear holes of this album I suggest checking out Mm.. Food by MF Doom, Labor Days by Aesop Rock, and The Undisputed Truth by Brother Ali.
Underground hip hop shot clean to the mainstream, spare beats, visceral negligence and half assed space odyssey included. There is a tangible clarity about the vicious lyricism, oddly timed and too shocking to actually offend, as in you can see Tyler and Co. winking with every “what the fuck” line. This is basement experimentation grown to a near prescription level, miles from over the counter. How brilliant is it? It’s kinda hard to tell at this juncture. Wait for one more batch and we’ll see what the cosmic joke is. I know it reminds me, for whatever reason, of Pauls Boutique.
Despite my very best efforts, I couldn’t resist being impressed by the sonic quantum leap the collective has taken. I still don’t like Hodgy, but he’s an all-star here – simply too much of a force to be denied on the mic. Tyler and Left Brain are the real stars, though, producing a stellar palette of muted, spacey bangers that manage to complement any style being spit and weave a common thread through an otherwise muddled affair. It’s a weird crossroads for the Golf Wang, between who they insist upon being and who they are capable of being as real hip-hop pioneers. Definitely worth a listen, though, especially on very good, full headphones. We’ll see if it grows and sticks, or if we have to wait around for a Thebe release to let the OF brand knock us out.