Posts from — October 2011

What you might not realize about Tyler, The Creator from the YouTube clips that made him famous is he’s physically big — a rangy 6-foot-2 — and his stage presence is even bigger. That feral magnetism was apparent throughout Wednesday’s Odd Future gig at Terminal 5, the latest stop on the underage hip-hop collective’s 27-date Golf Wang Tour, but never more than when he deferred to the crowd on the first eight bars of breakout hit “Yonkers” before careening to the finish in that distinctive baritone growl. Not even Wu-Tang Clan — the seminal rap supergroup to whom Odd Future is inevitably and unfairly compared — can boast as obviously charismatic a frontman. (The RZA was “the head,” but often dwarfed lyrically by Ghost, Raekwon, Method Man or even Deck.) Clearly, Tyler is the senior among underclassmen. And when he sneaked up to the second-floor balcony and plunged 20 feet into the adoring crowd less than a half-hour into the 75-minute set, he ensured they’d love him forever.

Say what you want about OFWGKTA, the polarizing 10-man company from L.A. hell-bent on making 2011 their personal coming-out party, but they’ve certainly got people talking. Months before Tyler’s MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist, they were commanding the attention of ivory-tower music critics, 4chan lurkers and the hip-hop elite. (Weezy co-signed this week.) As the blogger-driven hype gives way to mainstream recognition, Odd Future remains shrewdly defiant of labels from hipster to horrorcore — and in genuine awe of their popularity. “Yo, this is a lot of fuckin’ people,” Tyler said by way of a salutation, craning his neck to meet the fans whose legs dangled from the second and third balconies, as if to say they’ve come a long way from Webster Hall’s 300-capacity Studio where they made their NYC debut less than a year ago. [Read more →]

My review of Thursday’s Radiohead show at Roseland Ballroom for the Village Voice.