Odd Future was one of the acts I wanted to see live this year, but I couldn’t get it together to see them when they came through Ohio. So watching at Fun Fun Fun Fest, I’m almost glad I didn’t go. To say that it was wild was an understatement. What did surprise me was the fact that group leader, Tyler, The Creator didn’t have that many songs in the set, leaving open the opportunity for the whole crew to shine. Mike G, the most laid back of the group stole the show with his complete ease on the stage as he dropped his rhymes. Hodgy Beats also had a pretty strong showing, preforming songs from MellowHype and an unreleased track with Domo Genesis. Sure, in an environment like this, things can get out of hand. Like when whoever hit Tyler with a water bottle, the stage emptied looking for the offender. Those things seem to happen at an Odd future show. Lucky, there wasn’t too much of that going on. At the end of the set, OF beckoned fans to jump the guardrails and join them on stage. It’s what I effectively called “Shit getting extra real” for a minute. The best part of the set? Tyler thanking the crowd for coming to see them instead of seeing Slayer. (Who were playing on other stage at the same time) He seemed very appreciative about it and talked about how Slayer was “over there killing it and you guys came to see us? Thank you.”
Odd Future live proves that hip hop has gotten a very, VERY different look in 2011. You can’t just dismiss rappers as a whole as drug dealing, bottle popping ego maniacs. Punk rock energy infused with beats and swag.
