Online exclusive: OMG OFWGKTA

OFWGKTA is quite an intimidating initialism. Seven letters can be a lot to process when it comes to initials, especially when they don’t roll right off the tongue in a solitary word. What OFWGKTA is doing for hiphop, however, transcends tongue acrobatics.

Standing for “Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All,” OFWGTKA, or simply Odd Future, have been releasing free online records for nearly two years. Their cast of characters is just as confusing as their name, containing 10 members: Tyler the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, Hodgy Beats, Domo Genesis, Mike G, Frank Ocean, Left Brain, Syd tha Kyd, Jasper Dolphin and Taco Bennett. Of these 10 members, there are three internal groups: Mellowhype, The Jet Age of Tomorrow and EarlWolf. Confused yet? Here’s why you should disregard that and start caring.

First off, the oldest member of Odd Future is 23. Tyler the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt, arguably the two most “successful” artists of Odd Future are 19 and 16, respectively.

“So what,” you say. “There are plenty of 19- and 16- year-old rappers. Who cares about Tyler or Earl?” You’re right. There are plenty of rappers around those ages. I mean, how old were Kriss Kross? However, until you hear their music, you’ll never know. Take a minute to listen to Earl Sweatshirt’s breakout track “Earl” or Tyler the Creator’s newest, “Yonkers.” This is the kind of level that Anticon tried desperately to get to but instead phoned it in and started making indie records.

What’s the foundation of a hiphop track? The beat. Straight up, Odd Future’s beats are so filthy that you’ll need a shower after listening to them. This is evidenced by the aforementioned tracks but also another head-pounding track, Earl Sweatshirt’s “Drop.”

What does this mean for music? Well, Odd Future’s…future is wide open. They’re younger and better than Anticon, and they have more time ahead of them than our country’s most treasured hiphop institution, Wu-Tang.

As you may or may not know, Portland has their own local hiphop crew: Sandpeople. While they’re particularly respected and nationally known, especially Illmaculate, they’re fresh, but not on the same level of Odd Future. What this means for Portland emcees is that their collective games must be stepped up in order to compete with the fresh young talent making gigantic waves in their scene. Of course we’ll always have local loyalty, which is important, but as for the bigger picture, Odd Future seem to have everything figured out. Marketing, production, a too-big-to-fail strategy, if you will, and the foundation: amazing tracks.

Last year, Earl Sweatshirt’s first record, “Earl,” cracked some serious lists across the country. Even Pitchfork, indie darlings that they are, bowed their heads to Earl and granted he and his boys a full-length article in October. Later that year, Complex magazine awarded Earl Sweatshirt a spot on their “top albums of 2010” list, with Earl’s eponymous debut coming in at number 24.

Whatever your thoughts on hiphop, you’d be wise to at least give Odd Future a chance, if not for their great delivery and vocal qualities, but for their amazing and curious sounds that surround their words. The future looks bright indeed.