Check-in: OFWGKTA

We here at the Vanguard would like to remind you that, although you may have heard Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All elsewhere, we reported on them back in February in an article that continues to get plenty of hits on our website. The article makes mention of OFWGKTA’s leading man Tyler Creator and his track “Yonkers.”

When the article was written, views of “Yonkers” dangled under a million views. Today, the video for “Yonkers” dangles right below eight million views, including endorsements from Pitchfork and other online media outlets. Oh, did we forget to mention that this is all self-released, without the aid of any record label? Did we also forget to mention that OFWGKTA is blowing up like crazy, playing shows all over the country? Well, they are.

It’s clear that OFWGKTA represents the dawning of a new era of hip-hop, one that extols substance and style on equal levels rather than one over the other. OFWGKTA has seen this through over the course of its lifespan, gone is the notion that one must give up swagger in order to remain underground or “true,” and also gone is the notion that hip-hop is a swagger-based game entirely, where substance takes a back seat to piles of money, expensive cars and beautiful women.

Now that “Goblin,” Tyler Creator’s follow-up to the critically-acclaimed “Bastard,” has advance copies floating around, it will be interesting to see how the budding young artists deal with a sophomore record for the first time in the group’s existence.

The Vanguard will be reviewing this very soon and will be happy to report from the front lines of OFWGKTA’s war with rap’s mainstream inclusiveness. Stay tuned. ?