REVIEW: Tyler, The Creator’s “Cherry Bomb”

Cherry Bomb (Odd Future/Sony) is the brand new album from Tyler, The Creator and considering what has happened since its release, maybe some are asking about the future of Tyler, or the future of Odd Future.

This is what we know. Odd Future as a collective are no more. Earl Sweatshirt seems to not be part of the camp. Other people who were within the camp have released music recently. Tyler, The Creator is still creating and on Cherry Bomb he shows why he is one of the best MC’s around and one of the best artists out today. If you feel that Tyler is trying to create music that is accessible to more people, then be free to say that. However, Tyler never does anything regular despite the fact that some of the songs here are more developed and arranged than his previous works. It’s a more in-depth Tyler, and it’s nice to hear him go off in that way. If he’s trying to answer to the current vibe of hip-hop, he does that in a number of songs. Yet there are times when he’s not only answering back, but adding his own sidebars and information to let people know he is in control of his destiny, he’s not trying to comply or simplify. There are tracks where he actually sings and jokingly says he can’t sing at all.

What I really like is when a song may have two, even three different arrangements so waht looks like an 11-track album may have 15 or 16 songs total. Some of it comes off like mini hip-hop operas in the vein of Beastie Boys’ “B-Boy Bouillabaisse” or Siah And Yeshua Dapo ED’s “A Day Like Any Other”, where you’re unsure where a part of a song will drift to until you listen to it in full. Even that will lead listeners to want to listen to it a few times to get a grip. While Cherry Bomb shows hints of where he came from, it very much shows a path he is ready to explore, where it’s the unpredictability of something along the lines of Divine Styler or maybe twist and get into MC 900 Ft. Jesus mode, all while showing a solid style that shows he’s more than capable of dropping in a hardcore way without getting freaky or eccentric, all while being that freak and eccentric rapper he is known as. The album is a nice balance of the known and previously unknown, so I hope he will continue to balance on that fine line for projects to come.

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VIDEO: Tyler, The Creator’s “Fucking Young”

It’s one thing to be a new Tyler, The Creator video, which is very cool. Then you realize it’s actually two songs in one. In addition, this project features Charlie Wilson, Chaz Bundick (b/k/a Toro Y Moi), and Cole Alexander? How did all this goodness happen in one place? Find out for yourself in this new clip directed by Wolf Haley. Oh yeah: various Golf Wang members are in it as well. The video was made in support of Tyler’s forthcoming album, Cherry Bomb.

SOME STUFFS: Tyler, The Creator brings Europe into forthcoming tour

It’s being called a world tour but for teh time being, this leg of Tyler, The Creator’s tour is not heading to Asia, Australia, or Africa. Maybe that’s in the future but this “World Tour” is limited to Europe, which will begin in April after he does shows at this year’s Coachella. He’ll do some U.S. shows, head to Europe, then fly back home. Look and see:

April 6… Tempe, AZ (The Marquee)
April 11… Indio, CA (Coachella)
April 18… Indio, CA (Coachella)
April 20… New Orleans, LA (House of Blues)
April 21… Oxford, MS (The Lyric Oxford)
April 22… Athens, GA (Georgia Theatre)
April 24… Jacksonville, FL (Mavericks at the Landing)
April 25… Saint Petersburg, FL (Jannus Live)
April 26… Miami, FL (The Fillmore)
April 28… Orlando, FL (The Plaza Live)
April 29… Charlotte, NC (The Fillmore Charlotte)
May 1… North Myrtle Beach, SC (House of Blues)
May 2… Raleigh, NC (The Ritz)
May 3… Norfolk, VA (Norva)
May 5… Richmond, VA (The National)
May 6… Columbus, OH (Newport Music Hall)
May 8… Cincinnati, OH (Bogart’s)
May 9… Detroit, MI (The Fillmore Detroit)
May 10… Grand Rapids, MI (The Intersection)
May 12… Glasgow, UK (Barrowland)
May 13… Manchester, UK (Academy)
May 14… London, UK (Roundhouse)
May 15… Bristol, UK (O2 Academy)
May 17… Utrecht, Netherlands (Ronda)
May 19… Hamburg, Germany (Mojo)
May 20… Copenhagen, Denmark (Vega)
May 21… Berlin, Germany (C-Club)
May 23… Zurich, Switzerland (Volkhaus)
May 24… Munich, Germany (Theaterfabrik)
May 25… Cologne, Germany (Kantine)
May 26… Paris, France (Le Bataclan)
May 28… Barcelona, Spain (Primavera Sound)
June 1… Albuquerque, NM (Sunshine Theater)
June 2… El Paso, TX (Tricky Falls)
June 4… Oklahoma City, OK (Diamond Ballroom)
June 5… Dallas, TX (Bomb Factory)
June 6… Austin, TX (Emo’s)
June 7… Tulsa, OK (Cain’s Ballroom)
June 9… Winston-Salem, NC (Ziggy’s)
June 10… Baltimore, MD (Rams Head Live)
June 12… New York, NY (Irving Plaza)
June 13… Wallingford, CT (The Dome at Oakdale Theatre)
June 14… Buffalo, NY (Town Ballroom)
June 16… Louisville, KY (Mercury Ballroom)
June 17… Cleveland, OH (House of Blues)
June 19… Indianapolis, IN (Egyptian Room)
June 20… Saint Louis, MO (The Pageant)
June 21… Columbia, MO (The Blue Notes)
June 23… Kansas City, MO (Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland)
June 24… Boulder, CO (Fox Theatre)
June 26… Fort Collins, CO (Aggie Theatre)
June 27… Salt Lake City, UT (The Complex)
June 28… Missoula, MT (Top Hat Lounge)
June 30… Spokane, WA (Knitting Factory Concert House)
July 1… Seattle, WA (Showbox SoDo)
July 2… Portland, OR (Roseland Theater)

Tickets for some shows will be made available on Friday the 13th of March, you can head to GolfWang.com for more info.

SOME STUFFS: Pharrell Williams to head line this year’s Camp Flog Gnaw

The 3rd Annual Camp Flog Gnaw Festival has been announced, with tickets to be made available to the public tomorrow (Friday, August 8th) and what you see is not a joke: Pharrell Williams will be headlining this year, hat and all. Also scheduled to attend include people like Action Bronson, Freddie Gibbs, MURS, Rick Ross, Mac Miller, and such Odd Future folks like Tyler, The Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, Hodgy Beats, Left Brain, The Internet, Domo Genesis, and many more. Early bird tickets can be purchased directly from Camp Flog Gnaw.

Oh yeah: as for where it will be, it’ll be held again at The Park at Los Angeles Coliseum on November 8th.

VIDEO: Tyler, The Creator’s “Tamale”

Brand new video from The Creator known as Tyler, it’s taken from his Wolf album (my review of which can be read by clicking here) and it celebrates the greatness of a tamale.

Or not.

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SOME STUFFS: OFWGKTA Carnival expands to include Earl Sweatshirt, Mac Miller, and Flying Lotus in lineup

A month ago, the 2nd annual OFWGKTA Carnival was announced with the promise of the full lineup coming soon. Today, the lineup for this year’s Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All Carnival is now known. Along with headliners Tyler, The Creator and Frank Ocean, the festival will also feature scheduled performances from Taco, Mike G. The Internet, Trash Talk, MellowHigh, SchoolboyQ, Flying Lotus, Mac Miller, and Earl Sweatshirt. There may or may not be special guests, but go to the show if you can regardless of who or who doesn’t show up, and have a great time. The festivities will be held on November 9th at The Park at the L.A. Coliseum.

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VIDEO: “WOLF” (movie trailer)

Apparently there is a forthcoming “movie” called WOLF, named after the Tyler, The Creator album of the same name. Is it a true motion picture, or just a traditional “video album”, where the artist makes a video for each song on the album? Time, and Tyler, will tell.

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REVIEW: Earl Sweatshirt’s “Doris”

Weeks before Earl Sweatshirt released Doris (Tan Cressida/Columbia), it was already being discussed, rated, critiqued and panned. When the album leaked, it made thousands of people want to hear it and continue the discussion, ratings, critiques and pans. I wanted to wait until after the first wave of reviews came in before I wanted to talk about it. Now we are here.

Doris is an album spoken from the mind of a young man who has something to say and feels a need to say it and be heard. He talks about smoking and getting high a bit, but he doesn’t celebrate it like some other rappers do. It’s just something that is there, but the core of his songs has to do with the days in the life of Earl, whether it’s getting a bit of sleazy quick loving from ladies or trying to not stay bored. With his stories, Earl will always make it sound enticing as if he’s getting away with something he’s not supposed to do, but he’ll sometimes touch on consequences or what he could/should be doing that may help him use his time a bit better. He does this in an occasional laid back style that brings back memories of the old L.A. flows, or even something close to what Andre 3000 is about, where a steady stream of consciousness seems like it could go on and on without ever getting bored from what he has to say.

Like with anything OFWGKTA does, Earl Sweatshirt is his own man that simply fits in with the freedom of him being him. Doris is another entry from a community of fellow rappers, producers, and singers that helped to form a new era of hip-hop in the same way Run-DMC did in 1984 and LL Cool J did in 1985, and that helps to make people deny a new era and frame of mind is in effect.

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SOME STUFFS: Flog Naw party awaits at this year’s 2nd Annual OFWGKTA Carnival

Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson made their relationship official when they went to a Rydell High School carnival, found themselves in a car soupped up in auto shop before magically flying into the great unknown. You may be flying high in whatever capacity you want when you attend the 2nd annual Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All Festival. It will be held at The Park at the Los Angeles Coliseum on November 9th, and for now, we know that Tyler, The Creator and Frank Ocean will be there. The lineup is currently being put together right now, and when news about it is released, they will be posted here.

For ticket information, head to the following spots:
CampFloggNaw.com | OddFuture.com | Golfwang.com

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REVIEW: Tyler, The Creator’s “Wolf”

It should be obvious at this point: when it comes to the output of Tyler, The Creator and a good amount of Odd Future’s work, you are either a fan or someone who thinks they are everything that is wrong about the bad side of today’s hip-hop. I happen to be a fan because I find Tyler’s work to be amazing. He can pull off the dumb role well but also shows intelligence not only in his lyrics and flows, but how he produces the tracks. This isn’t someone who plays “connect the dots, la la la la la” and says here, this is my album, deal with it. There is some sense of control with what he executes, and there is definitely a master plan in how these songs are presented, as one can hear with his new album, Wolf (Odd Future/Sony).

Is this album, as one reviewer put it, part of a trilogy and if so, is this third part the finale? It depends if you want to consider it part three or part two, because his Bastard debut may have been him laying out seeds but let’s not get too deep on this. In terms of Wolf on its own merits, Tyler remains Tyler but he also isn’t afraid of talking to himself in the form of a self-exam, as if he’s seeing a psychiatrist. However, there are more self-developed characters and one can either call this an extension of his family or a lunatic who has yet to run deeper. I love it, because his recording studio/facility/garage/closet is whatever he wants it to be, and he is having fun. Even with guests like Pharrell and Erykah Badu, nothing is taken away from knowing whose album this is. It’s part of the Tyler, The Creator compound, and he is an equal opportunity offender, if you wish to focus on all of the bashing he does towards certain groups of people.

If we are to talk about lyrical growth within the crude humor and jokes, there is a sense that there is someone growing up in front of our ears and eyes. He may not show it in an obvious manner, but some of the songs are deep and there I say touching. Someone might say “whoa John, that is a bit too much for you to say about Tyler, it’s as if you’re trying to say he’s worthy of something. He ain’t worthy of my…” and that’s when I come in and say yes, he is worthy of anyone’s time if they are willing to take a serious listen, not only to the barrage of lyrics that he throws out, but also his production. There’s still a bit of that funky minimalism, but these songs are nicely arranged. There’s thought put into all of it, and it should not be ignored. When I was listening, I had felt that he is this generation’s The RZA. Someone else on a music board had said the same thing, and while that might be considered ludicrous by some, that’s fine. But I hear what I hear, and while he could easily be 100% conscious, Tyler wants to have fun and will do so for the sake of having fun. He is a part of a business that can pull down people, and Wolf shows that he continues to be hungry and will eat anything that comes in his way. Tyler is isn’t afraid to unveil that nerd and geek, and maybe that’s what draws some listeners in. At the same time, there’s that confident bravado that may make some go “aah, it’s a bit of a game, and I’m going to not participate, but watch from afar to see how far he takes it.” Tyler is taking it to where he wants to, and he’s very much keeping it…Tyler. Wolf is just an entry into a room full of fun bags. Have a squeeze.

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