Fuck Steve Harvey: Interview with Tyler The Creator

Hailing from LA and headed up by Tyler The Creator, Odd Future are a completely individual, consistently hilarious and really really fucking evil. They’re also really young, Tyler, as well as being the driving creative force and the eldest, is 19. But that doesn’t matter. What does matter is these guys are going hard and evil on unconventional beats and doing everything themselves. That extends to making their own promos. Here’s one for Earl Sweatshirt’s song Earl.

I know right? Christ Alive. It’s a whole different aesthetic that most people would associate with current popular rap music. The videos look great, they’re hilarious in a disconcertingly offkilter way and they do not give a fuck on earth if you get them a lot. And that’s key to Odd Future. They want to be successful and have scary drive for it. But, like Lil B and all great artists really, your job is to catch your shit up, they’re not going to pander to you.

As good as Hodgy Beats,Left Brain/Hodgy Beats collaboration MellowHype and Earl Sweatshirt are (and they are really really good, make no mistake and sleep at your peril) if you investigate Odd Future: Tyler, the Creator is going to stand out. I could tell you about how he’s the lightening rod for the group’s insanity, how his amazing take-no-prisoners sense of satire and humor informs everything the crew does, how he has already carved out his own unique sound or even talk about how his rapping is sinister and incredible in equal measure. But I don’t need to because I can just show you this.

I emailed Tyler a few quick questions and he got back to me. Here’s how that went:

Every time I remember you’re 2 years younger than me, I get mad depressed at my talentlessness. Tell the people how old you are, where you’re based and when you started on this rap shit.

Hello, I’m 40 Years Younger Than A 59 Year Old. I Live In Ladera. Which Is LA, But I Don’t Want To Automatically Be Put Into The LA Rap Scene By The Nigga Reading This. And I Started Rapping When I Was 7, Started Making Instrumentals At Age 12, And Taught Myself Piano At age 14. Started Chronic Masturbating At Age 15. Late Bloomer.

Not going to ask you who your influences are but I do wonder, when you are putting a track together are you consciously trying to sound different to most other stuff out there or are you just getting the contents of head out?

I Never Thought About It. I Basically Do The First Thing That Comes To My Head. Seriously.

You and the rest of Odd Future are seem scarily focused on success but also completely committed to being individual. This seems fucking difficult man,why don’t you just start jerkin’? Seems like it’d be easier.
Jerking Is Faggotory At The Highest Level. And, I Just Be Myself And Do What The Fuck Like.

Your videos are properly scary, halfway between the Fuck Compton video and Man Bites Dog, why do you think violence and freaky shit plays such a large role in your art?
im into that shit. i seriously do the first shit that comes to my head. me and taco were playing mario kart when we randomly came up with the idea to use a fucking blow up doll instead of a real bitch.

And just on the videos again, what is your inspiration for them aside from making people scared?
I Really Don’t Fucking Know. I Like The Way Shit Looks. I think Every Song Should Have A Visual Aspect To It. That Fits It, And Seriously, if I had The Time And Money, I Would Do That With Every Song In my Music Library. Wait, I Seriously Did Not Just Answer The Question. I Get My Inspiration From…I Think Porn And Horror Movies. And Mind Fuck Movies. And Just making Shit That Parents Wouldn’t Want Their Kid To Look At. Yeah, That Shit. Swag.

What blogs and rappers do you hate? There’s a lot of direct hostility towards Nah Right in your music, you feel you’ve been underrated?
Fuck 2dope Boys. And Them Too. I’m Not Going To Say What Rappers I Hate, Even Tho It’s One That I Would Physically Abuse If I Seen Him. And Underrated, Eh, It’s Whatever. I Think I’m Better At Everything Than Most People Who Get A Post Or Whatever. But, Fuck Them, I Don’t Need A Blog Or The Coolest Hip Hop Site To Post My Shit, Or OF Shit At That Matter, I Did This Shit Without Them, Got Magazines Hitting Me Up, Got Kids Emulating Me…And I Did This Shit By Myself, They Could Suck My Dick……And Bill Cosbys’.

Who do you think your competition is?
The People In my Camp. And We Feed Of Each Other, So It’s A Win Win Situation. Wolf Gang.

Lil B has been getting a lot of attention from Indie Rock press for being “Avant Garde”(from Wire magazine ect) are you hoping for a similar cross over?
I Think i Do. I’m A Reallly Really Big LIl B Fan. Been Fucking With Him For A Minute, He Does What He Wants, And Can Give Fuck Less What Anyone Thinks, Same With Me. So Yeah, I Think That’ll be Swaggedd The Fuck Out If They Consider Me “Avent Garde”‘

If you didn’t make music what would you be doing?
That’s An Oxy Moron, So I Can’t Humanly Answer That Question, Are You An Alien? How The Fuck Did You Even Come Up With A Left Field Question Like That?

When’s the Odd Future full length documentary coming out?
Was Talking About This The Other Day. Prolly When One of Us Die. Or In A Couple Years To Come, Like 15. VH1 Behind The Music. Show Us At Now, Skating, Just Being Teenagers, Then How We Has Super Successful. then how one of us died, or did drugs or just fucked up.

Jason Dill is one of the people like” These Kids Came Out Of No Where, I Remember Those Little Fucks Skating At Fax, had No Idea They Did Anything”

Then Some Fucking Parent Talking About How One Of Us Made There Kid Go Beat Some Old Bitch Up Or How Domo made Their kid Smoke Weed Or Some Cool Shit Like That.

]What did Steve Harvey ever do to you guys?
FUCK STEVE HARVEY. AND FREE EARL. OFWGKTA.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_yjHfAyh80]

This is poison milk…drink it.

All albums and tracks are gettable at Odd Future
Go forth and get them got.