This weekend, Earl Sweatshirt unexpectedly released his first solo track since 2010 with his song “Chum”. Sweatshirt is part of Hip Hop Group Odd Future/OFWGKTA, which is led by Tyler, The Creator.
It has definitely been an interesting journey for Earl Sweatshirt. In 2010 at the age of 16, his debut studio album called Earl received great critical acclaim and was voted the 24th best album of 2010 by Complex Magazine. After that, his mother was not happy that he kept getting into trouble, and sent him to a reform school in Samoa for troubled boys. Sweatshirt’s lyrics are very dark, and his mother said that lyrics had nothing to do with sending him away.
And it is clear that his lyrics have not changed much with the lyrics he had in “Chum”. He talks about Tyler helping him in a troubled time and the invasion of media as a whole. Hopefully, this can let fans think Earl Sweatshirt is still on his game.
Here are some of the top performances I would check out for Made in American Festival 2012 Sunday night:
1) Run D.M.C. - You can’t even tell me you’d go to a Festival with Run D.M.C., New York’s finest hip hop group, and NOT see them performing live. The ground breaking group would be electric in concert and sure to give a performance you’d never forget. They would definitely rock the mic with some old school that would have everyone remembering what rap used to be like. Check them out on the Rocky Stage at 2:45pm!
2) Alesso - Have to say, some of the DJ’s performing on Sunday are literally the most massive acts around. Alesso with his monster tracks like “Years” and “Nillionaire” will for sure get the crowd vibing and dancing for what will feel like hours on end. Check him out at the Freedom Tent at 7:00pm to bring you into the night the right way!
3) Afrojack - No one else can rock the house like this Dutchmen can, and I would give up a lot of things for a while just to see him perform. Cancelling a few of his shows just to be prepared for this festival, Afrojack is going to bring out all the stops. At the Freedom Tent at 8:30pm he’s going to have some of the highest energy of any of the performers so don’t miss out on what is sure to be a classic set!
4) Nicky Romero - a late add on, Nicky Romero isn’t even on the official Made in America poster, but this legendary dirty Dutch DJ will have the crowd going the second he touches the 1′s and 2′s. He’s sure to release some great new tracks that will have the entire place raging into the late hours of the night. Once I find out the set time I’ll let you know but I guarantee this is a set you will NOT want to miss for anything!
5) Odd Future - Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All or OFWGKTA as it is abbreviated will bring their unique style of hip hop and are sure to set the place ablaze. Tyler the Creator, front man for the group, doesn’t care what anyone will think or what you will even think of his performance so long as he’s killing it with the boys he loves. The collection of rappers and artist who will for sure kill the stage with him will have you hoping that they perform an encore without a doubt. Check him kill Liberty Stage at 6:30pm on Sunday
This has been a very interesting past few days for Frank Ocean. He has been slowly popping up in music magazines and blogs as the anticipation for his first album Channel Orange mounts. Then, to make him even more buzz worthy, he publicly said over his Tumblr page that he is bisexual. Now, just 10 days away from his album finally coming out, he released yet another song that is going to be on the album, and it gives a great example of Ocean’s smooth vocals.
The song Sweet LIFE, written and composed by Ocean and Pharrell Williams, is some really upbeat relaxed music, something that is a very far cry from a song that say, OFWGKTA leading man Tyler, The Creator would make. However, this album is really going to be Ocean’s first solo venture. Yes he has written for a lot of stars already and is part of the OFWGTKA family along with Tyler, Earl Sweatshirt, Hodgy Beats, as well as others. But this is first shot at being an individual, which is heightened by his admission of being bisexual.
I can’t begin to say how excited I am for this album to come out. Honestly, I think its going to change the R&B game. Like turn it on its head and make the world notice who Frank Ocean is. Radio play, critical acclaim, everything. I really think the sky’s the limit for him.
As many of you may know, Odd Future dropped its second installment of their group wide work yesterday, The OF Tape Volume 2. Its not exactly a mixtape, more than it is a bunch of goofy songs by individuals in the group, along with a bunch of collaborations as well. Although I personally am only really interested in the songs Frank Ocean is on, I’ll probably give the whole this a listen as well. Anyways, the guys decided to post the video for Oldie, which is from a photoshoot where they just put the song on and all rapped their parts while bumming around and looking like the collective they are. So check it out, and buy the album on iTunes.
“NY (Ned Flander)” is the second single off the upcoming project, OF Tape Volume 2. This video features the same middle-aged and overweight man in “Rella” (played by Hodgy Beats) and thus provides some grounding for the aforementioned video which—even for Odd Future—seemed way out of this world. The visuals seen in “Rella” are probably the side effects of the pills we see the man, presumably Ned Flander, taking in the “NY (Ned Flander)” video. For those who have not seen “Rella” yet, definitely head here to check it out before watching “NY (Ned Flander).”
Ok well here it comes, part II of my thoughts on the XXL Freshman Class. These artists are the ones who I have heard of, but never really listened too. This is just a disclaimer to let all you guys know that I listened to 3 tracks from each artist and read some articles about them to get a feel for their sounds and styles. Using this, I’ll do my best to give my opinion on their music and potential for success.
Hopsin
Songs listened to (Sag My Pants, Ill Mind of Hopsin 4, How You Like Me Now)
Armed with white contacts and an unexplained amount of anger, Hopsin definitely goes hard on every single track. He definitely aims to offend and holds nothing back in his lyrics, which mind you, are definitely NSFW. I don’t know if I personally could ever get into this music, not because of Hopsin’s flow, but because of the content. He is clever, have no doubt about that, but he is constantly calling out other rappers, and in my opinion, is riding the wave of obscene, shock rap that Tyler and the Odd Future Gang received so much acclaim for. Give it a shot and click play on Ill Mind of Hopsin 4
Danny Brown
Songs Listened To (Blunt after Blunt, Monopoly, Black & Brown)
If the first thing you notice about Danny Brown is his hair, the second will definitely be his raspy/chirpy voice which he switches up on every track. The Detroit native has been releasing music for awhile now, but his rise to his XXL Freshman status was achieved through his mixtape XXX and the help of his label, Fool’s Gold Records. The rap itself is a mix of grungy electro, dirty production, and a witty gritty lyrical flow that keeps the listener entertained. The music definitely has a more natural feel to it than most artists, and this could be a product of Browns age (30). Even so, the man makes some interesting music. Check out Monopoly below and if you like it, you can download XXX for free from Brown’s website.
KiD iNk Songs Listened To (I Just Want It All, Time of Your Life, Cali Dreaming)
Out of all the tracks from the three artists I’ve listened to, this one is definitely my favorite. I might just not understand Hopsin’s brand of offensive, angry rap, or Danny Brown’s style and sound, but Kid Ink’s sound is a lot more conducive to the type of music I normally listen to. His flow is smooth, the production is laced with a more radio/club friendly sound, and the use of fancy production tools is clearly displayed, but it all comes together to create a great sound. Out of the 3 artists I listed tonight, I believe that KiD iNk’s mainstream potential is the highest. Now obviously this is not the best way to judge artists, as there have been way too many who have fallen victim to the machine that is the record industry and lose all sense of how they got there (Rolling Papers anyone?) but this guy is definitely getting some of the coveted 8gigs on my ipod touch. Check out his website and the rest of his music
I really don’t understand the appeal of some of the members of Odd Future, but for some reason they continue to be popular (possibly because of us bloggers posting about them). Anyways, this is a new track & video from the guys featuring the typical random video antics of the group. Although this might not be a track I add to my ipod, I did enjoy Tylers verse, which in my opinion is the highlight of the track. So take some time and check out Golf Wangs latest offering
Ok well here it comes, part II of my thoughts on the XXL Freshman Class. These artists are the ones who I have heard of, but never really listened too. This is just a disclaimer to let all you guys know that I listened to 3 tracks from each artist and read some articles about them to get a feel for their sounds and styles. Using this, I’ll do my best to give my opinion on their music and potential for success.
