File this one under the match made in heaven category. I feel like the meeting for this one was simple, Domo's pitch to Wiz something like this, "Wiz you smoke and I smoke, so let's rap about smoking together." The track has a lushness only hinted at in these twos earlier work and sees the continual development of Domo as one of the most potent rappers in Odd Future. Wiz's hook is stickier than the weed they rap about and he's in autopilot for most of his verse. The whole thing comes across as an effortless exercise in chillin'. It's a brilliant puff of smoke on a warm spring night, feet up and not a care in the world.
If you have a problem with ballin' too hard, you might want to avoid the video for The Throne's "Ni**as in Paris" at all costs. The impossibly-infectious stuttering synth track finally has an accompanying video and it's pretty much amazing. It's Jay & Ye' spitting live at their most raucous, armed with plenty of split screening. WARNING, if you are adverse to flashing lights this video is definitely not for you. Enjoy and remember, this s**t "cray."
Before we all chant Odd Future is back and celebrate the long-awaited return of OF "general" Earl Sweatshirt, I want you to think back to the last time we heard that Earl was "free." It was November and word blew-up that the virulent rapper had returned from American Samoa and was ready to start rapping again. That proved to be a hoax and Tyler, the Creator pulled another comical prank on fans that obsess over the L.A. crew. Granted, this comeback seems more legit with the issuing of the dazzling "Home," and the emergence of a new Earl Twitter account, but don't get your hopes up. The track itself is classic Earl, blowing viciously by with little room for respite from the malevolent lines. He ends the track with an oddly-hesitant "and I'm back," and disappears into the ether. If he is back, it's been way too long and if not continue to chant "Free Earl" as much as possible. You won't be the only one.
Hyper-prolific rapper Lil B seems to drop a new track everyday. Last Tuesday, January 31 saw the latest release in his Flame Series with White Flame. He's refused to slow down since and "February's Confessions" is the strongest to appear in White Flame's wake. The track begins with the simplistic twinkling of piano and a chipmunk-soul sample reminiscent of Kanye West. Here Lil B is in full-on confession mode, looking back on the past year and urging listeners to "live your own life." In the most affecting portion of the track, he wonders "why this happen to me?" It's a sterling moment on a shimmering song. Every track from the Based God can't be gold, but this one's a diamond in the ever-expanding rough.
You're looking at the cover-art for O.F. Tape Vol. 2, the newest compilation from everyone's favorite rap hooligans, Odd Future. The picture is of O.F. extended-family member Lucas, who notably appears in the video for "She." On his Twitter account, Tyler revealed the album artwork and resolutely declared the album will not feature the long-deposed Earl Sweatshirt. However, Hodgy Beats, Left Brain, Mike G, Domo Genesis, Syd the Kyd, The Internet, and Frank Ocean will be featured on the compilation which drops March 20 through Odd Future Records.
Chicago "blues-singer" Willis Earl Beal is a rapidly rising star in the indie world. After signing a deal with XL, Beal is scheduled to drop his debut LP Acousmatic Sorcery on April 2 for their Hot Charity imprint. In the run-up to that, Beal has dropped the Tom Waits indebted "Take Me Away." Beginning with an impassioned bellow shades of Son House, Beal fractures his voice over in-the-red Neanderthal drumming. The whole track is astonishingly lo-fi and serves as a springboard into Beal's warped state of ugly blues. Where sin and soul run side-by-side down a dark and dirty street.
Face it you’re here because of one song, "Video Games." From the moment you heard those somber strings and mournfully plodding piano you were hooked, I know I was. It was an unmistakable melancholy, delivered by a voice that sounded strangely familiar. The harp bursts suggested a magical land of enchantment, free from burden, but we know better from singer Lana Del Rey’s words. “He holds me in his big arms, drunk and I am seeing stars,” she sings. Into that hypnotic world of love and hate, sex and rejection Del Rey brought us and we were powerless to leave.
Muted drum kicks buoy opener “Born to Die” and clatter into a shimmering static during the chorus. It’s a lucid opener, one that misses the mark, but still has us following Del Rey down the rabbit hole. As we continue on the journey, we see Del Rey fitting perfectly into Nancy Sinatra-sized boots on “Off to the Races” playing the ultimate femme-fatale. She revels in this on the magnetic hook, as her “old man” luridly watches her in a glass room.
That empowerment fades away on “Diet Mountain Dew,” where Del Rey breaks into faux-show tune singing over a propulsive drum beat. Wearily she sings, “You’re no good for me, but baby I want you.” Fully aware of her problems, but powerless to resist.
"Born to Die"
It’s been said that the string sections supporting Del Rey on the album sound the same. “National Anthem” dispels that notion, bearing a welcome resemblance to the string section of “Bittersweet Symphony.” It’s a song tailor-made for a summer day, gazing at the crackle of fireworks in the night sky, longingly staring into the heaven of a lover’s eyes. The celebratory ecstasy of the track lifts Lana into “Radio” where she gleefully mocks ghosts of lovers’ long-since-past. “How do you like me now,” she snidely asks, her “cinnamon sweet,” life a bitter pill to swallow for all those former friends.
“Carmen” is “Hot Child in the City” for the Y-Generation. An elegiac violin sets the stage for Del Rey’s haunting narration. “Darling, darling, doesn’t have a problem. Lyin’ to herself cause her liquors top shelf.” Carmen’s mean streetwalkin’ takes her to a host of beds, but none that she can call her own. At the song’s end, nothing has changed and she’s still “all dressed up with nowhere to go.”
Since the album dropped, a litany of critics has lined up to declare the record “dull” and Del Rey’s image manufactured. To which I can’t help but ask, when has great pop not been manufactured? The Ronettes were entirely a product of Phil Spector and are still attributed the pop splendor that is “Be My Baby.” They bemoaned that the brilliant “Video Games,” was a ploy. They piled on with the SNL performance, labeling it the “worst ever.” And what did Del Rey do? She took it all in stride, delivering an austere album of pop brilliance, rarely letting up. “The road is long, we carry on, try to have fun in the meantime,” she reminds us on “Born to Die.” Though that road is littered for Del Rey, she throws caution to the wind, cruising down a dark highway. Her golden hair blowing in a warm summer breeze.
