The fun this band is having is enviable. Touring round with a tight knit crew, music aside, must have its merits, but it’s best not to try and understand what’s actually going on within as it’s a bit of a mess. A few members have managed to stand out from the crew – the obvious being Tyler who, for all intents and purposes, is just oozing charisma like glue for kids to stick to. He remains a one hit wonder in his own admittance with Yonkers, performed wearing glowing green contacts no less.
His presence was great but the real talent lies with the people who weren’t present. Earl Sweatshirt, who recently returned from a strange hiatus in Samoa, was not present, spawned from his considerably concerned Mother who is apparently not so keen on his involvement with the crew. The campaign to ‘Free Earl’ has been a strong one after his mum gained control over his music, preventing it from being released. Heavy stuff for a kid (born in ’94) seemingly blowing up, with an interesting career ahead. The separation from OFWGKTA could be a blessing in disguise, I suspect. Fellow member, Frank Ocean (the guy currently re-defining the words ‘killing it’) has laid out a path that Earl can take heed from. He writes and sings songs and makes sweet videos. It’s all pretty amazing – no tongue in cheek.
So with the lack of talent, what you’re left with is energy, and they do have a lot. We all did at that age. But these guys are for real – like ADHD on acid. You just can’t mess with it. I don’t know how to coin it, but when they all go crazy and frantically dance around in a circle, it’s generally good times, just like anything fraught with a bit of danger.
Overall it was enjoyable to watch, but at times frustrating to listen to due to the constant banter. Most notably, Mariah Carey’s partner Nick Cannon copped a consistent spray of venom throughout the night. Whether this was something personal or just envy, I have no idea, but they aren’t the first rappers to be angry at that guy (just listen to Eminem).
Some time was wasted in attempts to get back a limited edition Supreme cap from Hodgy Beats’ head. He was sporting leather gloves to match this black cap, and was reminiscent of something like Game mixed with Method Man; a constant reminder of the purely influential nature of everything going on in front me. Their stamp on pop culture could be as big as the Sandlot kids at this rate.
BY ANDREAS K SMITH (pics by Nick Irving)
LOVED: Standing closer to the back .
HATED: The guy behind me yelling “internet!”
DRANK: Vanilla Vodka.
