Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA, Odd Future, or Wolf Gang) is a hip-hop group formed in the suburbs of South Los Angeles in 2007 by a few of 17-year-old friends; the crew has made their name household to many college kids and high-end hip-hop players such as Kanye West, Method Man and Common. The main focus of the group has been on its leader, Tyler, the Creator, with the crew made up of more than 11 individuals; Odd Future has a prolific portfolio of releases, and the newest is an untitled EP by Hodgy Beats.
Hodgy Beats is a part of MellowHype with Left Brain (one of the first duos from Odd Future). This EP is the first solo release Hodgy has put out. It features productions from Flying Lotus, Juicy J, The Alchemist, Jonti Danimals and Thelonious Martin. With most Odd Future material being self-produced, this release marks a strange but well-built venture into new fields for Odd Future.
Hodgy jumps into the release with the first track, “Bulls***tin’,” showing the usual vulgarity of an Odd Future song, but Juicy J’s production provides a much more mellow background (as J does in his own work). With an assaulting lyrical style, Hodgy shows his teeth when he raps, and his rhymes are fierce, almost competitive with the beat behind them; throughout the tune, Hodgy shows how clever he can be with puns galore: “you always beat me to the punch/jag left.”
The EP continues with tracks like “Cookie Coma,” whose jazz rhythms are provided by The Alchemist, and “Lately,” a beat-directed track spawned by Flying Lotus of west coast future jazz fame. The chorus is a bass line with sung syncopation by Hodgy alongside it-staccato rhythms expressed through words and bass, the tune follows into a smooth jazzy composition, and Hodgy’s skill as a lyricist comes through clear.
Hodgy continues with a comically arranged track by Jonti Danimals, “Samurai,” and the EP slows into very soul influenced songs dealing with how Hodgy controls himself emotionally–with lyrics about heartbreak backed by old-soul samples, this definitely shows a change in momentum–the beats become heavy, the bass blanketing the tracks, and Hodgy shows deep selections of thoughts about his life and the lives around him with tracks like “Ave.” and “Lamented” (another track produced by Flying Lotus).
Thelonious Martin provides the beat on the soul swing track “If Heaven is a Ghetto,” with lyrics, “If Heaven’s a ghetto, I wanna live in the suburbs/where the two-way streets have lovebirds.” The EP concludes with the track “Higashi Loves You,” (Higashi being Hodgy’s alter ego), with a very short, two minute lyrical presence emitted-the song concludes with almost two minutes of just the backing song, a sampled Patti LaBelle’s “Somebody Loves You Baby” chants in the back with a heavy 808-based beat from Hodgy.
Hodgy’s prowess in the new hip-hop scene is very apparent, and the Odd Future legacy continues with another solid release. He is featured on the Odd Future Tape Vol. 2, out March 20.
