Ok it hasn't been officially released yet, but the album is out there if you want it. And why wouldn't you? This is one of the most hyped albums to come out so far in 2011. The Yonkers video caught my attention when it hit YouTube. I'll admit that. Up until then I hadn't heard of OFWGKTA. As I watched the views skyrocket over just a couple weeks (views are at about 7 million right now) I thought this guy might actually have something. However, upon hearing the rest of the songs on Goblin, I've come to realize that Tyler, The Creator doesn't really have anything at all.
The album is littered with bad fruity-loop 101 beats, grating synths, lackluster rhymes, flowless rap and terrible punchlines. And these are just fundamentals. On top of that you have lyrical content awash in eye-rolling misogyny, homophobia, violence, excessive references to masturbation, cock sucking, rape oh and violence. Oh he's so shocking. On top of that, he complains about his recent bout of fame as if it's a curse. C'mon. I'm not buying it.
But no, he's not serious. And as evidenced in his lyrics, interviews and live performances, it is clear that he just "doesn't give a fuck". This attitude married with rap can actually work and it reminds me of another group that blew up on the blogosphere not too long ago: Das Racist. But Das Racist's brand of hipster-hop at least has good beats. They have stellar flow, clever rhymes and punchlines. They can pull it off - consistently, too. But for me, Goblin is just the opposite. It boils down to gimmicky rap that will eventually (hopefully) fizzle out once the hype dies down.
Tyler, I'll give ya Yonkers and the video. But the rest is terribly forgettable.
Listen to the track below to hear what "the best thing to happen to rap in a long time" sounds like:
