TYLER, THE CREATOR'S FUTURE-FORWARD THINKING

With the release of Tyler, the Creator’s fifth solo album Igor, it’s worth re-examining the prolific artist collective Odd Future that he formed in 2007, and the trajectory of all its extended members, today—even though the group unofficially disbanded in 2015.

Odd Future was founded in 2007 by Tyler The Creator, along with friends Hodgy, Left Brain, Casey Veggies and Jasper Dolphin, aka Taco. That same year, Tyler and his management company 4 Strikes formed Odd Future Records, to be distributed via RED; the imprint would release music from all the members, which had expanded further to include Earl Sweatshirt, Domo Genesis, Frank Ocean and Syd (Taco’s older sister), but Earl Sweatshirt and Frank Ocean signed elsewhere.

Most of the OF members have had some measure of success on their own, with critical acclaim attached to much of their efforts.

Domo Genesis’ debut mixtape, Rolling Papers, was released in August, 2010. Production was done entirely by Tyler, Left Brain and Syd. A second mixtape was released in 2011 and his debut solo album Genesis via Columbia Records, dropped March 2016 and featured the single “Dapper” with Anderson .Paak.

Frank Ocean =ended up on Def Jam, where he released his mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra in 2011 and his debut studio album, Channel ORANGE, in 2012, parting contentiously in 2016 after following visual album Endless by immediately releasing Blonde via Apple Music.

Casey Veggies released his solo mixtape, Life Changes, in January 2013 and signed with Epic in 2013.

Earl Sweatshirt signed a deal for his own label imprint, Tan Cressida, through Columbia in 2012 and released his debut studio album Doris in August, 2013. His second album I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside: An Album by Earl Sweatshirt followed in March 2015 and his third, Some Rap Songs, was released in November 2018.

In 2011, Syd formed a group called The Internet, with keyboardist Matt Martians, bassist Patrick Paige, drummer Christopher Smith and guitarist Steve Lacy. They broke through with their third album, 2015’s Ego Death, which was released via OF/Columbia and featured the hit single “Girl.” Syd went solo with a 2017 single, “All About Me,” produced by Steve Lacy. Her debut studio album Fin arrived a month later to widespread critical acclaim.

Tyler’s first solo album, Goblin, dropped in 2011; it spawned the memorable viral video “Yonkers.” Follow-up set WOLF came out in 2013. In 2015 he dropped third album Cherry Bomb and in 2017 his fourth, Flower Boy.