Odd Future Is Like Early-20th-Century Italian Poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

“Is OFWGKTA offensive? Yes, but they’re also undeniably funny, sad, and, somehow, devoid of moral gravity in a way that’s both silly and nearly surreal. One friend of mine has referred to OFWGKTA’s lyrics as coming from an unformed “girls are gross” perspective, and certainly, in the YouTube videos where 16-year-old Earl Sweatshirt isn’t rapping about cannibalism and screwing corpses, he comports himself like a shy, polite kid just out to goof off with his friends. At the same time, OFWGKTA makes such doggedly creative and self-aware music that it sometimes feels as if they’ve chosen depravity not because they want to, but because they can. If there’s such a thing as meta-vile, then these kids are your pioneers.”
 — Over at the Poetry Foundation, Awl pal Bethlehem Shoals gets at the undeniable appeal of the young new rap stars Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, who performed at MTV’s amusingly named Woodie Awards last night.