Tyler, the Creator had a suggestion for our small business. “Do you guys do porn?”
“You mean, does HitFix work in porn?”
“Yeah.”
“No, we don’t cover porn. I guess we’d make more money if we did.”
“That’s what I’m saying!”
No wonder the rapper was in the mood to give advice. With a television show, a record label, an impressive new group album out today, a new solo album on the way and auspicious relationships in book publishing and fashion, I guess you could say that Tyler and his group Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All are in business, are growing businessmen.
But Tyler, the Creator was also very tired. Our interview today took place over the phone after the group launched their New York pop-up “sweatshop,” a shop selling clothing, skate gear and art created by Tyler, the rest of the crew and their friends. The kickoff came prior to their Hammerstein Ballroom gig in New York tonight, in celebration of
“OF Tape Vol. 2,” released through Odd Future’s own label. Then there’s “Loiter Squad,” the group’s 15-minute live-action skits, bits and dick-jokes show on Adult Swim, premiering on Sunday (March 25), promoted with an extensive YouTube campaign all of this week.
Check out HitFix’s exclusive clip from “Loiter Squad” — “The Mating Game” — in the video above.
Tyler also has a solo album en route, “Wolf,” due in May via Odd Future Records and XL, the latter which released his well-received 2011 album “Goblin.” He still creates merch and cover art for Odd Future, he directed his own “Yonkers” music video and he’s acting (out) in “Loiter Squad.”
“I still do everything myself so I can take all the credit,” he said. Most of his answers came in single sentences, if that.
For a 21-year-old, “doing everything” is a lot, especially for someone whose press life resembles that of a hyperactive teenage,
pissing off feminist and LGBT groups and
smacked with a fine for vandalism, all in the year following Golf Wang’s hell-raising SXSW appearances last March. So in a 10-minute phone call, it’s impossible to tell if the toss-offs are part of the Wolf Haley persona or a coping mechanism.
“You guys must be tired,” I asked.
“Yeah, this is f*cking wild,” he said, lamenting about their tight schedule for the day. “I’m a big faggy bitch.” Like he was cooking dinner, or tying his shoe.
“Who is your favorite character on the show that you created?”
“Jefferson. He likes cats.”
“Are you going to bring the centaur back in any other music videos?”
“No, I wanna be a desk.” I imagine there very may well have just happened to be a desk in the room.
But there — in the puttering noise from the hotel room and the rapper’s obvious disinterest — was a pride in ownership, Tyler’s pioneering commitment to maintaining the “self” in “do-it-yourself.” About this time last year, the group was being reportedly courted by several major labels, including Def Jam and Rocafella (by Jay-Z himself).
“I don’t really see what other labels could do or could have done for us. If anybody was gonna capitalize on us, it would be us,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I want my own thing? If I’m gonna have a house, I’m not gonna sleep on the couch in somebody else’s house if I can have my own house and have it to myself.”
I asked if he or Odd Future had plans for a feature film, like some major artists in hip-hop have done before.
“I”m not hip-hop. I”m Tyler,” he said in a moment of profane simplicity. And, no, there is no OFWGKTA movie in the works. There will be a tour starting in July. “Golf Wang,” a book consisting of photos and designs from the OF tumblr, will be out in November through Picturebox.
As our interview was winding down, I suggested some rest.
“You guys need a nap.”
“I need a butthole. OK, bye!”
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,”script”,”twitter-wjs”);
