Artist case study
Tyler, The Creator
 
Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), better known by his stage name Tyler, The Creator, is an American rapper and record producer from California. Born in Ladera Heights, he rose to prominence as the leader and co-founder of the alternative hip hop collective Odd Future, and has rapped on and produced songs for nearly every Odd Future release. Okonma also creates all the artwork for the group's releases and said in an interview with DJ Semtex, that he designs all the group's clothing and other merchandise as well. After releasing his debut album Goblin under XL Recordings, in April 2011, he signed a joint venture deal for him and his label Odd Future Records, with RED Distribution and Sony Music Entertainment. Following that he released his second studio album Wolf, which was met with generally positive reviews and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 selling 90,000 copies in its first week.

Early life

Tyler Okonma was born in Los Angeles, California to a Nigerian father and a mother of African-American and white Canadian descent. He has never met his father, and spent his early life living in the communities of Ladera Heights and Hawthorne in southwest Los Angeles County. At the age of seven, he would take the cover out of an album's case and create covers for his own imaginary albums including a track list with song times before he could even make music. At the age of 14, Okonma taught himself how to play piano. In his twelve years of schooling, he attended twelve different schools, in Los Angeles and Sacramento areas.

Feuds

In the song "Yonkers", Tyler disses numerous artists, such as rappers/singers B.o.B and Bruno Mars, and Hayley Williams, front woman of band Paramore. Tyler, the Creator also disses Bruno Mars in The Game's song "Martians vs. Goblins", which he and Lil Wayne are featured artists. In response, B.o.B released a similar diss track, entitled "No Future" that also references Tyler's group, Odd Future. Ironically, Tyler praised the song, and initially did not think it was a diss track. Bruno Mars, in response to the verse "stab Bruno Mars in his goddamn oesophagus," said, "[Tyler] has to wait in line if he wants to stab me...[Tyler's] definitely not the first guy that's said something like that to me and he's not going to be the last." Los Angeles rapper Hopsin also dissed him in his "Ill Mind of Hopsin 4" music video, released in July 2011. As a response, he was parodied in the "Martians vs. Goblins" music video.
Tyler, The Creator and R&B singer Chris Brown feuded due to claims Brown tweeted on Twitter of Odd Future's music containing a "demonic" message. Tyler had made several sarcastic remarks via Twitter afterwards, leading to a heated feud between the two musicians. Before a live performance alongside Frank Ocean, Tyler, The Creator called out Chris Brown referring to Brown's savage beating of fellow musician Rihanna. Afterwards, Brown and Tyler cleared up the feud when Tyler tweeted that he is a fan of Chris Brown's song "Look At Me Now" featuring Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes. According to Tyler, The Creator there are things "[his fans] don't even know" about the feud.
Through Formspring, Tyler has also said that he does not like Vince Staples, although he praised his rapping abilities. Vince has collaborated with several members of Odd Future, notably Earl Sweatshirt, Mike G, Domo Genesis & The Jet Age of Tomorrow. In 2011, Tyler said that he does not dislike Staples, but he dislikes the fact that people think he is a part of Odd Future when he is not actually in the group

 

Record Label Case Study

OFWGKTA

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, often abbreviated to OFWGKTA (stylized OFWGK†Δ) or simply Odd Future, is an American hip hop collective from Los Angeles, California. The collective is led by rapper/producer Tyler, The Creator, and includes rappers Hodgy Beats, Earl Sweatshirt, Domo Genesis, and Mike G, singer-songwriter/rapper Frank Ocean, producers Left Brain, Syd Tha Kyd, Matt Martians, Hal Williams and other non-musical members, notably Jasper Dolphin, Taco Bennett and Lucas Vercetti. There are multiple groups inside the collective: MellowHype, The Internet, The Jet Age of Tomorrow, EarlWolf, and MellowHigh.

Sub-groups

• MellowHype
  • Hodgy Beats
  • Left Brain
• The Jet Age of Tomorrow
  • Matt Martians
  • Hal Williams
• The Internet
  • Syd tha Kyd
  • Matt Martians
• MellowHigh
  • Hodgy Beats
  • Left Brain
  • Domo Genesis
• EarlWolf
  • Tyler, The Creator
  • Earl Sweatshirt
• Sweaty Martians
  • Earl Sweatshirt
  • Matt Martians

Albums

• The OF Tape Vol. 2 (2012)

Mixtapes

• The Odd Future Tape (2008)
• Radical (2010)

Compilations

• 12 Odd Future Songs (2011)

History (2007–2009: Early career)

Odd Future formed around 2006-2007 in Los Angeles. The original members were founder Tyler, the Creator (Tyler Okonma), Left Brain (Vyron Turner), Hodgy Beats (Gerard Damien Long), Matt Martians (Matthew Martin), Jasper Dolphin (Davon Wilson) and Casey Veggies (Casey Jones), the latter of which appeared only on the group's debut mixtape before branching out to other projects. However Casey Veggies remains a close contributor. At some point before the release of Bastard, Chicago based rapper brandUn DeShay collaborated with the group, and appeared on the track "Session," but Tyler and DeShay had a falling out, and his vocals on "Session" were replaced by Mike G. Much of their early music was recorded in a room in Syd the Kyd's and Taco's house, known as the Trap, located in South Central Los Angeles.

2010: Rise in popularity

2009-2010 saw several new members arrive, Domo Genesis (Domonique Cole), Earl Sweatshirt (Thebe Kgositsile), Mike G (Michael Griffin II), and Frank Ocean (Christopher Breaux). After the release of his debut album Earl, member Earl Sweatshirt was subsequently absent from the group for two years following its release.
The group completed a two-stop tour, their first outside of Los Angeles and in London, England, on November 5, 2010, and New York City on November 8. The concert at The Drop in London sold out within 48 hours of announcement by the group. Their concerts have frequently been compared to punk rock shows, with stagediving, moshing and antagonizing the crowd.

2011–present: Solo releases and TV show

MellowHype re-released their album BlackenedWhite through Fat Possum Records. Tyler, the Creator also signed a one album deal with XL Recordings and released his sophomore effort, Goblin, on May 10, 2011. They have collected a cult following, and have been getting press from blogs as well as magazines. Though they are often labeled as horrorcore, the group has universally dismissed it on Twitter in interviews, and on tracks such as "Sandwitches". Pitchfork Media has labelled the group as indie rap. In April 2011, the group signed a deal with RED Distribution and Sony Music Entertainment to start their own label, Odd Future Records. On August 2, 2011, Odd Future announced on their website the Golf Wang Tour 2011.The tour included 27 stops, beginning on September 28, 2011 in San Diego, California at the House of Blues.
On September 8, 2011, it was announced that Odd Future would be making a television show called Loiter Squad. The show was announced to be a sketch comedy show featuring various skits and pranks and originally aired on March 25, 2012 on Adult Swim. The show features Tyler, Jasper, Taco, Earl and Lionel as main cast members with other members of Odd Future making cameo appearances. The program is produced by Dickhouse Productions, which also is the production company for Jackass.

On October 3, 2011, Tyler, The Creator tweeted a link to iTunes with an compilation album of 12 old Odd Future songs from artists within the group such as Domo Genesis, Hodgy Beats, Mike G, The Jet Age of Tomorrow, MellowHype, The Internet and himself. The album is simply named "12 Odd Future Songs", despite there being 13 songs including a brand new song from The Internet. On March 20, 2012, the collective released their debut album, The OF Tape Vol. 2. The album was a sequel to the original mixtape, The Odd Future Tape. On the same day, Earl Sweatshirt, who was absent from Odd Future from June 2010 until February 2012, first performed with the group at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. It was rumoured that his mother sent him to an all-boys boarding school for kids with drug issues and depression in Samoa. Earl confirmed in an interview after returning to the U.S. that he attended a therapeutic retreat school for at-risk boys situated outside the Samoan capital of Apia called Coral Reef Academy, because he was getting himself into trouble.
Frank Ocean released his debut studio album channel ORANGE on July 17, 2012. Other solo releases for the second half of 2012 included Domo Genesis's No Idols with The Alchemist, released on August 1, and MellowHype's Numbers, released on October 9.^[ On December 5, 2012 it was announced Frank Ocean was nominated for six Grammy awards at the 55th Grammy Awards including Best New Artist, Record of the Year for "Thinkin Bout You" and Album of the Year for channel ORANGE.
On April 2, Tyler, The Creator released his second studio album Wolf which received positive reviews from critics and debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 selling, 89,895 copies in the United States. Earl Sweatshirt released his debut studio album Doris on August 20, 2013, which was met with critical acclaim, and MellowHigh released their self-titled debut album together on October 31, 2013.

 

Record Label Case Study

GOOD Music

GOOD (Getting Out Our Dreams) Music is an American record label founded by hip hop recording artist and record producer Kanye West in 2004. The label is home to recording artists such as West himself, Big Sean, Pusha T, Mos Def, John Legend, D'banj and Mr Hudson among others. The label also houses a roster of producers such as, Hudson Mohawke, Jeff Bhasker, No I.D., Q-Tip, S1 and Travi$ Scott. Artists formerly signed to the label include Common, Kid Cudi, GLC and Consequence among others. The label has released seven RIAA certified gold or higher albums.

History (2004–07)

West founded the label in 2004, in conjunction with Sony/BMG shortly after releasing his debut The College Dropout. John Legend and Common were the first artists signed to the label. GOOD Music received seven Grammy Award for the first two albums on the label; Get Lifted (2004) with three and Be (2005) with four respectively. Shortly after, GLC, Really Doe, Malik Yusef, Tony Williams and Consequence were all signed to the label.

In August 2005, West released his second studio album Late Registration which featured guest appearances from all of the GOOD Music roster at the time. In October 2006, Legend released his second album - Once Again which won a Grammy for the song "Heaven". In May 2007 the Detroit rapper Big Sean signed to the label.

2008–2011

In 2008, West signed British singer-songwriter Mr Hudson, after hearing A Tale of Two Cities. He also signed then up-and-coming rapper Kid Cudi, after hearing his respective work from producer and manager Plain Pat. Kid Cudi's debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day was released under GOOD Music on September 15, 2009. The album earned three Grammy nominations and was certified Gold by the RIAA. A month later Mr Hudson's solo debut Straight No Chaser, was released
The label would hold a cypher for the 2010 BET Hip Hop Awards in June, that featured West, Common, Big Sean and new signee Cyhi the Prynce. In late 2010, West released several tracks featuring himself, and others members of the GOOD Music roster, in a free weekly giveaway known as, G.O.O.D. Fridays.In September 2010, West signed Brooklyn rapper Mos Def to GOOD Music, and shortly afterwards Consequence released a diss track and left the label. The following month Pusha T announced his signing. Late in 2010, Kid Cudi released his second studio album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, followed by West's fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
In April 2011, West signed Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest as a producer, and signed upcoming producer Hit-Boy to Very G.O.O.D. Beats. In 2011 West signed Nigerian artists D'banj and Don Jazzy. In June 2011 GOOD Music signed their first distribution agreement, with Def Jam Recordings Big Sean's debut Finally Famous was the first album released by GOOD Music with distribution by Def Jam.

2012–present

In late 2011, plans were announced for a 2012 release of a GOOD Music collaborative studio album, later announced as Cruel Summer The first single, "Mercy" was released on April 6, 2012 and featured Kanye, Pusha T, Big Sean and affiliated artist 2 Chainz. Prior to the albums release on September 18, 2012, "New God Flow" and "Clique" were released as singles. It was accompanied by the eponymous short film Cruel Summer which was shot in Qatar; the film premiered at Cannes Film Festival. The album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200.
In late 2012, Q-Tip hinted at a follow up album to Cruel Summer, possibly titled Cruel Winter. Teyana Taylor and Travi$ Scott also hinted at the album on twitter. In an interview with DJ Semtex, Big Sean confirmed the album was coming and that he's worked on a track for it. Later, John Legend confirmed the album and said he's made tracks for it in an interview with Rolling Stone. However in January 2013, former GOOD Music member Common squashed these rumours by saying that everyone, himself included, is too focused on solo projects as Cruel Summer acted as a launching pad for them. However GOOD Music artist Travi$ Scott would later insist the album would still be released. Big Sean also said that the project would be released sooner than people thought. On June 27, 2013 Cyhi the Prynce said that Cruel Winter could be released by the end of the year, and it was up to Def Jam to greenlight the project.
In January 2013, Scottish record producer and DJ Hudson Mohawke, announced that he had signed to the production arm of G.O.O.D. Music - Very G.O.O.D. Beats. In April 2013, Kid Cudi announced on Power 106 that he was no longer with the label, leaving on amicable terms. On June 29, 2013 producer Hit-Boy of Very G.O.O.D. Beats announced that his contract expired and that he was no longer signed to GOOD Music.

Hip-Hop Historic Genre Research

 

Hip-Hop Defined:

Hip-hop is a form of popular music that's comprised mainly of mc'ing and dj'ing. The other two components that complete the four elements of hip-hop are graffiti and breakdancing. As hip-hop evolves into big business, the four elements (mc'ing, dj'ing, graffiti, and breakdancing) are constantly being merged with others like clothing trends, slang, and general mind set.

Rap Vs. Hip-Hop:

Rap is a form of music that stemmed from hip-hop culture. Hip hop is a lifestyle with its own lingo, dress code, etc. In the words of KRS-One, "hip-hop is something you live, rap is something you do."

Hip-Hop Started in the Bronx:

A product of cross-cultural integration, rap is deeply rooted within ancient African culture and oral tradition. Hip-hop is believed to have originated in the Bronx by a Jamaican DJ named Kool Herc. Herc's style of dj'ing involved reciting rhymes over instrumentals. At house parties, Herc would rap with the microphone, using a myriad of in-house references. Duplicates of Herc's house parties soon drifted through Brooklyn, Manhattan. Herc and other block party DJs helped spread the message of hip-hop around town and spawned tons of followers.

Humble Beginnings:

Some of the earliest rap songs ever recorded include "King Tim III (Personality Jock)" by Fatback Band and "Rapper’s Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang. The latter reached the #36 spot on the Billboard charts (a huge feat by 1970's standards), thus demonstrating hip-hop's ability to draw commercial appeal.

Hip-Hop As a Melting Pot:

Hip-hop as a musical melting pot is still evolving. It has become more eclectic, borrowing from soul, jazz and live instrumentations with the likes of De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and most recent Kanye West championing the ‘soulful rap’ movement.

 

Hip-Hop Sub Genres:

• Southern Rap
• Hyphy
• Battle Rap