The OF Tape Vol. 2

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The OF Tape Vol. 2
Left Brain
  • Frank Ocean
  • The Super 3
    • Odd Future chronology
    12 Odd Future Songs
    (2011)     		The OF Tape Vol. 2
    (2012)
    Singles from The OF Tape Vol. 2
    1. "Rella"
      Released: February 20, 2012
    2. "NY (Ned Flander)"
      Released: March 5, 2012

    The OF Tape Vol. 2 is the debut and only

    Left Brain and L-Boy, as well as an uncredited appearance from Earl Sweatshirt. Production on the album was primarily handled by Left Brain and Tyler, the Creator, with Frank Ocean, Hal Williams and Matt Martians
    also receiving production credits. Lyrically the album ranges from being serious to being satirical, with some tracks offering an overly absurdist take on rap.

    Odd Future toured in support of the album, and four singles were released from it, all of which received music videos. The album peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard 200 and received mostly positive reviews from critics, receiving a score of 71 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic. Critics generally praised the presence of Tyler and Ocean, the vintage style of production and album closer, "Oldie".

    Background and recording

    Los Angeles hip hop collective Odd Future, who were known for their frequent collaborations, have released mixtapes together in the past, such as

    Odd Future Tape. In January 2012, the group confirmed that they were to release their first commercially released album, titled The OF Tape Vol. 2.[1] The album was to feature production and appearances by only Odd Future members, and would be promoted with a North American tour.[1]

    The album was quickly recorded in Los Angeles over the course of two weeks.[2] In an interview with The Guardian, when asked about the expectations of the album, Tyler replied "I don't know. I have my doubts. Everybody's going on it and I just think, fuck, everybody might hate this shit. Everybody might go: 'What the fuck is this? We wanted this, we wanted that.' There we go. We made an album we wanted to make. If everybody hates it, OK. We have an album we like."[2] The track "Forest Green" was released over a year before the release of the album, but was featured on the project with remastered production.[3]

    Content

    "Oldie" features Earl Sweatshirt's first appearance on a song since 2010.

    The album opener "Hi", is a song where group member

    flow.[3] Hodgy "turns up the aggression" on "NY (Ned Flander)", a track similar to the aesthetic of Tyler's album Goblin.[5] Critics noted the song's "stark", "unnerving" and repetitive piano line that serves as the platform for Tyler and Hodgy's verses.[6] Nathan Rabin wrote that all the songs up to "NY (Ned Flander)" are rap songs, but the one that follows, "Ya Know", is not, as it is more reminiscent of the band N.E.R.D. with its sonic shifts and "hazy" atmosphere.[4] The track is performed by Matt Martians and Syd the Kyd of psych-soul act the Internet, with jazz influences.[7]

    Mike G is the only performer on "Forest Green", which reviewers described as a lurching banger with a creepy, hypnotic beat.[8][9] "Lean" is a parody song in the style of Waka Flocka Flame, an absurdist take on rap music with lines like "If I was a dinosaur, I’d be a flexasaurus".[10] Syd the Kyd makes another singing appearance on "Analog 2".[3] The song features Ocean singing a chorus over a production of what writers thought of as atmospheric, with a sultry swirl of synths, and a segue with 12 seconds of silence.[5][10] Tyler raps with relative innocence about hanging out with his girlfriend, and Syd the Kid muses about moonlight kisses and rooftop sexual encounters.[5] Hodgy is the main contributor to "50", a bass-driven, comical song that takes cues from the comedy troupe The Lonely Island.[10] "50" demonstrates both an aggressive and comical side to the album, with verses like "I'll fuck your grandmother up."[6]

    Hodgy reappears on "Snow White", featuring more singing from Ocean.

    Taco contemplate the issues of not having an ideal woman on "Real Bitch".[9] The track was written to be purposely offensive, with the two rappers trading verses on what reviewers described as an atmospheric, "slow-jam" beat.[6] "P" features a bass-driven beat influenced by post-grunge, with Tyler rapping in the vein of the Wu-Tang Clan.[8] The song features casual references to Jerry Sandusky and Casey Anthony, and Tyler's description of his flow being as "retarded as the sound of deaf people arguing."[5]

    "White" features Ocean alone, and is similar to a song from his album

    rave music.[8] Braggadocio rapping is prominent on the track, with the crew screaming the chorus "We got bitches, we got diamonds, we got cars, we got jacuzzis," adding "and yo’ bitch be on my dick!"[5] The album closer is "Oldie", where Earl Sweatshirt makes his first rapping appearance in over a year.[4] The song is a 10-minute track featuring, in order of appearance on the song, Taco, Tyler, Hodgy Beats, Left Brain, Mike G, Domo Genesis, Frank Ocean, Jasper Dolphin and Earl Sweatshirt, with Tyler closing the song with another verse.[3][6][10] The song features the collective's blending of eccentricity and rebellion, and each rapper taking a verse to express their own topics of interest lyrically.[9]

    Promotion

    Frank Ocean performed "Analog 2" with Tyler, the Creator at Coachella.

    On February 20, 2012, the music video for single "Rella" premiered online.

    Pitchfork Media's Jordan Sargent. The video can be summarized as "Hodgy Beats shoots lasers from his crotch turning girls into cats, while Domo Genesis smacks a black girl in the face, turning her into an Asian, and Tyler as a coke-snorting centaur."[3]

    The music video for "NY (Ned Flander)", also directed by Tyler, was premiered on March 5.[13] The video contained scenes of Hodgy as a bald, deadbeat dad preoccupied with softcore porn, and Tyler's head on a baby's body.[3]

    The music video for "Oldie", directed by Lance Bangs, was released on March 20. The video was shot during a Terry Richardson photo shoot featuring the entire group. The collective decided to shoot an impromptu video where they rapped their verses.[3] The rappers interrupt each other, while laughing and smiling.[3]

    "Sam (Is Dead)" was promoted as a

    Coachella Music Festival, Tyler joined Ocean on stage for a performance of "Analog 2".[16]

    Critical reception

    Professional ratings
    Aggregate scores
    SourceRating
    Metacritic71/100[17]
    Review scores
    SourceRating
    AllMusic[8]
    The A.V. ClubA−[4]
    Beats Per Minute78/100[7]
    Entertainment WeeklyB−[18]
    musicOMH[6]
    Paste8.4/10[5]
    Pitchfork7.5/10[3]
    PopMatters7/10[10]
    Rolling Stone[11]
    Spin6/10[9]

    The OF Tape Vol. 2 received mostly positive reviews from

    music critics.[17] Pitchfork's Jordan Sargent stated that the album was mostly a success because "every member steps up", with Domo who had "evolved from the group's bumbling stoner into a guy who can spit dizzying, complicated verses".[3] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone stated that the album contained a "fizzy energy that elevates it above its limitations", musing that Odd Future were a lot like "early Wu-Tang, a thrilling regional act, and a bunch of whip-smart black hipsters whose worldview is grounded in their corner of sun-baked southern California."[11] PopMatters's Jeff Dunn felt that every member improved from their past mixtapes, stating that Ocean, Tyler, and Sweatshirt were all impressive, consistently "spitting dizzying, more original lines than they ever have on mixtapes past."[10] Dunn wrote that "after the mixed returns of Goblin, Tyler himself now seems to realize that less is more on his part", who "wisely tones down the shock-for-shock's-sake rhymes quite a bit, making his appearances all the more rewarding when they do occur."[10] Steve Labate of Paste mused that "while Odd Future's critics try hard to frame them as such, it's difficult to accept Tyler and the OF crew as mere shock artists, flippantly tossing off incendiary slurs for attention—the music is too tongue-in-cheek clever, too brainy and self-aware, too anything-goes eccentric."[5]

    Bastard into the dialogue months prior."[7] He described the album as something that "mainly sounds like a bunch of dudes in a dank basement cooking up the wildest smack talk possible, with one-upping each other being the primary objective."[7]

    Jeff Reiss of

    Consequence of Sound felt that "too many things happen here, from the Brick Squad-type rave-ups to Ocean's R&B laments, for it to ever sound like a truly unified, full-length group project."[19]

    In 2019, Pitchfork placed album closer "Oldie" at number 160 on their list of "The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s."[20]

    Commercial performance

    In the United States, the album debuted at number 5 on the

    Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[28]

    Track listing

    No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
    1."Hi." (performed by L-Boy)Lionel Boyce 1:26
    2."Bitches" (featuring
    Taco)
    		Left Brain3:25
    12."P" (featuring Hodgy Beats and Tyler, The Creator)
    • Okonma
    • Long
    		Tyler, The Creator3:16
    13."White" (featuring Frank Ocean)
    • Breaux
    • Okonma
    • Frank Ocean
    • Tyler, The Creator
    		2:03
    14."Hcapd" (featuring MellowHigh and Tyler, The Creator)
    • Turner
    • Cole
    • Long
    • Okonma
    		Left Brain3:41
    15."Sam (Is Dead)" (featuring Domo Genesis and Tyler, The Creator)
    • Okonma
    • Cole
    		Tyler, The Creator3:22
    16."Doms" (featuring Domo Genesis)
    • Okonma
    • Cole
    		Tyler, The Creator3:13
    17."We Got Bitches" (featuring Tyler, The Creator, Taco and Jasper Dolphin)
    		Tyler, The Creator3:19
    18."Oldie"
    		Tyler, The Creator10:36

    Notes

    Charts

    References

    1. ^
      Pitchfork Media
      . Retrieved July 10, 2012.
    2. ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (March 15, 2012). "Odd Future: 'I woke up one morning with $100,000 in my bank account'". The Guardian. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
    3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Sargant, Jordan (March 22, 2012). "Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
    4. ^ a b c d e f g Rabin, Nathan (March 27, 2012). "Odd Future: The OF Tape Vol. 2". The A.V. Club. Onion Inc. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
    5. ^ a b c d e f g h Labate, Steve (April 11, 2012). "Odd Future: The OF Tape Volume 2". Paste. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
    6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Baber, Andy (March 19, 2012). "Odd Future - The OF Tape Vol 2". musicOMH. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
    7. ^ a b c d Jenkins, Craig (March 25, 2012). "Album Review: Odd Future – OF Tape Part 2". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
    8. ^ a b c d e f Jeffries, David (March 19, 2012). "The OF Tape, Vol. 2". AllMusic. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
    9. ^ a b c d e Reiss, Jeff (March 20, 2012). "Odd Future, 'The OF Tape Vol. 2'". Spin. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
    10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Dunn, Jeff (March 30, 2012). "Odd Future: The OF Tape Vol. 2". PopMatters. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
    11. ^ a b c Rosen, Jody (March 22, 2012). "Odd Future". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
    12. ^ Battan, Carrie (February 20, 2012). "Watch the Video For Odd Future's New Track, Rella". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
    13. ^ Battan, Carrie (March 5, 2012). "Video: Odd Future: NY (Ned Flander)". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
    14. ^ Battan, Carrie (June 28, 2012). "Video: Odd Future: Sam Is Dead". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
    15. ^ Minsker, Evan (June 28, 2012). "Earl Sweatshirt Makes Live Debut in NYC". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
    16. ^ Minsker, Evan (April 14, 2012). "Watch Frank Ocean's Entire Coachella Set". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
    17. ^ a b The OF Tape, Vol. 2 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More. Metacritic. Retrieved on November 20, 2010.
    18. ^ a b Rahman, Ray (April 4, 2012). "The OF Tape, Vol. 2 (2012)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
    19. Consequence of Sound
      . Retrieved July 16, 2012.
    20. ^ "The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
    21. ^ Jacobs, Allen (March 28, 2012). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 3/25/2012". HipHop DX. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
    22. ^ Jacobs, Allen (May 2, 2012). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 4/29/2012". HipHop DX. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
    23. ^ a b c d e Jeffries, David (March 19, 2012). "The OF Tape, Vol. 2 >> Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
    24. ^ "Odd Future Albums at Billboard". Billboard. June 8, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
    25. ^ a b "ODD FUTURE - THE OF TAPE VOL. 2 (ALBUM)". australian-charts.com. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
    26. ^ a b "ODD FUTURE - THE OF TAPE VOL. 2 (ALBUM)". danishcharts.dk. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
    27. ^ a b "UK Albums Top 75 - Music Charts". Acharts.us. May 20, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
    28. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Singles: Week Ending March 11, 2012". Billboard. March 11, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2012.[permanent dead link]
    29. ^ "ODD FUTURE - THE OF TAPE VOL. 2 (ALBUM)". charts.nz. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
    30. ^ "R&B Albums Top 40 - 26th May 2012". officialcharts.com. March 31, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
    31. ^ "Odd Future Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
    32. ^ a b "Odd Future Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2013.

    Further reading

    External links

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