Odd Future Rides Hype Wave to First New York Show

Odd Future, a 10-member collective of upstart rappers from Los Angeles, has been the Internet rap sensation of the past few months. Deliberately underground and often shocking, the group is lead by a producer/MC named Tyler, the Creator -- a sadistic yet compelling performer that's equally apt to rap about hating his father, random dates and skateboarding. Tyler led the Odd Future crew through a much-hyped show last night at New York City's Webster Hall.

The performance was only Odd Future's fourth show and their first in front of the media and record label-saturated New York audiences that often make or break careers. But, Odd Future don't seem to care about pleasing the powers that be. Perhaps the most pivotal moment of the show came as Tyler surveyed the crowd and let out an odd mission statement: "F--- every label and magazine in here." It was a particularly bold comment as the room was filled with journalists, reps from XL and Interscope and local hip-hop icon Mos Def.

It was also a performance where the environment outweighed the actual content. While Tyler was rolling his eyes back into his head and stage diving -- all exciting, near-punk moves -- the rest of the show was the usual underground mixture of rapping over backing tracks, PA problems and relatively normal crowd participation.

To this point, the group has given away numerous free mixtapes and continuously makes videos and other artifacts to distribute through their Tumblr account. Start with Tyler's album 'Bastard' for the group's best document or try out Domo Genesis if stoney rappers like Curren$y are your thing. There's a whole world to discover in this movement and New York witnessed a very small part of it last night.