2013.

Staring at the forefront of every new year, we all share the same tendency to see the idea of a fresh start as appealing as untouched snow is to the excitable child. Moreover, those New Years resolutions we so determinedly bind ourselves to are usually crumbling beneath their feet by mid january. So what is the solution? For the majority of the previous month I have been at a crossroads, what shall be next years failure? And then it struck me, with a rather dramatic thud to my thigh I promised myself that I would make a list, I will make a list to ensure that I tick off not just simply one thing in which I set myself indeed to high to realistically aspire to, but many small things in which will carve a rather happier me in the coming months. Nonsense! I hear you cry, it is normal to create a list to introduce the new year, it certainly is, but not for myself, I believe this in itself highlights a quiet change in my thought process.

I return to my neglected blog to make another list, one that is agreeably just as important as the previously mentioned agenda. I have culminated my own personal collection of albums released in 2012 in which have evoked and indulged such an emotional change in myself, and agreeably, listeners alike, as well as, presumably, the artists themselves. I present you this list in no particular order, and one post at a time, that way it allows any indulgent readers the chance to fully appreciate each album as you please...

Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

If you have read my previous posts, you will know that I am a fan of rap collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, A member of said group, Frank Ocean released his debut album in July 2012, along with a bit of a bombshell. Ocean swam against the tide and unveiled questions surrounding his sexuality with a letter uploaded onto his Tumblr on 4th July. This letter described his first love, an unrequited tale of his 19 year old self falling for another young man, these struggles are dealt with in Channel Orange, where he "wrote to keep myself busy and sane. I wanted to create worlds that were rosier than mine. I tried to channel overwhelming emotions". With tracks such as Thinkin Bout You, Pilot Jones, Pyramids and Lost a high velocity of heartache and emotional struggle is evident, but if there is one thing we can all connect about, it is Love and Heartache. We all have our first love; those never ending pangs of nostalgic pain and the unbearable what if's. This is what Ocean acknowledges, he admirably takes the bullet for closeted hip hop/R&B artists, and shows them how to not be afraid to admit their sexuality. The biggest inspiration is love, and the affect of such, and Channel Orange harbours not only those first feelings of untainted adoration, but the realisation of actuality, the dream world in which you create to deal with it, and the after effects. This album is simply put, a masterpiece, Oceans silky voice telling a mesmerising tale of his struggles, naked and raw, tattooed upon deliciously sophisticated layers of emotional heartbeats. The musical compositions of Ocean's album is un-convential to a typical R&B style, with elements of Jazz, Electro-Funk, and Psychodelia, it is a tasty contour of many different styles, polished incredibly, into almost too great of a debut. Pyramids is my stand out track, with the song split into two separate parts, morphed dreamily with a shower of sparkling synths, sensual repetition, and a striking drum beat, trumpets stretching heartily upon the mystical echoes. No wonder this album was named album of the year by The Guardian, Billboard, Now, and many more, this album draws you in, strips you of your shield, tends to every strand of heartache, and kisses your scars better.

Music that saved (trumped) the Queen

So its time for the Queens Jubilee I see. 'God save the Queen!' the nation echoes, but while the general public rummage and rediscover their poshest frocks, I am struck down with an untimely illness. An illness that disables me from taking part in such a facade rippling throughout the otherwise ignored nooks and crannies of our country. Yes, unfortunately the bright colours in the flag that is so proudly littering around every window, the bunting choking every lamp post, and the eerily accurate masks people have chose, for some unknowable reason, to cover their own face in has caused me to spiral deep in to a Britannia depression. Why yes, I hear you bark, it is rather un- British of me, but, how can I put this, I'm just not really feeling it. I mean, I can't say I've ever really thought about the queen, except when I have to check if her face reflects through the notes at work, therefore, as grateful as I am for her patronage, I do not feel like I have a right to celebrate her jubilee to the extent in which other people are. Also, I do not think that my street, surrounded by students (If any at all, at this time of the year) will be roped in to celebrating

HOWEVER, I have the ultimate anecdote for those who understand my reluctance. I decided to grasp the few strands of willingness I possess for this holiday, and made a list of a few British musical heroes that fly the flag for the United Kingdom.


Sex Pistols




Formed in London in 1975, the Sex Pistols were a Punk-Rock band who were responsible for the creation of the Punk movement in the United Kingdom, and influencing many Punk and Alternative Rock acts in the future. Although their success lasted only two and a half years, this band had opened a new direction for many British civilians,their music a raw, angry and frustrated sweep of wet sweaty hair, channeled through animalistic growls, haunting shivers crawling down the spine of Steve Jones' guitar, and energetic punches from Glen Matlock/Sid Vicious' Bass. Most important of all, Johnny Rottens southern sneers are recognised world wide as the frontman of one of the most influencial bands of the music genre.

Coincidently, in a gentle nod to the jubilee, I will point out how this band attacked social conformity, and encouraged a rebellion against the hierarchy. In their only album Never Mind The Bollocks, heres the Sex Pistols they included the aptly named single God Save The Queen in which they released during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977. Although the song reached number one in the NME charts, it remained only number " in the official charts. A main reason for this probably being the fact that this song claimed that 'She ain't No human being, and theres no future, in England's dreaming'.

However, Sex Pistols provided an outlet for many socially and economically frustrated citizens, and gave a voice for prisoners of social oppression everywhere. Hurrah!



The Beatles




I know my Grandfather would definately agree that this liverpudlian band is 'up there with the Queen' but does our dear Elizabeth II hold the record for most number-one hits on the Hot 100 chart with 20? No, I think you will find that this is all down to John, George, Paul and Ringo. Formed in 1960, this foursome became a commercial sensation, with teenage girls drooling over their pictures, and viciously scratching flesh of one another to catch the tiniest glimpse of these four heartthrobs. According to the Guinness Book of Records, The Beatles have estimated sales of over one billion units, and with these guys collecting 7 Grammy Awards, and being collectively included in Time magazines 100 most influential people of the 20th Century, it's hard to doubt their success.

The upbeat deliverances of Hello, Goodbye, All You Need is Love, and With a Little Help From My Friends s ell as many more, provide the soundtrack to a beautiful sunny day, and the nostalgically sour tasting twangs of , Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane this band truly offer a buffet of tasty dishes, ready to fulfill every desire your appetite desires. It is hard for anyone not to have heard of The Beatles, with their presence still echoing through societies music today, many musical idols of today continue to claim how they pined for their unrequited love with Yeterday, and, with their beautifully evoking lyrics, and ridiculous sense of humour it is unheard of to not fall in love with The Beatles.

Click here to see my favourite Beatles performance, with George Harrison sporting a rather wonderful moustache.



Pink Floyd




As you can probably tell in their chosen name, Pink Floyd flirted with Progressive, and Psychedelic Rock, and created some of the biggest performing masterpieces ever to be performed live (in my opinion). These four geniuses combined philosophically questionable lyrics, with their experimentation of sonics and acoustics, and placing a big fat elaborate cherry on top in their individual brand of live performance. Having sold over 250 million records worldwide this band has been added to the Rock and Roll hall of Fame in celebration of the outstanding musical journeys this band directs you to in their performances, heightening the bar for live acts everywhere. When you listen to Pink Floyd, you can almost feel yourself floating and bending in to thin air, dancing with the birds, as the cooling drops of rain massage your body along to the hypnotizing murmurings.


Formed in 1965 as mutual University students, with the original line up being that of Roger Waters, Richard Wright, and Syd Barrett, and previously playing around with names such as The Tea Set, and The Abdabs Barrett came up with the name Pink Foyd by combining the names of Pink Anderson, and Floyd Council in which he saw on Paul Oliver's sleeve note for Blind Boy Fuller's LP.

Queen





Its hard to believe that the band Queen was ever yet to be created, the destiny of these four members surely must have been decided when earth was created (however it was created). Time was just an alarm, waiting to come alive when Freddie Mercury became a fan of a band named Smile,and later, in his attempts to make the band more elaborate and entertaining live, he joined Brian May and Roger Taylor, with John Deacon later fulfilling the bands fate just before they shook the world with their thundering guitar licks and Mercury's harmonies of the four-octave range delivering lyrics that tackled issues including his own experiences and struggles with AIDS, and he basked in the glory of his audiences love for him, a statement chillingly ehoed in Kurt obain's suicide note, in which he staes how he envies Mercury for being capable of this.

Mercury was famous for catapulting the bad to stardom with his incredible stage presence, a famous image of him shows him punch the air in a celebratory stance whilst performing one of the bands songs, however Mercury claimed that "When I'm performing I'm an extrovert, yet inside I'm a completely different man." offering a more human insight in to the Rock God's personal struggles with his confidence.

When asked about the bands choice of name, Mercury explained that "I thought up the name Queen. It's just a name, but it's very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid. It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations. I was certainly aware of gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it." Not only highlighting Mercury's love of confusion his fans to whether he was gay, straight, or bisexual, but also leaving an essence of confusion postmortem, for fans to delegate even after his unfortunate death. He need not have bothered though, if he thought he was going to be forgotten he was wrong, Queen still remains a largely played band, with their songs jumping up everywhere and reminding everyone just how important this band is. Although the rest of Queen continue on with a variety of front men, there will never be one who fills such a wide void at the front of the stage.

Together, this band has released 18 number 1 albums, 18 number 1 singles, and 10 number 1 DVD's, with an estmat of 300 million albums sold worldwide, a lifetime achievement award in 1990, and members of the Rock and Roll hall of Fame (2001) under their belt, this band, HAS to have trumped the Queen herself. It's in the name.

Spice Girls



Flying the Feminist friendly flag of girl power, (probably once seen barely covering Geri Halliwell's secret areas) this collective of five, sometimes four, beautiful women provided idols for pre-pubescent, pig tailed girls everywhere in the 1990's.

Once upon a time, father and son business team Bob and Chris Herbert decided that there was an opening in the market for a feisty flirtatious girl band, that provided an offering of anthems both inspiring and catchy like machines, and still looking good after hours of filming a music video in the freezing cold. Another reason being that the teenage customers of the 90's swallowed and consumed anything on the lines of East 17 and Take That, cleverly recognising that if there was an act that appealed not only to the confused lust of the girls dreaming of their definitive wedding to Peter Andre, but to the previously ignored audience of spotty boys, whose probable only other mode of entertainment is hiding his sisters Backstreet Boys CD until she cries. Yes, these guys set out to find five willing princesses to glitter in the spotlight of tean angst and create a new wave of feminine domination.

In a 1996 edition Top of The Pops magazine devised a separate image for each member of Spice Girls, and, in order to appeal to a wider audience (who were now kindly allowed to choose which female stereotype they felt more inclined towards), the band and their management adopted these images and channeled them in their outfits, their performances, and even their haircuts. Rolling Stone journalist David Sinclair claims that "Scary, Baby, Ginger, Posh and Sporty were the most widely recognised group of individuals since John, Paul, George, and Ringo" highlighting the bands success.

These females took over the world after signing with Virgin Records in 1995, due to several trust and control issues with Heart Management. Spice Girls, have sold over 75 million records world wide, with the majority of that number no doubt being classmates of mine, as a 90's child, there is no doubt in this bands success, the world welcomed this band with open arms, and they shot to musical hierarchy, mini skirts and all. Although they did not particularly spice up my life, I listen to their hyperactive renditions of love, boys and friendship, and in my unexpected knowledge of most of the lyrics I realise that they really have had an influence on even my life.


Take That




Middle aged mothers and their teenage daughters unite! These fellas have not only combined two generations of audiences, but they have also bagged 27 top 40 albums, 16 top 5 singles, and that is just in the United Kingdom, 11 of these reaching number 1, and 7 number one albums. They have also all aged very gracefully, especially lead vocalist Gary Barlow.

1989 saw Nigel Martin-Smith envision a British, all male vocal group, however his version of such was imagined as a teen band. In his search for said band, he found young singer-song writer Gary Barlow, and was so impressed with his talents, that he moulded his vision around Barlow's qualities. Manchester, and nearby cities were then visited in an audition process to find Barlow's future band mates, with a wish for men gifted particularly in Dancing and Singing. After the members of the band were decided, their first performance was on popular teen show The Hitman & Her in 1990 (quick fact here, and my very own claim to fame, is that my father was a dancer on this show, pink shorts and all). The next few months saw the band touring small venues such as clubs and bars, before they hit gold and released a cover of 1975 hit It only Takes a Minute Girl which peaked at 7 on the UK Singles Chart. Their first album Take That & Party was released in 1991, and included Barlow's very own first ballad A Million Love Songs.

Take That have had their fair share of drama, from the tantrums of Robbie Williams leading to him leaving the band, to their 1996 disbanding, where the hearts of fans everywhere broke tragically, only for the band to reunite in 2005 to cough up a fresh list of ballads celebrated in the media everywhere, from a Take That musical, to a Singstar game based on the bands songs.

So, to conclude my list of musical heroes, that have had an undeniable affect on England, if not the rest of the world too, I shall add that my list could probably harbour a handful of other acts, such as; Depeche Mode, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac(or half of them anyway), Ultravox(tickets to whom I begged for on my 18th birthday, Midge Ure still has it!), Eurythmics, and many more, I could go on forever...

There's only one Kid around here, I am not Kidding you

"I'm off on an adventure" is the first line of Kid Cudi's 2010 release "Mr Rager" from his second studio album "Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr Rager". This metaphorically sums up the widely celebrated work of the Alternative hip hop artist from Cleveland, Ohio. Kid Cudi, real name Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, sends you on an intergalactic journey, shooting you straight above the human limits, piercing the Earths atmosphere, and into a Dougie with the stars and planets.

Cudi has pulled many tricks from out of his finely attired sleeves, not only is he an alternative hip hop artist and singer-songwriter, but also a guitarist, Actor, and a part time rocker. So how did this guy get from being just another Ohio kid to what we know as THE Kid? The world first became aware of his outstanding talents after the release of his debut mixtape cleverly named "A Kid Named Cudi" in July 2008, a collaboration with New York street wear brand 10.Deep and made available as a free download. This mixtape proving the making of what we know now as such a refined artist, with he mixtape acquiring immediate attention from Kanye West and reulting in his signing to music label "GOOD Music" later that year.

Impressed with his work, Kanye requested Cudi's talents on his 2008 album "808's and Heartbreak" with Cudi's influence evident in the slow paced music tones, and the expression of the lyrics in songs such as "Paranoid" and "Heartless". The two artists also shared a mutual understanding of the limitless pain of losing a parent, and how they dealt with their bereavements with the aid of music to express this.

The amplified influence evidently recurring in Cudi's music is the untimely death of his father due to Cancer, when Cudi was only 11 years old. Songs such as "Mr Rager", "Man On The Moon" and "The Prayer" describes his fascination with death, and the feelings in which the experience of loss evokes. Cudi attacks themes such as loss, death, boredom, and frustration with a soothing background of slow melodic instrumental accents, and gospel like echoes, providing a dream like effect on the listener, and snatching them further away from reality.

As he himself has admitted, Cudi used the effect of an Opium to numb the pain of losing his father, and escaping the frustrations of day to day life, Cudi states that "This song is about someone who is fed up with reality, who looks for thrills and excitement by any means. It's just kind of how I was feeling at that point. I was just so angry. Doing coke revived me, and knowing I was so close to death every time intrigued me. I liked the thought of it." and subsequently explained the theory behind "Mr Rager", and how the image of "Mr Rager" explained his angry state of mind at the time in which he wrote the song.

Cudi is known to sample 90's rock tunes with a mix of 80's like synth licks, exploring his varied musical influences, and envisioning his search for the perfect backdrop to his lyrics, he explains his wish to take listeners on a journey when he claims that "Man On The Moon II is dark by nature and instead of bringing you into my dreams like my first album, I'm bringing you into my reality, good and bad. It will explain more of who I am as well as pushing the envelope musically.". This journey is in fact vital, for after you have listened to Kid Cudi's music you can't help but feel as if you know him, his weaknesses for drugs, his hurt surrounding his fathers death, his musical influences, he lets you into his world, both while he is tripping on drugs tap dancing on the clouds, and when he is sober, contemplating his past addictions.

So what has this guy got in store for 2012? Not only is he working on his latest album "Man on the Moon III" expected this summer, but he has collaborated with his old buddy Kanye to create the debut studio album of GOOD Music "Cruel Summer". Lets not Kid ourselves, you are excited.

Get Some Fizz with Scru Fizzer

Bubbling under the simmering cesspit of the Underground Grime Scene is a weapon threatening to break down the weakened concrete of zombie like pigeon holed acts, and leading the army of pure raw British music. Scru Fizzer can carbonate the most neutral of water components with his words that fizz angrily at the back of his throat, ready to throw rhyming spits at anyone standing in the way of his domination of poetical strength and powerful accentuation of versus.

This West London producer and MC is so talented, that his incredibly fast flows, otherwise known as 'Skippy Flows', have caused confusion with fellow MC'ers and fans who have struggled to understand his words when he has performed. In retaliation, he released "Spit Slow" where he performed at a slower rate than usual, and of which was produced by Skeamz, was popular with listeners of Kiss 100 with DJ Logan Sama.

This guy not only identifies current problems of the British society, but he also expresses his lines with popular hits that incorporate his arguments, and is a nod to the fans of such singers he quotes, widening his fan base. A clever tactic, and also great to hear a bit of Drake after Ed Sheeran in the expressions of such a distinctive Grime act, he has also released an alternative production of "That's Not My Name" by Indie Pop band the "Ting Tings" showing the variety of flavour ScruFizz uses.

Scru Fizzer has featured on SB.TV, also known as SmokeyBarz, of which is a musical platform for popular Urban Acts, and is the gun that propels these prodigal bullets in to the enemy of a commercialised abyss, ready to destroy the neutralisation of music, and spray some life in to the music scene dominated by American Zombies. As warned by many current magazines, including Flavour, Avenue and many more, this guy is definitely someone to look out for, stealthily hiding beneath the shadows ready to sniper those fake electronically aided singers down, and open more doors for the truly proficient.

Having provided mix-tapes with Dizzee Rascall on tracks such as "Guts n Glory", and his collaborations with signed artists such as Marger and Kozzie, this guy is spreading like a rash, and you won't be wanting the treatment.

A picnic with The 2 Bears

If you go down to the woods today you sure are in for a surprise: two bears are having it large, and transforming the relaxed limbs of mother nature to the pulse raising dance floor of a disco so addictive Noah would have regretted erasing it from the architectural plans of his Arc, in sacrifice for food and water storage.

Formed in 2009, and storming the music world with spine bending remixes of new and popular singles, this twosome provides the perfect blend of beats so tasty that you cant resist another bite of the sandwich filled with hyper electronic twitches, spread just like butter over the upbeat harmonies, and flavoured with a cheeriness so camp it would make louie Spence sneer. This band uses ingredients from many musical genres, for example, Indietronica, Garage, Rave, and Alternative Dance maing it ultimately impossible to avoid dancing to. The taste is so zesty in your mouth it tingles in your jaw and sends melodic fluxes deep in to your veins, causing long convulses to transpire from your body in hasty kicks, and enabling your body to submit to the tunes, like a puppet hung vulnerably beneath their masters string. This band puppeteers your dance moves, and you have no choice but to go along with it.


With one half of this group, Joe Goddard, already enjoying success with one of my favourite electronic bands; Hot Chip, it is no surprise that when combining talents with club promoter and DJ Raf Rundell, he produces yet another masterpeice. With the golden hands in which only a true angel of music could deliver, it seams that all this guy touches tuns to Gold; Not forgetting Goddard's continued involvement in the Graoco-Roan party collective, and his co production of Little Boot's latest album. Goddard and Rundell saturated together in a mutual love for sultry seductress Sade, and have even covered her hit 'When Am I going To Make A Living?" in a bow to her influence.

With a theme tune adorned with gut shivering Synth licks, Red Riding Hood would no doubt be bouncing around the woods to, they had to come up with an image to suit their reassuringly upbeat music, so why come up with The 2 Bears? "I have been called a bear by many people over the years" claims Goddard "not because of my sexuality, but simply my physical appearance" amplifying Goddard's appearance of a cuddly bear, and accentuating the happiness this team evokes from their listeners, not only from the stress reducing fist pumps and air kicks the tunes ignite in your body, but the happiness that elopes all over you body from the beautifully husky whispers of Goddard and Rundell, and that is why you need to listen to the work of these guys.

Où est Daft Punk?

Two french lads decide to hook up and create sweet music together. Sounds pretty kinky, but in all seriousness what they have cultivated is only one of the most defiantly wonderful music duo's to storm the house music frontier in the 1990's and to remain a highly ranking phenomenon, haunting the Synth-pop world, and leaving fans everywhere begging for their songs to be played 'one more time'.



Inscribed on the lid of Tutankhamen's grave is the story behind the creation of Daft punk: A group of music loving robot-aliens decided that Earth needed shaking around a little, and in their bid to wake all those sleepy zombies up from their simmering frustrations of routine, hot coffee's and cold breezes, they sent two of their freshest 'technologic'-al geniuses to mix things up. Ok, that's not really true, and it's probably not the real reason why Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, and Thomas Bangalter bubble beneath the small surface of their leather outfits, and the mysteriously ominous helmets, but who cares, they make ruddy good music! If anything, it adds to the mystery hovering around the story of Daft Punk, an addiction in which you try tirelessly to feed with the music spawned from these superhuman masterpieces, in the hope that one day you might learn just how two average guys transformed overnight in to robots, emmiting electrifying currents in to the submissive ears of their followers, frothing at the mouth in their fixation of musical pleasure.

Regarded as a defining influence for the French House music scene, Daft Punk credit inspiration from bands such as The Beach Boys, Elton John, and The Rolling Stones, expressing a shared admiration for rock bands, and highlighting the importance of those growls, and licks of the guitar regularly evident in the duos music. When questioned about his passion for music Bangalter has expressed that "In Brian Wilson's music you could really feel the beauty— it was very spiritual. Like Bob Marley, too." Showing the intense effect intended to overpower your body in his music, which it certainly succeeds in doing.

When listening to Daft Punk I find myself submitting to my inner robot, and bending my cold steel arms in time with the excited punch of the symbol jumping around the copper tasting voices echoing the foreground of 'Harder, Better Faster' and striding with the overpowering thuds of my magnetic feet with each swing of the metal brushing against the elegantly confident riffs of 'Robot Rock'. With the help of this frog eating duo (and the assistance of the coma inducing visual effects) you are transported in to a fantasy world of fluorescent lights stretching over the atmosphere, and kissing your bare skin, cooling it from the hot sweat you have cultivated under the heat of mars, infatuated with the music tended to lovingly by the robot hands,and born from the speakers. It is hard to ever want to return back to Earth.

With many tributes to Daft Punk; From Coca-Cola bottles designed by Daft Punk themselves, and sold under the name of Daft Coke in France for a brief amount of time, to animated appearances of the robotic duo on Cartoon network, it is evident that these french fries have certainly worked up an appetite in their fans. So what I want to know is, where have they got to? Yeah, producing music for acts such as Pharell with his smooth-talking 'Hypnotize U', and the ultimate soundtrack for movie 'Tron: Legacy' may be all well and good, but our ears are twitching for more. Where art thou Daft Punk? Come back to Earth!

The Creation of Radicals

You have to give it to him, Tyler The Creator has managed to tick off most of the goals he set himself while still relishing the comforts of his Grandmothers couch; 'VMA's. Grammy's. Make a lot of money. Own my own label. Start a magazine. Meet Pharrell. I did five of them', and all at the tender age of 21, my jealous eyes are faded by the sheer bravery of the Los Angeles rapper, mortal name of Tyler Okonma. With slow piano keys driving the rebellious statements Tyler channels with his heavy repetition of profanities, and offensive descriptions relating to women, homosexuals,and polititics to name but a few.

When I first learnt about Tyler The Creator, I was warned that I would be covering my ears in disgust, angry at the statements he conjures in his rhyming, however, when I finally braced myself, and pressed play with teeth clenched, I did not see an arrogant young man with a drive to earn a death certificate. What I heard did indeed carry an overdose of swearwords and sexual descriptions, but the beauty underlying in his words is unrecognised, unloved, and ignored. I heard a guy who just wants to promote sincerity, who, like many other people his age, wants to challenge the system, and reclaim his individuality. In a world where bands are commercialized and rebranded into musical zombies by their music labels, I find Tyler The Creator a breath of fresh air, an idol for all those kids out there with no goals, no tools to release their creativity, and no sign of redemption. Yes Tyler sprinkles his spits with words that most people find offensive, but he does not smoke, or drink, and invest his energy into the whole image in which his music conveys, from the artwork of his releases, to the direction of the videos he records.



Unlike most rappers, Tyler has remained stationed in the streets he used to hang around when he was but a twinkle in Hip Hop's eyes, and has even set up shop in said area to anchor him back to the ground after the ego inflaming attention of growing fans everywhere. Not to mention the ever expanding pack of 'wolves' The Creator has earnt after dreaming up Alternative Hip Hop collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, otherwise known as OFWGKTA, containing rappers such as Domo Genesis, Hodgy Beats, and Mike G, and singer Frank Ocean. This collective has produced multiple releases recorded in their own homes, with all tracks available on their website for free, this group is fast becoming famous for both the content on their tracks, and the amount of talented acts that are involved, not forgetting the explosion of energetic beats and unforgettable lyrics that you can't help but get excited about.





Tyler is not afraid to express his weaknesses in his songs, it is what makes him unique, and reminds you that he is still but a human after his claims to be the reincarnation of the Devil in his songs. In his acclaimed single 'Yonkers' he tells his fans;

'F*ck the fame and all the hype, G
I just want to know if my father would ever like me
But I don't give a f*ck, so he's probably just like me'

Not only expressing his wish to get to know his father, who walked out on his family when he was younger, and the constant drive to impress him in his work, but his hatred and bitterness towards him.

So my advise to any offended listeners of this guy, is to forget about the profanities, forget the pornographic images he delights in describing, and remember that he is just another vulnerable human being, who has turned his hurt and insecurity into passion and drive towards his effortless skills of creating some beautifully evoking music that challenges your ideas of society. After all, he says it himself in 'Radicals'...

'Hey, don't do anything that I say in this song, okay? It's f*ckin' fiction'

In his work Tyler expresses his wish for kids everywhere to ignore the ideals of society, they feel they have to conform to. He is telling his fans not to live up to their parents dreams if it is not what they want, he is the voice of freedom for kids everywhere. As someone who is the same age as The Creator, I can taste his passion for freedom of expression, I can smell his peppery distaste for oppressive rules, and I can feel his fear for society. Most critics will view The Creators songs as a list of as many stomach wrenching descriptions as possible, but I see it as a constitutional rebellion, an inspiration for young people to stand up for what they believe in.

Don't judge this guy, he is an Alternative Hip Hop genius, and you will be hearing a lot more of him. He is more than Radical.