ODD FUTURE 'OLDIE' FUSED SUBURBAN SKATE CULTURE 14 YEARS AGO

## When The Internet Still Had Room to Breathe Fourteen years ago today, Odd Future dropped 'Oldie,' a 10-minute freestyle featuring Tyler, Hodgy, Left Brain, Mike G, Domo, Frank, Jasper, and Earl on The OF Tape Vol. 2. The music video was shot spontaneously during a Terry Richardson photo shoot at Milk Studios in Chelsea on March 19, 2012, with no plans for a video until the collective decided to rap their verses at the camera. This was peak internet youth culture. Pre-hyper competitive algorithms. People were still discovering how to go viral. 2012 marked when Weird Twitter entered the mainstream, with Twitter announcing 140 million users generating 340 million tweets per day. Rage comics dominated from 2008-2012, while social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram catapulted memes into mainstream culture beyond just internet nerds. ## The Last Authentic Viral Moment During the shoot, when Terry Richardson tried to keep the kids in frame for photos, Tyler brushed him off and told OF video guy Lance Bangs, "You keep filming, f*** what they're saying!" "Oldie" marked Earl Sweatshirt's first rapping appearance in over a year, featuring all nine members: Tyler, Hodgy Beats, Left Brain, Mike G, Domo Genesis, Frank Ocean, Jasper Dolphin, and Earl Sweatshirt. Tyler's closing verse served as the OFWKTA mission statement: "I was 15 when I first drew that donut / Five years later for our label, yeah we own it," cementing the crew as "a safe haven for kids who never quite felt like they quite fit in, 'the ones who got called weird, fag, bitch, nerd / Cause you was into jazz, kitty cats and Steven Spielberg.'" Tyler and his constellation of rapper, singer, producer, actor, skater, and visual-artist collaborators were the most blog-famous act of the early 2010s. The group came together in 2007 as over 20 different people affiliated with the collective of rappers, producers, skaters, clothing designers, and filmmakers with ambitions stretching far beyond just rap. ## The Cultural Fusion Engine Skate culture in the early to mid-2000s was heavily influenced by hip-hop and punk fashion, consisting of baggy clothing, jeans, cargo pants, hoodies, t-shirts, beanies, and skate shoes, becoming an extremely popular fashion style throughout the 2000s. The emergence of hip hop in the 1980s played a pivotal role in shaping streetwear, with artists like Run DMC embracing tracksuits, oversized glasses, and iconic sneakers, bringing bold and flamboyant aesthetics to the forefront. Skate culture and hip-hop culture were long lost relatives connected for the better of both cultures, sharing similarities of freedom, creative expression, youth movement with attitude and rebellion. With the advent of social media platforms like Instagram and Tumblr, visibility became crucial as skaters across the globe began showcasing unique styles intertwining Y2K aesthetics with personal narratives concerning their identities. Odd Future, led by Tyler and featuring Earl Sweatshirt, Frank Ocean, Jasper Dolphin and Syd Tha Kid, made waves during the early 2010s for their music and internet presence, releasing skate videos on their YouTube channel and attending skateboarding events, helping influence hip-hop and skate culture among young adolescents. ## Before Algorithms Perfected Virality Listening to "Oldie" now feels like looking through an old yearbook, deserving its own Animal House "where are they now" montage, representing a thrilling collaborative effort at the height of their craft that feels like a historical document. In 2019, Pitchfork placed "Oldie" at number 160 on their list of "The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s." Odd Future never technically "broke up," but aside from sporadic concerts in following years, summer 2013 would be the last time they toured as a unit, though OF alumni's success never hinged on the group staying together. Tyler's solo work made him a perennial Grammy fixture with his Best Rap Album trophy for 2019's Igor, Frank Ocean became one of the most critically adored acts of the 2010s with Channel Orange and Blonde, while Earl burrowed further into art-damaged boom-bap as a cult hero. Tyler and Odd Future opened doors for a new wave of artists, going from a DIY group of skate-punk rappers to dominating charts and influencing pop culture direction, with "Oldie" serving as a big bang moment for everything that came after them in the 2010s. The internet will never be that innocent again.