It’s the Wolf, Gang, Wolf, Gang, Wolf, Gang, Wolf, Gang.
If you were anywhere around rap music in the late 2000s and early 2010s, this chant is probably etched into your brain. Odd Future, the Los Angeles-based rap collective led by Tyler, the Creator that also boasted members and affiliates like Earl Sweatshirt and Frank Ocean, was the hottest commodity in hip-hop for an excitingly prolonged run. They broke through with The Odd Future Tape in 2008 and Radical in 2010, before releasing their last compilation, The OF Tape Vol. 2, in 2012. For a group of renegades and outlaws, kids making their own scene because they felt at home nowhere else, they remarkably turned the mainstream into their own. Vol. 2 topped out at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, a bonafide smash by any metric. Slowly, though, the fabric of the collective began to fray. Artists began pursuing their own artistic visions, beefs percolated and were quickly squashed, life moved on.
Earl Sweatshirt established himself as one of rap’s most brilliant lyricists, and Tyler as perhaps the keenest all-around artist in the game. Frank Ocean turned into a mercurial mega-star, and Syd transmitted intergalactic funk jams with The Internet—a group that introduced Steve Lacy to the world. While L-Boy, who didn’t rap, has become one of the most promising young actors, thanks to his role on The Bear. Odd Future’s scope and heatmap is remarkably massive, and their story is one of unbound creativity spilling in a million different directions.
So we decided to break down where each member of the group is in 2024. Some have disappeared from the spotlight, while some have redefined success on their own terms. All, though, were a monumental part of hip-hop history.
It’s the Wolf, Gang, Wolf, Gang, Wolf, Gang, Wolf, Gang.
If you were anywhere around rap music in the late 2000s and early 2010s, this chant is probably etched into your brain. Odd Future, the Los Angeles-based rap collective led by Tyler, the Creator that also boasted members and affiliates like Earl Sweatshirt and Frank Ocean, was the hottest commodity in hip-hop for an excitingly prolonged run. They broke through with The Odd Future Tape in 2008 and Radical in 2010, before releasing their last compilation, The OF Tape Vol. 2, in 2012. For a group of renegades and outlaws, kids making their own scene because they felt at home nowhere else, they remarkably turned the mainstream into their own. Vol. 2 topped out at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, a bonafide smash by any metric. Slowly, though, the fabric of the collective began to fray. Artists began pursuing their own artistic visions, beefs percolated and were quickly squashed, life moved on.
Earl Sweatshirt established himself as one of rap’s most brilliant lyricists, and Tyler as perhaps the keenest all-around artist in the game. Frank Ocean turned into a mercurial mega-star, and Syd transmitted intergalactic funk jams with The Internet—a group that introduced Steve Lacy to the world. While L-Boy, who didn’t rap, has become one of the most promising young actors, thanks to his role on The Bear. Odd Future’s scope and heatmap is remarkably massive, and their story is one of unbound creativity spilling in a million different directions.
So we decided to break down where each member of the group is in 2024. Some have disappeared from the spotlight, while some have redefined success on their own terms. All, though, were a monumental part of hip-hop history.
Tyler, the Creator
Back when Odd Future emerged in 2007, it was clear that Tyler, the Creator was the de facto face of the group. He was the creative director, the brand designer, the sonic architect—the centerpiece of this loose collective/tight knit group hybrid. Despite keeping a fairly pervasive “the only rule is there are no rules” aesthetic, Tyler kept the group’s releases remarkably cohesive. Even if the talent often needed some strategic alignment, it was clear to see that the MC and producer, born Tyler Okonma, was a generational musical gift. He’s only 33 years old, and he’s been a constant in the rap sphere for 17 years. Even without the success, he’d have merits as a once-in-an-era star. As a solo artist, though, he’s gone from a tantalizing prospect to perhaps the most important voice in rap at the moment. He’s dropped six records since 2011, and if there’s ever an argument in favor of artists growing through the album process—of label executives investing in future returns and then letting the artist work through development—it’s Tyler. He’s gotten better with each album and is still at the very top of his game. With forays into fashion, television, and more, his level of consistency has remained remarkable.
Earl Sweatshirt
If Tyler, the Creator was the beating, bleeding heart of Odd Future, Earl Sweatshirt was the brain. Tyler was bombast and brash, Earl was the kid in the back of the classroom writing down bars that sounded nice and plotting for the next cypher. Earl’s preternatural gift for rhyming was apparent on early projects like Earl, which featured a bevy of production from Tyler.
After leaving for and returning from a controversial reform school in Samoa called Coral Reef Academy in 2012, he began plotting his return with Doris, which he would drop a year later. (That album included a dig at this very publication for revealing his location while in school). Earl had one of the more public splits from Odd Future, and has spent much of the past decade aligning himself with a different kind of rapper: mainly underground, East Coast, verbose MCs like billy woods and ELUCID of Armand Hammer, MIKE, Navy Blue, and Mach-Hommy. Where the Odd Future experience was a maximalist endeavor, Earl likes to strip his solo music for parts, finding joy in almost-barren landscapes of barely-there beats and weary synths, like on 2022’s Sick!. In 2023, he linked up with The Alchemist for Voir Dire, a gritty, magnetic ode to street rap.
Syd
Syd was the quiet assassin within the Odd Future braintrust, the go-to engineer for the group and the host of their recording space, lovingly referred to as "The Trap." It was easy to tell that Syd had guts, mostly because she was the quiet, confident woman in a group full of brash boys, but also because she could write the hell out of a verse. In the early 2010s, when many of the Odd Future members started pursuing solo endeavors loosely outside of the group’s scope, Syd linked up with fellow OF member Matt Martians to form The Internet, a group that is still loosely active today, though Syd has also spent time pursuing solo work.
With The Internet, which also includes Steve Lacy, Patrick Paige II, and Christopher Smith, Syd created lovesick jams beamed from outer space, brewed with heavy doses of face-melting funk and Neptunes-inspired production. Solo albums, like 2022’s Broken Hearts Club, coincided with a production credit on Beyoncé’s Renaissance with “Plastic Off the Sofa,” suggesting that more behind the scenes work may be occurring as we wait for more solo music and the next era of The Internet.
L-Boy
In a crazy twist of fate, Lionel Boyce, also known as L-Boy, has become one of Odd Future’s most famous members, with none of it having anything to do with music. L-Boy scored a show-stealing role on the television series The Bear, stealing hearts across the country as pastry chef Marcus. He’s also confirmed to be in the forthcoming film Shell, starring Elisabeth Moss, Kate Hudson and Kaia Gerber. L-Boy’s acting chops began long before his role in The Bear, though. He was a co-creator and acted in Loiter Squad, too. In the musical realm, L-Boy reunited with his former Odd Future affiliate Earl Sweatshirt in 2023 as the DJ duo Billy Jole.
Casey Veggies
Casey Veggies has had one of the more traditional careers within the Odd Future hierarchy. He parlayed his success with the group into a deal with Epic Records, who helped put out his 2015 effort, Live and Grow. The one-album deal didn’t last, but Veggies has found his footing as an independent MC, releasing Crypto Veggies in 2022, an EP with Mike & Keys in 2023 called Ten Toes Down, and Nostalgia earlier this year. Veggies has kept up the independent spirit that helped Odd Future turn into a grassroots sensation, leaning into his playful lyrics and approachable charm to build a sustainable career that doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Left Brain
Left Brain, the producer born Vyron Turner, had a hand in nearly every Odd Future release from its inception, crafting the team’s sound with a heady blend of new school distortion, classic sample chopping, and an emphasis on melody. Left Brain is one of the better “what if” artists in the Odd Future orbit. He released celebrated albums with Hodgy Beats (now known as Jerry) under the MellowHype name in the early 2010s, but never strayed too far from the company’s watch. He’s a dedicated steward of the Odd Future sound, and those wanting to keep up with his newest music can check out his Mind Gone series, which he updates frequently, and the occasional collaborative album, like his 2018 project with LNDN DRGS, Brain on DRGS.
Hodgy Beats
Hodgy Beats—who first changed his name to Hodgy and then to Jerry—spent his first years outside of Odd Future’s collective peak living in his own shadow. After he stole the stage with Tyler, the Creator during their network television debut in 2011 on Jimmy Fallon, he continued his work with Left Brain under the MellowHype name, and eventually picked up a record deal with Columbia, releasing Fireplace: TheNotTheOtherSide in 2016.
Hodgy could have kept collecting checks and lived under the banner of his glory days in Odd Future, but the MC is a hustler, and he’s continued to innovate his style and drop new music. His 2024 album, lovemesooner, is a great introduction to his work as Jerry, blending his always-incisive lyricism with an emotional core he never fully explored on earlier releases.
Matt Martians
Matt Martians has been one of Odd Future’s most underrated and prolific members, willing to cede the spotlight and take center stage as a sonic architect. He was a mainstay on the early OF compilations, and had a clear vision for all the places Odd Future could go. He was one of its most active members in terms of inter-collective collaboration, working with Syd on The Internet and The Jet Age of Tomorrow alongside Pyramid Vritra. Martians is one of those artists who sounds joyful on record, thrilled to be making music.
While his solo albums haven’t always hit in the same way, 2024’s Matt’s Missing is a decidedly groovy affair, full of sweet melodies, fascinating instrumental texturing, and the feel of the laid back comedown after a night of technicolor partying.
Jasper Dolphin
Though Jasper Dolphin was one of the early core members of Odd Future, he found his calling shortly after the group hit its collective peak. Jasper is an entertainer, and he decided to pursue comedy and acting, mainly through roles in the Jackass series and as a pivotal member of the Odd Future sketch comedy series, Loiter Squad. Jasper also had a Viceland series Jasper & Errol's First Time, and was a guest on The Eric Andre Show, made an appearance at Wrestlemania, and had a prominent role in the 2022’s Jackass Forever.
Travis Bennett AKA “Taco
Taco was the little brother in Odd Future’s first incarnation. He was the actual little brother of Syd, and it was his duty to be the annoying younger sibling hanging around with the cool older kids. Bennett didn’t rap too often, with his last credited appearance coming in 2013. Despite being an Odd Future member more in name than action, he carved a successful acting career for himself, and has since made his own notoriety as Elz in Dave. Additionally, he acted in the Jon Hamm film Confess, Fletch, and play’s the son of Eddie Murphy's character in the movie You People.
Frank Ocean
Please revisit the page when Frank has released a new album. Until then, we’ll be here waiting :/
Domo Genesis
Domo Genesis has had far and away the most successful career of any part-time Odd Future affiliates—outside of Frank Ocean, of course. The weed-obsessed rapper used his OF co-sign and the Syd, Tyler, and Left Brain-produced Rolling Papers into a long and sustainable career. In 2021, he appeared on Tyler, the Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost track “Manifesto,” and recruited the stellar producer Evidence for a 2022 collaborative album, Intros, Outros & Interludes. In 2023, he made another one-producer album in the form of the Graymatter-assisted What You Don't Get?!
Mike G
Mike G has long remained a prolific voice in rap, both thanks to his appearances on a number of Odd Future projects and solo endeavors. Mike was a consistent presence on the Loiter Squad series and also served as a member of OG Ron C’s CHOPSTAR DJ’s, turning original tracks into buttery, slowed-down chopped and screwed remixes. His last album was 2022’s S.O.L.S.
Pyramid Vritra
Pyramid Vritra has stayed wildly prolific, from his early days in Odd Future to his work with Matt Martians in The Jet Age of Tomorrow. The rapper and producer is an active collaborator and has dropped albums on LA indie mainstays LEAVING Records and Stones Throw Records, among many others. He linked up with the British producer Wilma Archer for the Wilma Vritra project, dropping records in 2019 and 2022. His solo albums, like 2024’s AMBER, finds him delving into experimental production methods and expanding his voice into more adventurous modes of singing.
brandUn DeShay
Chicago rapper and producer Brandun DeShay has long been an Odd Future affiliate, though never an official member of the group. He was featured on Tyler, the Creator’s Bastard, but later beef separated him from the collective. Since then, he’s released music under the name Ace Hashimoto. Earlier this year, he dropped a very tight single entitled “LIKE THAT UHHH.”
Na-Kel Smith
Skateboarder Na-Kel Smith made his way into the Odd Future circle thanks to the skateboarding/rap cross-cultural connection the group helped forge. His first on-record appearance came on the Wolf posse cut "Trashwang.” He pursued his own business, forming the clothing brand Hardies, and created the Hog Slaughta Boyz group with Earl Sweatshirt. His biggest break came in 2018, when he starred in Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, Mid90s.