Odd Future has often been compared to the Wu-Tang Clan, and while one-to-one comparisons don’t always work out between the knights of Shaolin and the skateboarders of L.A., Domo Genesis plays the part of Method Man fairly well. As suggested by the tape’s title, Under The Influence, Domo loves his marijuana. He even starts off a song called “Glory” by christening himself “Mr. Smoke-A-Lot-Of-Pot.”
This is not to say that DG is lacking or lazy with his mic skills. Even on exclusively weed-centric songs like “More Clouds” (that feature lyrics like “I’ma talk pot every fucking verse I get on/I’m a pothead, fuck you”) the wordplay is much better than your average stoner’s. DG’s laidback flow may sound effortless, but his subtle rap history references to Lil’ Wayne and Big L show that his knowledge of the art is impressive, especially for someone whose memory should probably have ceased to exist.
Domo’s “too swagged out to care” style on the mic is a stark contrast to OFWGKTA Tyler, The Creator’s spaz-tastic bars. While Tyler rants about the stresses that accompany fame, Domo has no reservations about his unabashed love for stardom. The highlight of the tape comes when the two MC’s collide on “Whole City Behind Us,” which jacks its beat and title from hip-hop’s king of not knowing how to handle fame, Kanye West. DG promises to “loiter at the door of success until they let us in,” while Tyler is much more concerned with cursing out everyone who ever said something bad about him or his clique. Despite their different goals, however, it’s clear that the two rappers bring out the best in each other. That sounds like a cliché, but it sets DG apart from certain other Los Angeles rappers (*cough* GAME!) who get helplessly annihilated by Tyler on their own songs.
The other high point of the mixtape is “Benediction,” a swirling symphony of siren-like synthesizers that embodies the transcendental intersection of weed highs and lyrical dexterity that Nas perfected on Illmatic and Wiz Khalifa regularly tries and fails to attain. “When it comes to smoking, I’m your highness, so bow down” Domo raps, and if the rest of the tracks on UTI went as hard as this one, I’d gladly yank the crown off Wiz’s head and present it to DG personally.
But, as seems to always be the case with OFWGKTA releases, too many of the beats sound too much alike (which would be okay if they weren’t so, dare I say it, boring). There’s no question that Odd Future is a group of great MC’s, but they’ve yet to assemble the beats to really make a great release. That said, how could anyone hate a tape that ends with an 80 second track called “Smokemon?”
3/5 bars
Domo Genesis – Whole City Behind Us (Feat. Tyler, The Creator)