After releasing his first official project last year in Rolling Papers (before Wiz btw), Odd Future member, Domo Genesis drops his latest offering in Under The Influence (I see you Quik). By now all the right pieces for Odd Future are falling into place and having Tyler as the front man with his own distinct style, leaves Damier playing the certified pot head of the group. If Tyler’s favourite album is Em’s Relapse then Domo’s favourite album or albums would probably be the Pilot Talk series from Curren$y. In fact, this sounds more like a Jets project than an OF one, but one thing I’ve learned about Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All is that their unpredictable and each member has a totally different style (Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang).
At 20, Domo Genesis proves with this project that he’s a young and capable MC with lots of potential but is still in the process of mastering his craft. He displays his knowledge of all things weed on Under The Influence, whether its specific strains he’s smoking, walking on clouds or taking psychedelic bong rips, he explains to us in precise detail how he goes about smoking his pot. “I’ma talk pot every fu*kin verse I get on. I’m a pot head, f#ck you, this is my song,” he declares. He’s a young student of the game and you just know he’s been studying the classics from Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep, Kanye & Nas. Now by no means is this on the level of an Illmatic or 36 Chambers but just like how Nas was barely out of his teens at the time of his debut, Domo is around the same age using gritty boom-bap beats to accompany his intricate rhyme patterns and couplets. I can appreciate this because hip hop is in such a different space right now and rather than relying on making a more commercial type of product to get airplay on the radio, Domo keeps his music sounding like he made this project at D&D Studios in the fall of 1998. Which is suprising for a kid that was only 3 years old when Nasir’s debut hit the streets.
With Earl Sweatshirt still trapped on an island with the Samoans somewhere, it looks like Domo’s next in line to get some shine from the masses. On “Whole City Behind Us”, Tyler and Domo show off their OF chemistry, flowing seemlessly after one another. “Goblin was a disappointment. Yea right, shit dropped I bought a house that night,” Tyler boasts. “Benediction” flips Mobb Deep’s classic, “Hell On Earth” and has Domo spitting a heavy 2 minute Wu-Tang-esque, type of verse, “Maneuver like a boss I paid the cost when I get the bread, guillotine flow, keep getting sharper, Im’a stay ahead.” Odd Future affiliate, Casey Veggies also drops a worthy 16 on “Guess Who’s Back”, over the Kanye West produced classic. Producer, Cardo who’s made beats for the likes of Wiz Khalifa & Dom Kennedy supplies a smooth 70′s, sampled banger in “Shine”. And Domo quickly reminds us that he is from the West Coast as he flips Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg’s “Boss’ Life” instrumental.
There was a long period of time where the rap scene on the West Coast was stagnant and motionless but LA seems to be healthy again and back on the rise, with new soldiers to take the reigns. Producing all kinds of diverse styles like Domo and the rest of Odd Future. You add Kendrick Lamar, Nipsey Hussle, Dom Kennedy, Casey Veggies, Pac Div, Blu’s spaced out ‘on some other shit’ material, and it’s looking like the West Coast is about to take control like it was ’96 all over again and a young Pac was just released from prison (thanks Suge). Overall, don’t expect anything groundbreaking on Under The Influence but if you are a fan of witty lyrics, good beats, music to ‘get high’ to or Odd Future in general then this project will definitely give you your fix for quality hip hop.
Album Highlights:
Whole City Behind Us – Domo & Tyler got the whole city behind them.
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Benediction – Odd Future meets Mobb Deep.
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