Transgression is crucial to pop culture. It defines the outer edge, the forbidden zone, from Elvis Presley's censored pelvis and Eminem's revenge fantasies to the Rolling Stones' black-and-blue misogyny and Marilyn Manson's fascist send-ups. And now, in a world where "American Idol" sanitizes future chart-toppers, there is the boyish hip-hop crew Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All lying in ambush.
Odd Future's driving force is Tyler Okonma, a k a Tyler the Creator, who turned 20 only weeks before the group's South by Southwest invasion. Like all previous Odd Future music, Tyler's acclaimed 2009 solo debut, "Bastard," was released for free on-line. Now comes the follow-up, "Goblin," the first Odd Future-related release to appear on a high profile label, XL Recordings, home to Radiohead, M.I.A. and Adele, among others.
