Roughly six months after being introduced to the collective subconscious of those of us who slept on them for the past few years, maybe it’s a little clearer to figure out exactly who Odd Future are. That’s until MellowHype decide to further muddle things up with a re-release of their BlackenedWhite album. The group within a group, consisting of Hodgy Beats and Left Brain, make the constant Wu-Tang/Odd Future comparisons understandable, as they offer a solo project that could easily double as a group effort by being both similar and different. Confused yet?
If you’re the type of person who likes to psychoanalyze rappers, then once you come to grips with the fact you have entirely too much free time on your hands, you can find moments of sincerity behind MellowHype’s “We don’t give a fuck” façade. The inherent conflict lies in the fact that it’s a really entertaining façade. Left Brain and Hodgy capture the youthful, irreverent and sometimes purposely ignorant energy of Lil B or Waka Flocka Flame (who they compare themselves to on “Igotagun”) without ever appearing to be candidates for the “short bus.” They’re in on the joke the entire time. Production-wise, Left Brain gives you the stacked chords, aggressive 808s and loud, catchy choruses that make you want to run shirtless through a club and try to clothesline someone twice your size. He’s also versatile enough to give Hodgy a minimalist canvas (“Primo”) when needed, or provide a melodic bounce on songs such as “Circus.” BlackenedWhite also comes with the occasional thought-provoking moment, attempts to experiment with different rhyme patterns and none of the stigma that comes with Flockaveli being discovered on your iPod.
Hodgy Beats holds down the rhymes for the bulk of the album. And if you buy into the Odd Future/Wu-Tang Clan comparisons, Hodgy is lyrically much closer to Inspectah Deck than the much-maligned U-God. He avoids Tyler’s overuse of shock value but has an assortment of different flows and a better variety of subject matter, which puts him somewhere between Tyler, Earl Sweatshirt and Domo Genesis in the Odd Future pecking order. While “Primo,” the album opener, finds him employing a slow-paced flow to match the subject matter, he’s perfectly capable of switching to double-time couplets to match the backing machine gun fire on “Deaddeputy,” rhyming, “The theme to my thesis / Caught up in the prefix / Music is premixed / The remix / With gun sounds / And gun rounds and brief kicks / Call it a remix of the bible influenced by Jesus…”
This isn’t to say that BlackenedWhite isn’t without the faults found on most albums made by people under the age of 25. You don’t get a whole lot of insightful material to balance out the sometimes-pointless aggression, horniness and post-adolescent angst. This can be problematic if you’re easily offended by sodomy references. But as Tyler proves on “F666 The Police,” 
OFWGKTA will just as easily take one (in this case a nightstick) up an orifice for the sake of shocking you or making you laugh. Unfortunately, two of the albums more introspective tracks, “Hell” and “Chordaroy” were left off the Fat Possum re-issue. This can likely be attributed to securing the rights to the Earl vocals and/or sample clearance issues. Either way, lopping off two of the album’s better cuts is never a good thing. The slimmed down version of BlackenedWhite does cut out some filler, such as “Strip Club” and offer newer MellowHype cuts like “64” and “Igotatun.” If you’re interested in where Left Brain and Hodgy are going next, the latter is a good indication.
Ultimately, Blackenedwhite is conflicted, but quality music. The duo has clearly studied the craft and culture of Hip Hop, but are more than comfortable ditching its standard rules for the fuck of it. Ultimately, what you end up with is the auditory equivalent of a FourLoko tallboy. By now you’ve heard about it, and you know the drawbacks. But unless you’re irresponsible, this toned-down version will at best be a welcome addition to your rotation, or at worst, deliver some embarrassing laughs and a few unexplained bruises.
Purchase BlackenedWhite by MellowHype
An inverted cross made of skulls. If this is not satanic, I dont know what is. I’ll be the first to give it its lowest rating.
I actually feel sorry for you.
Did you also accuse DipSet of being satanic when they were rocking skulls and bones on their belts? Didn’t think so… Open ur fucking ears and stop being so concerned about imagery.
If you can’t listen to hot music because you see a skull, you need to question the strength of your own spirituality. GOLFWANG
What about the upside down cross? What should one make of that?
Real “Satanism” has nothing to do with upside-down crosses, pentagrams or the Devil, idiot. Satanists are atheists with a hardcore ego complex, that’s what “Satan” means in its original Latin: adversary.
Can you honestly say that the upside-down cross is the ONLY thing that’s wrong with this album? Or even the group? Do you listen to what they’re saying? It makes me wonder how you can feel comfortable playing this type of music, unless you don’t even listen to the words. I’ve heard some of the songs. I can say though that I love the beats, not so much the lyrics.
Real talk, why do they need all this if their music is good? “666 kill em all” inverted cross….wtf, a lot of these “new school” artists rub me the wrong way.
theres shock value and then there’s blatant evil and this is the latter.
OF is opposed to religion, but that doesn’t mean they’re “evil”. We never speak of morality when we’re commenting on songs by “street” rappers who rap about murdering other black men and selling drums to their community, and we shouldn’t, because we know listening to it doesn’t make us murderers and drug dealers.
But as soon as somebody messes with religion, everyones a got damn saint. FOH… I wouldn’t personally do any of the crazy shit thats in Eminem songs, but I can appreciate the skill and talent he has as an emcee. That’s one of the problems with religion… it has the ability to limit one’s mental freedom.
*selling druGs* (smart people knew what I meant anyway)
God has nothing to do with religion. Religion is a man made thing used as a tool to interact, understand and interpret the relationship between men and God(mostly). But like everything else politics came into it. To be a well rounded human being, I think that you need to have rules to abide by. You need to be able to say no to certain things and I say no to this, no matter how uncool or closed minded that sounds. Anarchy, nihilism and apathy do nothing to help us grow as a people and this crap promotes instability.
It’s a 4 for me, sublime production and good lyrics.
3.5 ain’t high enough, at least a four.
KILL EM ALL
“You don’t get a whole lot of insightful material to balance out the sometimes-pointless aggression”
Has this reviewer ever listened to Odd Future?? Who listens to Odd Future expecting some “insightful” shit, lol. I go to Mos, Talib, Common, Black Thought and Pharaohe for that…
I’ve pretty much heard the whole catologue. “Hell” and “Chordaroy” were pretty insightful, comparatively speaking, but they got left off the album.
3.5 is whack, you best get back on your mainstream bullshit. mellowhype is the shit and OF is the future of hip hop! 666 kill em all golf wang
Solid CD, I prefer Hodgy to the rest of OF tbh, disappointed that Chordaroy & Hell were left off the re-release but still a good listen
How you can have a huge following of fans with this bullshit production. I’m sure the message is there in some form but when has it become good to listen to beats that are 110% garbage???
Get’s a 5 from me. i didnt think hodgy beats could do his own album, proved me wrong. loaded is the track of the month hands down for me.
i haven’t listened to this version, but the original mixtape they dropped was dope, definitely a 4. too bad “chordaroy” and “hell” didn’t make it, the loss of those two could easily hurt the project overall.
the inspectah deck comparison is really spot on though. i just hope hodgy does pull an inspectah deck and drop wack solo LPs
a police officeer must of done this review
A solid effort. 3.5 out of 5
wow this fool smoked a pages out of the Bible……Niggas is trippin
so its okay to suck like soulja boy at least waka flacka quit but dont tell me its okay to clearly worship the devil now to ima stick with slaughterhouse yelawolf chamillionaire and kendrick lamar and god
See, thats exactly what RELIGION does to people. It limits your ability to think for yourself. I’m not a Christian, but I do believe in God. Why can’t I listen to Kendrick Lamar, Common, and Odd Future if it’s all good music?
Earl’s family swept him off to the woods to try and free his soul before he lost it to the Devil. Fuck all that shit, let kids be kids, enless there settin cats on fire.
God has nothing to do with religion. Religion is a man made thing used as a tool to interact, understand and interpret the relationship between men and God(mostly). But like everything else politics came into it. To be a well rounded human being, I think that you need to have rules to abide by. You need to be able to say no to certain things and I say no to this, no matter how uncool or closed minded that sounds. Anarchy, nihilism and apathy do nothing to help us grow as a people and this crap promotes instability…
God has nothing to do with religion?…..Wow, I’m going to let your comment speak for itself…
bisquic – understand where he’s coming from with the comment, not just how he framed it.
As in, conceptions of God and God [it]self aren’t just limited to that portrayed in religions.
god isnt real stop talking about him like you saw him buying coffee on tuesday….
supporting or not supporting this music wont change anything… so just enjoy the music
2da9thpwr: Since when have we looked to music to promote social stability? Ur just as bad as Bill O’Reilly if you think music from some kids has the power to “promote instability”. If you’re gonna get up on your fucking high horse when you listen to OF, get on that same horse when you listen to, or watch any other art form that goes against your personal belief system.
I don’t challenge people on their beliefs as long as its consistent. Unless all you listen to is gospel hip-hop, shut the fuck up with that holier-than-thou rhetoric. Intelligent people see all the way through that shit. I listen to music for entertainment, not to be my moral guide
satanic ilumnati kiss ass MellowHype
they are athiest and if you weren’t a complete tool you would know that people who are athiest don’t believe in either god or the devil. so how can they worship summon who they believe don’t exist?
I assume at this point your pea sized brain just exploded from the complexity of my question so I’ll stop it here.
he is satanic so what he told hes an athiest anyone can lie you stupid fuck
he is kissing ilumnati ass in the video
he dose the triangle sign in the video wtf at 00:24
the album sucks just download it from mediafire or fillstube fuck this wack shit the best song was the video thats it dont
waste your money on this satanic fuck.
new kids on the block suck alot…….
1 star i want my life back
all of u people are so stupid…if they dont believe in god they dont believe in the devil
i know! Religious people actually worship the devil more than atheists since they believe in it
fuckin garbage
damnnnn this shit bumps!!! golfwang
damnnnn this shit sucks!!! gaywang
gaywang! Love it. Mellowhype sucks
mellowhype > tyler the creator
sucks sucks thats it crap
“Ultimately, what you end up with is the auditory equivalent of a FourLoko tallboy.”
that was a funny comparison
im going to shot your mother and fuck the bullet untill she dies
go die smart ass
Not impressed at all. OFWGKTA is not winning in the marketplace.
yesiir
salute mellowhype or mustard gas!
5 stars.
5 star more like 1 star the album sucks the beats are so wack
garbage beats 1 song is good
Fuck this shit. This tape is so dope! I’ve got an orgasm and i Jizz in MY PANTS!
OFWGKTA !
1 star
blasphemy
The lyrics are outstanding.
The beats are amazing.
5/5
F666 the police Favorite song/beat
this album is bullshit dont waste your time
this album sucks ass what the fuck your talking about peppy are you like 12 years old 1 star
1 star album the beats suck big time
burn this trash music
ilumnati kiss ass
0 star wack
What the fuck is this album
Given this the same rating as Raekwon huh….yeah right! Big Sean’s album doesn’t deserve a 4 either. Man, you guys are really messing up with these reviews…2 stars for this one. Btw, stop comparing these dudes to Wu-Tang. Tyler is the only one in this group that’s actually dope. These other guys are highly forgettable…
Crazy level of hate for this here, you people have bad taste. Saying the beats arent good? Left Brain is a serious producing talent and real young. Hodgy is an underrated rapper too.. good mix of motivated, ambitious, actually kinda positive but still saying fuck em all. Having to keep Hell, Chordoroy and Loco off this official version sucks though, those are amazing songs. Not that it matters when you can go find that one anyway. Sick album.
this album suck sounds like fruity loops beats the fact is the is trash
wah odd future is satanic for having fun with music wah
Odd Future kills em all consistently.
grow up
i cant get down wit these cats …idc what nobody say all they shit is devilish. Say its not and you just lyin to yourself.
Young bul… be careful about how you bring your “morals” into discussions about hip-hop. If this is “devilish” then all the other shit you listen to about shooting niggas in the head and pushin’ coke in the hood is also “devilish”
Dude how come no one bothers to mention the track: BASED featuring C.Renee on the origonal…..that shit is crazy i hate that the cut that 1
this album aint shit
fruity loops beats loooool
i wonder if everyone making jokes about fruity loops knows that 9th wonder uses/used that program for a whole lot of his shit…
thats only 9th wounder thats it
lex luger too… maybe you should look that up. your talkin out the side of ya neck
For real man, this shit is super garbage. WTF is up with this bullshit, and all the odd future shit, really. I know the production is supposed to be different, but to me it sounds like shit and sounds like they don’t know wut they doin. Yonkers was bananas, but other than that, nothin from these dudes is good. Well, Tyler can rap a little I guess
crappy album
dont buy cause it sucks
new school kids fucking suck i cant bellive the compare this group to wutang
5$ says all these folks are just hating that there’s a popular ATHEIST rap group. God is dead, bitch.
not into “spooky” rap. dudes aren’t frightening. sorry but mall contact lenses from halloween, snakes, and an average flow are nothing but… Corny.
I can’t front. From the lyrical aspects, this cat, as well as Tyler and Earl, are clever in the way the deliver the words and rhyme scheme. Their beats are hit or miss, never consistent. As for the message, I believe in God, I believe Jesus died for our sins. Not because of something that man says I should do, but because of the way God has proven himself in my own life and it’s my choice. What people have to realize is that God gave us all a choice to believe or not. As for these brothers, maybe they’ve made there choice. Being an atheist (what people don’t know) is just like being a satanist. Satan’s greatest trick is to convince the World that he doesn’t exist. Be entertained and not influenced people.
true man
Thank you for this jewel…
” From the lyrical aspect” these guys are garbage.. nothing near clever or complex about it..they use the whole satanic shit as a gimmic to gain attention cause the lyrics arnt good.. thats obvious to anyone with half a brain…In fact if they were clever or dope no one would mention they stanic shit.. they would be quoting cool shit they said.. Like when Em went in on dead wrong..people wernt talking about how satanic the verse was they were talking about the flow and rhyme scheme
Agree 100%.
Being an atheist stems from a lack of evidence for an existence of god or for that matter satan ITS A LACK OF BELIEF IN ANY DEITY YOU IGNORANT FUCKING PRICK!!!!
fake atheists they are satanic
if they are atheists why would they
do the satanic shit anyway and dont tell me its art or fun dont lie to your self
Dito.
he sucked satans dick in the video
sick
buy it its the shit
yup
l0l being an anti-christ does not make one satanic, you ignorant fucks. Also look in that book you tell other people to read, 666 is the number of the beast, and the beast is MAN. God is dead. Suck it dry.
NO YOUR DEAD
so the absence of belive is the same as beliving in the opposite of what one does not belive???huh???some of yaw’ll jesuse freaks are slow as hell…I guess the world’s 2500 years old too….just saying
Ever watch Bill Maher’s documentary religulous. Funnier words have never came from a Christian’s mouth, “You start refutin’ MY GOD, you’ve got yourself a problem.” Ethnocentric thought makes me l0l.
ALBUM SUCKS SATANS BALLS
Not digging the satanic vibe.
wacke wack wack
Album was great you ignorant religious zealots need to read up on what atheism is though. Its lack of a belief in any God or deity for that matter which does not equate to satanism in any way. Ignorant fucks.
im not religious and the album is bullshit
grow up niger
If theyre all atheist then why are they just rejecting the Christian notion of Christ? I dont see any inverted pitchforks or shit like that.
Dark Humor, and for the most part a concept, nothing more, and its amazing how I need to grow up you fucking “anonymous” coward.
Torrey Depina go eat ass u fat bitch
Fuck you…..smh at you fucking trolls.
Torrey Depina you ugly stupid fuck you bellive anything dont you
sick crap
Didn’t Esham try this dumb satanic shit about 15 years ago? Detroit Detroit craka laka beer bottle! Yo
this shit gay
It has it chilled, LA skate rat songs, it has it poking fun “club rapers”, it’s pretty much all you want from OF, just without Tyler’s deep voice breaking thru as much. It really shows Left brain’s production skills to the max, while just pushing Hogdy more and more as a emcee. Even if you don’t agree with their views… they simply don’t care, haha, they just want to see you mad for the lulz.
this is crap and i aint mad loolz
the lbim sucks the south dick
the album sucks the souths dick
Actually it’s a mixtape that got a physical release, moron.
gay music
fuck you this album was the shit
U just dont know music and u dont understand it ur too retarded to so fuck off.
the album sucks southern dicks loool
GOD IS DEAD. Do some research on atheism you ignorant fucks. Btw, the inverted cross is originally Saint Peter’s Cross. Oh and 666 is the number of main, not satan. That’s from the bible. Douchebags, read your own book you push onto others.
*666 IS THE NUMBER OF MAN. It’s fucking hilarious you jesus freaks know less about the bible then those who don’t even believe the shit it says to be true. Science flies us into space, religion flies us into buildings. Break free from the mental slavery.
look, its cool if you’re atheist.. no one cares about your stupid beliefs…This website is supposed to be about music.. these niggas make shitty music.. i dont give a fuck if there jewish, christian, satanic, atheist or africans on kwanzaa.. the music is trash. why is that so hard to understand? at the end of ur post u quote bob marley.. who mentions god in that same song ur quoting.. “my hand was made strong by the hand of the all mighty” so ur an idiot on top off everything.
Damn!!!!! I couldn’t have said it any better
Atheists are actually dumber than religious people. They have the one religious viewpoint that will never ever be proven, no matter what.
Actually, dumbass, I was quoting Bill Maher. Religious leaders are mental slave holders.
And Fly, atheists come in many forms, I personally am a secular humanist. Also, I will admit that I can not PROVE the lack of existance of “God” but i don’t BELIEVE such a being exists, particularly in the omnipresent “man in the sky” context.
@Fly can you prove that your so called “God” is real? Sure you have a bible that someone told you is real, Why would they lie?
Their shit sounds way too satanic for me. I don’t believe in Satan, so no I do not think they worship him, but it still sounds so fucking creepy and unpleasant. I’m sick of this atheist bullshit too. I used to be like these kids, shitting all over religion because I was young and stupid and could only look at things in one way. Religion can and is used for good by many people, and bad by some if not most. No different than any other aspect of life. You can’t look at religious retards and just say fuck the entire thing…that makes you no less ignorant than they are. I dunno I can’t find anything good about these guys they are just arrogant kids that give shit way less thought than they should.
I didn’t know “Satanic” had a sound. Its music. Music is an art form. Go listen to Hopsin if you wanna hear religious rap. OF is not even atheist, only a few members are. Religion has caused more harm than done good. God is just an imaginary friend for grown ups. They get us when we are young. Fuck it. Im gonna go burn a blunt with the bible pages.
BOOM HEADSHOT! Well no but really Alexs point is very accurate people need to stop being uncomfortable with this shit cause the 90’s Eminem albums were no different.
Actually…. if you believe in Christianity, you do believe in Satan…. you just don’t worship him. Same goes for Satanists, they do believe in Christ/God but they worship Satan. You can’t have one without the other. Religion when interpreted in a personal spiritual context is totally cool, I mean it’s whatever helps you sleep at night really. However when monotheistic religions are interpreted literally/fundamentally they only encourage an ethnocentric state of mind. So religion as a whole may not be the enemy, but ethnocentric thought is.
Tyler the Creator is like God. He’s a paradox. He’s got three forms (Tyler The Creator, Wolf Haley, and Dr. TC). And Tyler starts more internet beefs than religion has caused wars.
He has more than 3 personas; you forgot Ace the Creator and Tron Cat. Listen to more of his music before you go dick riding. Tyler can flow but he isn’t close to the best, also this is a Mellowhype album so let them have their chance to shine and take your dick riding ass elsewhere.
Damn, u must be sore from that dickridin huh??
“fuck financial aide… cash students”
“chicken head of the sea.. but I dont fuckin eat tuna”
Really?! im sayin.. REALLY??!! This kid aint talkin about shit!!!!!
I am SO tired of hearing fans of these chumps talk about they’re young so thats why they suck.. When damn near every so called “top 5 emcee/ Legend” was spittin HEAT at 15-18yrs old. NAS, BIG, SNOOP, LL, 2Pac. Perfect West coast example for you dumb ass pawns. go out & research Poetic Justice sound track. There’s a gem on there by the Doggpound feat. a 15yr old Kurupt who would have eaten this entire OFWGKTO / GTFOH/ whodafukcares crew up. Frank Ocean is the only talent they have and trust he will break away from these clowns and Tyler will sell ya dumb asses out soon!
p.s. they suck & the Devil hates this shyt too
this album aint shit
Torrey Depina die you fat fuck
these niggas be sucking mad dick.
Listened to this last night it was ok, but nothing special, dont understand how so many people like this though.
HOLY SHIT THIS IS THE BEST SHIT I’VE HEARD IN YEARS THIS IS THE SHIT OH MY FUCKING GOD OH SHIT OH FUCK OH DICK OH BITCH OH MY FUCKING COCK I’AM SO GLAD FOR THIS SHIT I’LD SHIT AND LISTEN TO THIS SHIT, THIS IS DOPE THE BEAT IS BANGIN AND THE KNOCK KNOCK JOKES OH FUCK WHO COULD’VE THOUGHT OF THIS FUCK THEY ARE THE SHIT, THIS SHIT IS PLATINUM FUCK THIS SHIT IS TRIPLE PLATINUM WITH A DIOMAND ON BOTH THEIR DICKS WHICH I’AM GONNA SUCK OFF COZ I’AM SUCH A HUGE FAN OF THEIR SHIT GODDAMMN FUCK JESUS FUCK CHRIST-SUCK-INSANITY
OHHHHH YEEAAAAAAHHHHHHH THEY ARE THE SHIT MAN DOPE SIMPLE DOPE I DON’T WHAT THE FUCK YOU GUYS R TALKIN ABOUT I THINK JAY OR EM OR DRE ARE GONNA SIGN THEM DAMNNN SUCH HOT SHIT MY FUCKIN EARS ARE PLEADING FOR MORE… I SWEAR THESE TWO FAGGOTS ARE THE ONLY DUDES I’LD GIVE ME SWEET VIRGIN ASSHOLE TOO SO THAT THEY CAN STICK THEIR DICKS IN AND FEEL MY SHIT OH FUCK 5 FUCKIN STARS MAAANNNN FUCK I LOVE THIS SHIT FUCK ALL THE HATERS
PHYCHE!
I LOVE YOU MELLOWHYPE! ahh the best shit ever mellowhype ofwgkta left brain hodgy beats you better fucks with them. If you dont fuck you you dont know beast when u sees it
Hell yeah
best shit ever
I agree with nick
Yes! Best ever i would give the world to meet them
i would give more than the world, ‘Sexybitch’ i would sell my soul to meet them. Email me @ treasureful@live.com
THIS ALBUM BLOWS DICKS
Mellow Hype