Compton-based band N.W.A. was dynamic in ushering in the beginning of gangsta rap without airplay on a major U.S. radio station. And straight from South Central, Odd Future managed to top hip-hop charts while giving away numerous albums online.
When experts talk about “making it big in music,” they tend to focus on the threshold that marks an artist’s ascension into mainstream success. This verge of stardom is normally marked by a single on the radio, which in turn produces many record sales and sold-out tours.
But what happens when hip-hop artists like N.W.A. and Odd Future purposely write explicit lyrics regardless of wanting to achieve mainstream status?
What happens when airwaves across America ban an artist’s work from listeners, because the radio station has branded it too explicit and possibly corrupting?
Listening to radio stations today, it’s easy to hear every song as similar in meaning and style. When N.W.A. came out with “Straight Outta Compton” in 1988, the mainstream music industry was not going to allow the strength of street knowledge to be broadcasted on radio stations.
The remarkable accomplishment of acts like N.W.A., at a time when music was not downloadable or easily pirated, was their ability to sell millions of records without airplay, redefining what it meant to be a mainstream success.
Fans from the suburbs and the cities were drawn to N.W.A. because of its against-the-grain attitude. N.W.A. did not just affect the minds of those in South Central Los Angeles, its lyrics reached over all demographics and races. Without approval from popular media, such as radio or television, underground success quickly sent the album to double platinum and launched the group into fully-fledged celebrities.
N.W.A. represented an opposition to the establishment of popular music. The hip-hop group proved that radio airplay does not equate to record sales. Even today, for a band that rarely toured or was heard on the radio, N.W.A. can be described as the influential drive behind hip-hop music, from the West to the East.
But when music today is passed around the Internet, pirated and torrented, it is difficult for a hip-hop group of teenagers from Los Angeles such as Odd Future to achieve mainstream success. This collective consists of five subgroups, of which names like Tyler, the Creator and Frank Ocean have evolved to fame. The band knew from the start, with their questionable and opinionated lyrics that radio stations and music executives would be quickly turned off. So how does Odd Future manage to create an international fan-base of rebellious teenagers?
By giving away countless albums online.
The band has been able to reach audiences with this technique. They certainly don’t give away all their music, and their merchandise, which, often exclusive and handmade, can be quite expensive. But Odd Future is beginning to redefine in the 21st century what a hip-hop group can do to attain mainstream success.
Many rappers today like Lil Wayne and B.o.B are too consumed with writing songs that are meant for the radio. Their lyrics remain stagnant, bound to the “old rule” of hip-hop, unlike Odd Future’s lyrics.
Just as N.W.A. took a different approach to dealing with gang violence and other social issues, so does Odd Future. The words are harsh in both groups, because it draws attention. Music has the power to change the world; when Ice Cube took a blatant shot at the LAPD, the culture of American music took notice. Here was music, banned from airwaves, achieving mainstream success.
And now, with acts like Odd Future, rebellious lyrics that seem almost laughable for their vulgarity are actually brilliantly calculated to get a rise out of the music industry. The ability of an artist to make his or her voice heard often takes an exciting show to go along with it.
For example, Hodgy Beats demonstrates Odd Future’s against-the-grain attitude in “Oldie,” a song off the collective’s 2012 debut album.
“To have some type of knowledge that is one perception / But knowing you own your opponent is a defeating bonus.”
What other musical groups do you see attaining mainstream success without the use of radio or television? Email Hornbostel at
bhornbostel@media.ucla.edu.