Tyler recalls admiring idol crews
Tyler, The Creator explains how legends like Eminem, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre and Nas inspired his group Odd Future, which was also home to Earl Sweetheart, Frank Ocean and Domo Genesis.
“Man, I grew up in the year 2000, I was eight turning nine,” he told De La Soul on their Apple Music 1 show Art of Intelligence. “So I’m looking at like eight, turning nine. So let’s say it’s 2002, 10 turning 11.”
He continued, “You’ve got Jay with the whole Roc-A-Fella, you’ve got Shady, Aftermath, you have all these different crews that felt like family. Nas was bringing Queensbridge group like Jungle and them out. N-ggas had this thing. So in my formative years, I’m just watching these crews.
“And I’m from Los Angeles, so gang culture is already a prevalent thing, but I feel like just the main layer of that is a family-knitted thing like, ‘No, these are my boys, you come with me.’”