If you’re looking for the youngest generation of hip-hop heads this weekend, they’ll all be gathered at Exposition Park for Tyler, the Creator’s annual sold-out gathering of rappers and other Odd Future-themed chaos, the one and only Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival.
Although it’ll be the first time Camp Flog has spanned multiple days, the festival’s fifth rendition will bring back everything its fans have come to expect. There’ll be enough clothing and culture for every OFWGKTA fan to empty their wallets, and each day will hold a perfect balance of hip-hop legends, fresh new faces, and the familiar names of the never-really-broken-up Odd Future collective.
“For the first time, it’s a full weekend instead of just a day,” says Domo Genesis, one of the handful of Odd Future members that will be performing at Camp Flog. “That’s going to be crazy. Because people will have a chance to go home and think about how crazy the first day was and then go back out there again and get hit in the face by another whole day of amazing acts.”
Aside from his longtime Odd Future brethren on the bill like Tyler, Taco, Mike G, and Left Brain, Domo has plenty of other reasons to be excited about Camp Flog’s lineup. From Anderson .Paak to Action Bronson, the 25-year-old lyricist has collaborated and befriended a good portion of the artists who will be sharing the stage with him this weekend.
“When I saw that lineup, I already knew it was going to be super fun because it’s like a family reunion,” Domo says. “There are so many people I consider my brothers or my boys on that lineup, I knew it was just going to be a giant kickback backstage. It’s going to be crazy.”
But beyond the artists he’s featured on tracks like “Dapper” and “Elimination Chamber,” there’s one other artist the LA native won’t be missing. As nice as it’ll be to see friends, the first name on Domo’s list of sets to watch is Saturday night’s headliner.
“I’m a really big Lil Wayne fan, and I’ve never seen him perform before,” Domo says. “Erykah Badu, Flatbush Zombies, there are so many names on there that I’m going to try to run and catch everything – but I know there’ll be some I’ll miss. I’ll definitely be front row for Lil Wayne.”
Despite being a veteran of the event, this year’s Camp Flog will be just a little different for Domo. In the past, he’s performed tracks off his mixtapes or as part of a group – including a raucous set with Odd Future subgroup, MellowHigh – but this past March was the first time Domo actually put out an official solo studio album.
On his way to topping Billboard’s Heatseekers chart and cracking the top 15 for hip-hop albums, Domo picked up a lot of new fans with Genesis. While some of the record relies on the rapper’s signature laidback delivery and clever rhymes about weed, there’s plenty on Genesis that fans hadn’t heard before. As with any artist releasing new music, Domo wasn’t sure how his fans would react to the slight departure from the styles that put him on the radar from the start.
“You get ready to anticipate whether there’ll be new fans or whether the old fans will respect it, but I have a lot of people who are just happy to see me do my thing because they’ve been following me for so long,” Domo says. “The time finally comes and they’re so happy. There are certain people who didn’t understand it because I went musical on it, which is cool but I also gained new fans for doing that. It’s all about broadening horizons. You always have to reinvent yourself in the game. I’m just happy with me and who I am and what I’ve done.”
Just because Domo’s happy with where he’s at doesn’t mean he’s about to stop working though. The rapper’s already working on the third installment of his Under the Influence mixtapes, and he’s hoping to release it sooner than people think. Of course, don’t expect a rehash of the original Under the Influence from 2011 or even 2014’s follow-up. Just as he did on Genesis, Domo’s ready to put everything he’s learned from his time on the road in support of his album into his next project.
“I’ve soaked so much in from traveling and meeting new people and hearing other perspectives on things that I just added to who I was,” Domo says. “I wouldn’t say any of it is me changing. It’s just me adding components to who I was and evolving. I’m the same person, I’m just getting better at it.”
As for Camp Flog, the self-described “grilled cheese sandwich enthusiast” has some very simple advice for any first-timers: Prepare for chaos.
“The first one I did with MellowHigh got shut down mid-set because it got too crazy and the stage got rushed,” Domo says. “The year after that we had Kanye West, and it was just sick. If you go there, be prepared for a full day of fun and chaos. You’ll get some good sleep that night.”
Josh Chesler used to play baseball for some pretty cool teams, but now he just writes about awesome stuff like tattoos, music, MMA and sneakers. He enjoys injuring himself by skateboarding, training for fights, and playing musical instruments in his off time.