GREATEST: Taco
Odd Future DJ, Taco, sits down with us to share how he went from recording music in his house to hosting one of L.A.’s biggest music festivals – Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival.
Taco shares how he went from recording early Odd Future tracks with his sister, Syd The Kid, to crying on stage with Lil Wayne. Now, Taco looks forward to his favorite weekend of the year, the seventh annual Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival.
Is it true that a lot of the early music around 2007-2009 from Odd Future was recorded in a room at your house?
Syd has been setting up studios in her room since she was 15. Then she moved it to the guest house. That’s where a lot of that music came from. We call the guest house “The Trap.”
Over the years, Odd Future’s legacy has magnified past the realm of music to other facets of pop culture. Do you ever look back at how much has happened over the years?
Of course. It's like a mini movie in my head. So much has happened in the last five years.
How do you get ready for a set when you’re on tour versus at smaller, more intimate gigs?
Intimate gigs are fun for dancing and having a drink or two. On tour, I want people jumping the whole time, screaming and lights. No matter what song is playing, I want it to look like a concert in a movie where everyone is going crazy.
What’s your go-to pair of sneakers?
Right now, Air Force 1s or GOLF le FLEUR*.
What’s your most prized pair of sneakers?
This is hard. I love my Air Jordan 5 ‘Raging Bull’. I barely wear them but I love looking at them. I made some Air Force 1 [Nike] iDs recently that I fell in love with. Either my AF1s or my ‘94 [Air] Jordan 1s.
Craziest experience you can remember while on tour?
Lil Wayne rapping “B*tch Suck Dick” [a song by Tyler the Creator featuring Taco] with me in Miami. That’s my favorite rapper and when that happened I think I cried on stage. I’m not a rapper, so him knowing the dumbass lyrics I made up meant more than he will ever know or care.
Outside of music, what are your other passions?
I love basketball. Lakers for life. Kobe was my basketball god growing up in L.A. I love playing video games – NBA 2K, GTA and Call of Duty. I love Game of Thrones but I don’t think that’s a passion.
Aside from “Taco Tuesday,” will you be bringing back a curated music show?
Most likely not. That was a talk show and I hate radio shit. That was fun for a second, but I grew out of it. I did it for way too long.
What has it been like seeing the progression of Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, now in its seventh year?
It is the most progressive shit I've ever been a part of in my life. Watching that shit grow is like watching a baby take its first steps and then get to middle school. It's been fun. Those are my favorite days of the year. That Saturday and Sunday mean so much to me. I can do without the stress of people hitting me up asking for tickets, but other than that it's the weekend I feel like a kid again. I’m running around like a headless chicken – but maybe it's the madness I love.
INTERVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPHY: DIANE ABAPO