Tyler the Creator

At the tender age 20, Tyler, the Creator has already turned the music industry on its head, reignited the nation's hunger for hell-raising rap, directed a handful of widely acclaimed music videos, launched his own clothing line, and realized a childhood dream of starring in his own sketch comedy show on Adult Swim. And all this in the span of about 18 months. Growing up in South L.A., Tyler attended 12 different schools over the span of 12 years, his boundless charisma and creativity making him an odd fit for formal spaces. Along the way, he accrued a motley crew of tight-knit friends equally driven to forge their own path. With Tyler at their helm, they became Odd Future, an army of music misfits, skate rats, shutterbugs, and weirdos who've been dubbed their generation's Wu-Tang Clan. To give his friends something to call their own, Tyler founded a record label whose every move is followed by zealous fans, drooling critics, and muckraking media hungry for controversy. With a Best New Artist VMA freshly under his belt, his Loiter Squad show premiering in March, and a handful of eagerly anticipated albums on the horizon, the mischievous, affable auteur is posed to inherit the earth. Or quite possibly, destroy it while trying.