The OG Crew's Lust For Glory
Australian troupe with a meta story to match reached 1 million subscribers in 3 months. And I feel I'm part of the problem. Welcome to Freeform Friday.
YouTube rabbit holes are the worst. If you ever wonder why I don’t write or even read to the standards I set for myself. It’s YouTube and the dreaded “C” word: content. And its not even more unique or diversified media. It’s like the same three to four channels on repeat. And it gets to the point where the repeat viewing leads into distorted quasi relationships with people you’ve never met, but feel you could hang with. Someone told me what this actually was psychologically speaking but I know you know what I’m getting at. And in the spirit of not throwing shade or at least saving the rage rants for those who actually deserve it, I’d like to discuss one of these newer algo addictions in the only way I feel I can. If I write this out if feels more legitimate and less weird if I discuss it to friends who will then rightfully raise an eyebrow.
Not sure why its always the Australians. I did that King Gizzard post about six years ago, I anticipate and celebrate anytime Danger 5 is available to watch, and during our podcast days we had a lovely time talking to Michael Shanks who has now gone on to some nice work with Alison Brie and Dave Franco. But now, these new cats… These five people caught me in a moment of confusion and vulnerability and now I can’t shake them.
They call themselves the OG Crew, which forever ties them to their previous work with the channel YeahMad, a humor channel comprised of mostly drinking games with whom they had fallen out with. Their on and off screen chemistry became the main factor of why YeahMad became as visible as it had while I was sick in bed during my Grecian holiday last summer and wanted to do nothing but numb by brain with cheap chuckles and shameless extroverted gags. Maybe part of that visibility was because these five members of Andrew Hamilton, Abbey Boom, Alan Fang, Samantha Walsh, and Alika Lastnamewithhelduponrequest had just left when contract negotiations broke down causing an additional scandal spike in the algorithms. Either way it was very apparent the OG Crew had and have a level of extreme relatability and getting used to the newer faces on YeahMad (though some had been there and just had not made the edit) was taking an adjustment due to the unfamiliarity, perceived lack of solidarity, unfair expectations, and considering the circumstances the channel image taking a hit.
It would be only a few months before the OG Crew remerged with that exact name. Here is where I have to admit five digital creators going by the original gangster crew is probably fine when spoken aloud, but to me comes of a wee bit cringy on paper while also continuing to associate themselves with YeahMad which I’m sure they have a sense of gratitude for elevating their internet standing which may allow them to pursue their thing. But really this is moot and I also cringe at people misusing the term bougie or at least not understanding the origins of the slang (Do working class people use the term pro to express their blue collar swagger? “That Ford F-150 is so pro!”). So really don’t listen to me on this point.
The content of The OG Crew has emphasized the MTV and Jack-Ass shameless comradre over the basic drinking games (many of the YeahMad “Dad Jokes” were often repeated and oft forgotten). The improvements with this channel include a more impressive production value which I believe is due to the production team featuring Walsh’s sister Sarah, and more the Real Talk elements that make the channel perhaps more entertaining and even more addictive based on the ridiculous results. I mean if you watch the three Truth or drink episodes that have been relaesed, they drink like four or five times in hour of edited footage we are allotted.
So who are these people? We all think we know them, but its also this whole internet filter we see them through. Given what they have given us so far here is what I can surmise…
The OGs
It should be noted up front that for the most part all points of analysis in this segment are based purely on the material they have released along with any other media platform they have presented themselves on. These thoughts reflect more of the characters they have presented online, while may be based in honest elements of their lives, are extremely exaggerated and highly stylized. Any points of humor should be considered as endearing or in tribute to their characters they have created.
Andrew Hamilton
He is the reason they are where they are at. Well him and Abby. Both had either really ambitious or seriously gnarly negotiating tactics that got them fired from YeahMad and the other three are allowed to talk about it per NDAs. Hamilton was and possibly might still be most legendary pusher on the east coast because he was the only one with the pure gaul to get caught. He is considered the best comic and you can tell by the fact he is the least funny person of the people actually attempting a career as a comic, which makes him a great figure for being the leader of a leaderless group. But he has the most stand-up videos and has written a book about his prison experience so there’s that. He has a relaxed sense of purpose and vision and with the larger narrative can understand the humor in the most self-aware way possible.
Abby Boom
Abby’s sense of humor and often lack of one is outstanding in her role as the foil to everyone on the show with the exception of Sam. This makes her the “Straght Man” in the group with the extreme irony that she is openly bisexual. However she is more madonna than whore despite her most famous moment being “The difference between three c*cks and a joke is that Abby can’t take a joke.” Her unfiltered honesty cuts both ways. She without a doubt the most driven person in the group. She holds court for pre-production. She has a manager apparently, which hey, smoke ‘em if you got ‘em. When they say she is the heart of the show, I don’t disagree.
Alan Fang
Alan Fang is indeed a secret genius, the comedy lies not in the joke but in the contextual weirdness within and around the banality of the joke or skit for that matter. I admire his overcompensating swagger, Machiavellian comedy tactics, and need to put off everyone around him. His shameless admission of self-pleasuring to Sam and Abby, and then flipping the script not two minutes later by expressing the anxiety of loneliness is a pure Pagliacci move.
Samantha Walsh
Samantha maybe the most comfortable in her own skin and is clearly way more sex positive than Abby who often doth protests too much. Everyone sans Hammo wants her, only fans can have her foot pictures. She tends to ride that line between innocence and darkness. Claiming to not watch television, her pop cultural blindspots probably give her a more healthier view on life that would not be soiled by an Ellen Degeneres re-run. But there is something beautiful about the blissfully ignorant that is something we should all try to regenerate and retain in the darker corners of our world.
Akila Willaalwaysbeapillaoftheogcrew
No one knows his real last name. Not even him. He’s Sri Lankan and he get’s very offended when you say he’s from Ceylon. The ultimate glue guy, his fluidity grants him an enigmatic presence for the audience. Comedy has a shelf-life, yet he will forever be a mystery. While it becomes painfully obvious the “Will they, won’t they, might they, can they, should they?” on-screen plot with Samantha has jumped the shark to where its expected and played or its actually happening and the extra layer that they are not is some paradoxical cover. Much like Alan there is also a softer openness that the shameless humor will cover up in most cases which continues to add dimension we did not see in the YeahMad shows.
WHY?
Writing this expels perhaps some productivity demons somewhere as perhaps as the repeat viewings of a mere twenty-five videos grow in anticipation for the Sunday drops. The material is something I would have loathed ten years ago as MTV reality jack-ass type physical humor was and perhaps still not my thing…but I can’t look away with these people. Perhaps the YeahMad thing is the same in “spirit,” but also that its on demand and the allure of Australians and their sweet sweet national arts funding and lack of care in the humor.
I do often wonder to what intensity does internet fandom reach when in any stroke of luck some people find that algorithmic groove and in a matter of moments there is a relationship struck with upwards of millions of strangers each with individual thoughts and feelings. Six months ago I didn’t know Sam from Adam and now its a constant attention seeker in my feeds.
My concept of fandom is often knowledge that could be as casual as research but in reality the podcasting parlance of the times, I’m looking for the personal touch. Possibly because I work in showbiz, its important to me to normalize those elevated to popular platforms to understand that they are indeed people on the other end of the camera. So with that in mind, I would often like to meet these people, but in a breaking bread manner rather than the more practical but impersonal greet the meat manner of VIP events and convention halls. I would love to meet Mike, Rich, and Jay from Red Letter Media, yet its very clear they would not be down if I was in Milwaukee on tour and I reached out to visit their studio. Its rightfully considered to be stalker behavior but that’s the thing: I don’t feel like a fan, I feel like their friend that could hold his own in a conversation.
Its the same with the OG crew, these friends feel like friends. Which make its comforting to watch, but in reality if I was in Australia or they came out for shoots in California and I ran into them, it would be an extremely one-sided conversation. I would be looked upon as a statistic as I would have the upper hand with all prior knowledge of them until something else beyond YouTube would break that instinct.
Keep in mind my online interaction with any of these content creators is the bare minimum. I don’t create or join in the noisy comments, send in fan mail, or create fan videos of the kind. It would mean more to me to talk in some Socratic manner and figure out who these people are, what they actually want in life, what are they’re obsessive hobbies are. Its not going to happen, but it is pretty to think so.
What is probably happening is that I am seeking validation from these random people who have that streak of enviable shamelessness that launched them in to my screen in the first place and allowed me to escape real world problems. I then become envious of their “job,” question mine, check out, and realize that the have day jobs they’re not posting on and on about and I should appreciate those folks around me that both know I exist and support what I’m doing. The Lust For Glory is not OGs, its my own and the meta nature of their care free content is what I need to come to peace with.
So…Yeah…
My hope down the road with the OG Crew is that more of their material with advance with them as they grow. I enjoy the self-reflective nature of the show considering how it was created out of the well discussed turmoil. However with the improved creativity and production of the show I think it would be wise to expand from the adjustments of being viral sensations and the YeahMadness of it all, I’m sure they will grow tired of discussing it as time passes. They have proven the character and chemistry carries over, now it can be build upon more creatively.