“Part-man part-meme” (theneedledrop), Oliver Tree performs as the reckless delinquent, Turbo, who lives in a constant state of trouble-making, method-acting as an adolescent boy in a world of 90s fashion, weed jokes and bowl cuts. All in all, it may not seem like it would lend itself to any prominent industry recognition, but the 26-year-old has made a pretty compelling notion out of a time-old trope—if the opinions you’re inspiring aren’t extreme, then you’ve essentially inspired no one. From his bizarre viral clips (below) to his JNCO jeans to his wraparound sunglasses, the world this artist’s made is so rich in horrifically off-point trends and internet fetishes that he’s made it practically impossible to be indifferent.
It does become alarmingly clear, though, if you pay even a little attention to the world of viral content and branding, that internet and meme culture is pretty much what keeps Tree’s content thriving and well-nourished. Born in Cali and raised on an LA-approach, this is definitely an artist knows what the people want, and knows exactly how to give it to them—as long as those people are age 16-25 and have any access to the diary of public musings known as Twitter. What he’s done is read the writing on the wall, and, apparently, it said nobody cares about the guy who takes himself too seriously.