Tyler, the Creator has gone through one of the biggest evolutions of any popular artist in the limelight right now. Recently awarded a Grammy for his album IGOR, the 28-year-old rapper has been releasing music for over a decade. How did he go from a controversial teenage rapper to an artist that won music’s biggest honor?
Tyler truly got his start in 2007 quickly becoming the star of the Odd Future hip hop collective, which included many successful artists including Earl Sweatshirt and Frank Ocean. Though many Odd Future members have features on his self-released mixtape Bastard, it marked his debut as a solo artist. After his Grammy win, many fans cited a line on the opening song of the same name, in which he states, “My goal in life is a Grammy, hopefully momma will attend the ceremony with all my homies.”
However, Bastard is not an album of hopeful successes and dreams. It is seething and aggressive, with Tyler expressing self-hatred and suicidal thoughts on the opening track, as well as anger towards his absent father (“Inglorious”) and police officers (“Pigs Fly”). Additionally, there are several mentions of rape, drug abuse, racism, and homophobia on Bastard, creating a large amount of controversy around what Tyler stands for.
“On “Radicals,” he goes so far as to add a disclaimer at the beginning of the song to protect himself from anyone being influenced by the chorus’s chant of “Kill people, Burn sh*t, F*ck school.”
Goblin has many of the same hateful themes as Bastard but allows listeners to see into Tyler’s psyche that Bastard didn’t allow. The harsh beats match the lyrics while “Yonkers,” the single and accompanying music video that launched Tyler into the public eye, was actually a parody of heavy New York City beats reminiscent of the Wu-Tang Clan. In both projects, Tyler speaks to the fictional Dr. TC, a therapist who he tells his darkest thoughts to, giving him a platform for his violent lyrics. On Goblin’s final track “Golden,” it’s revealed that Dr. TC is a figment of Tyler’s subconscious.
Multiple statements in countless interviews note that lyrics from his early works do not reflect Tyler, and he’s openly argued that he’s not homophobic, racist, or sexist in any way. On “Radicals,” he goes so far as to add a disclaimer at the beginning of the song to protect himself from anyone being influenced by the chorus’s chant of “Kill people, Burn sh*t, F*ck school.” In 2015, UK Prime Minister Theresa May made the decision to ban Tyler, the Creator from entering the country under guidelines of him being a potential terroristic threat.
2013’s Wolf received more acclaim than any of his previous work, debuting at #3 on the Billboard charts. After gaining popularity through controversy, Tyler shifted away from violent thematics and heavy beats, stating in an interview that “talking about rape and cutting bodies up, it just doesn’t interest me anymore, what interests me is making weird hippie music for people to get high to.” Wolf is mellow and melodic, with songs like “IFHY,” “Colossus,” and “Slater” demonstrating a more lowkey sound.
Due to the violent and angry lyrics, many have compared Tyler’s work to someone he’s admittedly a fan of: early Eminem. Ironically, “Colossus” emphasized this comparison more than any song I’ve personally heard of Tyler’s, despite it being in his transitional period away from that type of lyricism. He’s been accused of “Colossus” being a nearly parallel story to Eminem’s “Stan.” In “Colossus,” Tyler meets a fan at an amusement park who expresses how much Tyler’s work has affected him, citing the similarities of their lives à la the protagonist voice in “Stan.” Both characters are unhealthily obsessed with their idols, going as far as using self-mutilation to prove their dedication. Despite Tyler acknowledging the parallels, he’s denied the connection between these songs, stating that “the song is just a real-life thing.”
On Cherry Bomb, Tyler frees himself from being “just a rapper”- something that he’s been straining against for basically his entire career. His production abilities go further than they ever have on his previous albums, and on songs like “2SEATER” and “FIND YOUR WINGS,” his composure and melodic beats are something that were touched on in Wolf, but Cherry Bomb feels like Tyler has finally found his passion. “DEATHCAMP” and “BUFFALO” are the only tracks that tie back into the sound fans were familiar with, while the rest is a shift towards the “new” Tyler. While critics thought his rapping was the most disappointing part of Cherry Bomb, Tyler makes it clear he’s so much more than just the angry kid everyone has always pinned him for.
With Flower Boy, he takes even more of a step back from rapping to further hone his skills as a producer. Tyler started to think more in terms of intent rather than just his own abilities and signatures, and more singing was part of this vision. This is also true for his lyrics: probably the best and most insightful in his entire discography. “Forward” and “Garden Shed” are both vulnerable, another change in direction from previous projects. In the past, he would insert a layer of separation from the larger than life personality of Tyler, the Creator by inserting disclaimers or by explicitly playing a character. Although there are many sensitive moments on this LP, he hadn’t completely lost sight of his roots- “Who Dat Boy” fully embraces the “old Tyler”, and “I Ain’t Got Time!” embraces the more stereotypical braggadocious attitude of a rapper.
Tyler had been criticized for using homophobic slurs, but since the release of Flower Boy– and arguably before that- his sexuality has been under a great deal of scrutiny. Many of the lyrics suggest romantic interest in men as well as some quotes from interviews, but it’s also difficult to parse what is authentic and what is just meant to spark controversy. As of yet, he hasn’t really officially come out.
IGOR also hints at attraction to another man, telling the story of unrequited love on top of a beautifully composed soundtrack. IGOR really takes the listener on a musical journey, bending genres and flowing perfectly. Tyler was heavily involved in every aspect of the production, and the careful and detailed nature of the songs reflects how much thought was put into these tracks. It’s a step forward for him musically and certainly in terms of creating a fully fleshed-out work of art with the albums accompanying live aesthetic- the suit and wig, namely.
“He’s always held an air of mystery about himself, though- it’s a challenge to decipher whether he’s joking or not, and that seems to be true to this day.”
Prior to the album’s release, Tyler was adamant that it shouldn’t be defined as a rap release. Though his name is still synonymous with being a rapper, rapping is notably absent on most of the album. He commented on this directly after being awarded a Grammy- while remaining grateful and humble about the win itself, he criticized the award show for pigeonholing artists like him to “urban” categories, calling it a “just a politically correct way to say the N-word.” It’s a nuanced point about the nature of such categorizations and the limiting impact that preconceived notions the Grammys can have. But it also rings a little hollow coming from the guy that defended using the word “gay” as an insult or went as far to say that white people should be able to say the n-word.
Tyler, the Creator certainly has certainly come to grow musically and emotionally. Having an immense amount of pressure on him at a young age to maintain a specific image and capture the attention of the public could have encouraged some of his more flagrant behavior in the past. He’s always held an air of mystery about himself, though- it’s a challenge to decipher whether he’s joking or not, and that seems to be true to this day. He’s become a fashion icon, a director, a designer, an organizer, and a respected musical artist. Whatever he does next, the world is sure to be watching.
