Tyler The Creator is one of the most recognizable figures in modern hip-hop. He’s had a very long and productive career, spanning from the late 2000s to the 2020s. He has always been one of the more experimental and controversial artists, constantly innovating with his sound. Tyler is a true musician, always expressing his thoughts in a compelling manner. He portrays his mental state incredibly effectively. Looking through his discography, you can see how he has grown and matured through his music. Tyler is a great example of how the person you start as can grow into your ideal self, seeing as he had an incredibly negative perception for the majority of his career. Identity is something I see many of my generation struggling with, and I think they could learn a lot from this.
Tyler’s first album, which is largely considered to be a mixtape rather than a full album, is “Bastard.” It is a powerful portrayal of his mental state and inner turmoil at the time. The highlight of “Bastard” is Tyler’s relationship with his absent father. He raps about how he feels abandoned and unwanted, which is also reflected in the album’s title. The album opens with the title track, in which Tyler discusses the depression and sadness he feels due to his own father not wanting anything to do with him. He talks about how his mother does the best she can, but he still feels like he’s failing her. In the closing track, “Inglorious,” Tyler speaks directly to his father, letting out years of rage and resentment he’s held. In the end, Tyler decides he never needed his father and says he doesn’t care. “Bastard” is an intense, emotional album in which Tyler expresses his decaying mental state and years of resentment, doing this through harsh, vulgar lyrics.
“Goblin” is Tyler’s first official studio album. “Goblin” carries on the dark, intrusive scheme from “Bastard,” ramping it up to an extreme degree. The tone of “Goblin” is extremely vulgar, Tyler noting he tried too hard to come off like he didn’t care in an interview(add source). Musically, this album has a deep, brooding sound that excellently reflects the dark subject matter from the lyrics. In the title track, Tyler opens up about his imposter syndrome, saying that he doesn’t think he deserves the attention he’s getting and doubts that he will be able to recreate the success of “Bastard.” In this album, Tyler speaks to a fictional therapist using a voice modulator that he uses throughout interludes in the songs. This therapist reflects his deepest thoughts and tells him that people don’t even take him seriously enough to bring him up when a kid shoots up a school. This therapist, Dr. TC, becomes a looming presence the longer the album goes on, until eventually, he reveals himself to be Tyler’s conscience all along, influencing him to do the disturbing and vile things he raps about throughout the album. “Goblin” is a look into the struggles Tyler was experiencing mentally during his breakout as an artist, and how he did not know how to handle this amount of recognition.
The third album in Tyler’s discography, “Wolf,” is a huge departure from the music he had been making before. In “Wolf,” Tyler becomes more comfortable making music that he likes, bringing more jazz and rock influences into his sound. “Wolf” starkly contrasts the mood that was set in “Goblin” and “Bastard,” being a relatively lighthearted album. “Wolf” has a somewhat silly subject matter, with Tyler rapping about light topics such as vomiting after smoking too much weed or getting caught masturbating in tracks like “Jamba” and “Tamale.” “Wolf” has a unique structure, telling the story of two individuals, Samuel and Tyler, who attend the fictional summer camp “Camp Flog Gnaw” together. The album chronologically describes the events in the story, with some breaks for flashbacks or personal stories like in the tracks, “Awkward” or “Colossus.” Tyler also tackles more serious topics in this album. In the song, “Answer” he opens up about how he still feels like he wishes he could speak to his father and ask him why he abandoned him. He also mentions his desire to vent to his grandmother, but she passed away. He elaborates on his grandmother in the song, “Lone,” which tells the story of his grandmother’s final days and how it impacted him. Overall, “Wolf” is the most personal Tyler has ever been, detailed in how he was more comfortable with the style of music, and the emotional subject matter.
In April 2015, Tyler’s fifth album, “Cherry Bomb” was released. “Cherry Bomb” was received overwhelmingly negatively by both Tyler’s fans and critics. The reason for this sudden malice towards this project is due to the dramatic shift in the approach Tyler took to his music. “Cherry Bomb” is an incredibly experimental project, and to this day stands as Tyler’s boldest piece of work. Musically, “Cherry Bomb” has an emphasis on drums, harmonies, and melodies. Tyler has been on record saying his goal with this album was to make music that made him happy, not his fans. This led to a massive negative response which he took incredibly well, this being something he expected. Throughout this album, you can see how he is growing as a musician and an artist. “Cherry Bomb” reflects Tyler’s growth both musically and as an adult.
Tyler’s sixth album, “Flower Boy,” was groundbreaking for his creativity. To me, Flower Boy marks the full musical transition that began in “Cherry Bomb.” The tone set in the intro track, “Foreword” is free and uplifting, the chords and melodies conveying the feeling of sitting in a field of flowers. Throughout the album, Tyler uses this musical tone he sets to contrast the personal and introspective lyrics. The subject matter of this project is extremely sensitive, and the most open Tyler had ever been on a project. Referencing the intro track again, he talks about how he has everything he could want, but he feels unfulfilled. In the song “Boredom” he talks about how he feels isolated from his friends due to hiding a certain aspect of his life from them. In the previous track, “Garden Shed” he finally makes it clear what he has weighing on him, coming out as bisexual. “Flower Boy” is Tyler’s expression of everything he had been repressing for so long and the message of self-acceptance resonated with me very much.
After making “Flower Boy,” many people thought this would be his sound going forward. When “Igor” was released in 2019, it brought an energy that no one could have possibly expected. “Igor” brought elements of rock, RnB, hip-hop, and psychedelic music together to create an incredibly cohesive masterpiece. Listening to “Igor,” you can notice parts that are built upon the ideas that began in “Cherry Bomb” and “Flower Boy” such as the heavy emphasis on drums or the jazzy synth melodies. You can tell how Tyler has truly blossomed as an artist and has mastered his craft, bringing all of the best things from his previous work and expanding upon it. Igor was made during a period in Tyler’s life when he was struggling through a breakup, and the tone of the album shifts throughout based on what phase of the breakup he was in. The intro and second songs, “Igors Theme” and “Earfquake,” are focused on the yearning part of the relationship, with Tyler expressing how badly he wants this relationship, and the person not reciprocating his feelings. Midway through the album in the song “New Magic Wand,” he enters the anger part of the relationship, expressing his rage at his former partner and his new girlfriend. He wishes to end both of them, basically saying if he can no longer have his partner, no one should.
At this point, he begins to look back on the relationship in the songs “Puppet” and “Boy Is A Gun,” and realizes how toxic this relationship is and how it’s hurting both of them. Towards the end of the album, the songs “Gone Gone/Thank You” and “I Don’t Love You Anymore” represent closure and acceptance that what they had is over. In the final song, “Are We Still Friends,” Tyler acknowledges that while they can no longer be romantically involved, he still has feelings and wants to be near this person as just friends. It marks the start of a new cycle, where Tyler falls back in love and ends up going through the stages all over again. Igor represents the culmination of Tyler’s skill as an artist, as well as his effortless way of conveying his emotions.
In 2021, Tyler released his most recent project, “Call Me If You Get Lost.” It is a departure from the “Igor”-style of music, instead going back to his roots, resembling “WOLF” musically. It focuses on detailed rap performances, jazz-inspired beats, and production with a cinematic feel. Listening to it you can clearly see how comfortable Tyler has become with his artistry. On the surface, the lyrics in the majority of the album are about how happy he is, and how he is in the place he had always dreamed to be. He also talks about his loneliness due to a love triangle, resembling “Igor” and “Flower Boy.”
The album follows a story not as chronological as “Igor” or “Wolf,” but still cohesive enough to where you fully understand what’s going on. In the song “Wusyaname,” he describes his meeting of the love interest. Through other tracks like “Corso,” and “Sweet/I Thought You Wanted To Dance,” you learn how his relationship with her is complicated due to her having another partner, who also happens to be Tyler’s friend. The story is fully laid out in the second to last song, “Willshire,” which is an extremely emotional performance. The album doesn’t have a singular tone, many songs such as “Hot Wind Blows” speak about how much he is enjoying life, regardless of the relationship issues. The song “Massa” is personal in a different way, talking about his growth over the years and the struggles he went through getting there. The final track, “Safari,” encapsulates this new state of mind he is in. He reflects on where he came from and emphasizes how proud he is of himself for getting to this point. Overall, CMIYGL perfectly describes how far Tyler has come and although you will still have problems at any point, he doesn’t let it bring him down.
Tyler The Creator has grown so much since his early days as a member of Odd Future. His journey to the man he is today is portrayed incredibly well through his music. If one were to listen to his discography from start to finish, they would get a clear picture of where he came from, and how it made him into who he currently is. Tyler’s skill at portraying his life even when he isn’t explicitly talking about it is fascinating. This is just part of what makes him such an amazing artist.
Featured art by Marley Jahi.
