DELISA: In May 2019, Tyler, The Creator dropped his fifth studio album.
With its standout production, lyrical vulnerability and impressive list of mysterious collaborators,
‘IGOR’ scored Tyler his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200.
Over the years, Tyler has forged his own path in hip-hop, crossing genres and surpassing
expectations so we decided to take a look back and track the evolution of his sound, Genius style.
DELISA: The Los Angeles-native began as the rambunctious leader of Odd Future, a collective
of Southern California teenagers like Earl Sweatshirt, Frank Ocean, Syd, Domo Genesis,
Taco, and more.
Tyler curated the group’s first effort ‘The Odd Future Tape’ in 2008.
DELISA: Their lyrics were full of offbeat humor, as well as violence, misogyny and homophobia, so much so that
they were banned from New Zealand and the UK.
TYLER: My lyrics aren’t offensive.
INTERVIEWER: Aren’t they?
TYLER: No.
INTERVIEWER: Some people find them offensive.
TYLER: Yeah, some people find everything offensive… okay.
DELISA: Their unorthodox fashion sense and performances also turned heads in the music industry.
DELISA: Critics, and even Tyler himself, called their shock factor a gimmick but it didn’t
stop them from establishing a rabid fanbase.
The group’s YouTube and Tumblr presence allowed them to directly connect with their
fans, sharing an inside look at their daily lives.
TYLER: What’s up y’all?
It’s ya boy T Dollaz here on this shoot for the Hyphy music video it’s about to be major.
DELISA: They consistently released new music and visuals on their social accounts, all
helmed and directed by their frontman Tyler under the moniker, Wolf Haley.
DELISA: In 2009, Tyler dropped his debut mixtape ‘Bastard,’ referencing vivid scenes of
violence and his broken relationship with his father.
DELISA: While still creating music with Odd Future, Tyler dropped his debut studio album
‘Goblin’ in 2011 and made a name for himself with “Yonkers.”
The infamous clip won him a Video Music Award for Best New Artist that year.
DELISA: But everyone wasn't a fan.
Sara of Tegan and Sara called out his homophobic language, to which he responded with this tweet.
TYLER: When I say that word I’m not thinking of someone’s sexual orientation or anything,
it's just another word that has no meaning.
DELISA: And in his trademark deep voice, he continued using acts like necrophilia to describe
feelings of love and lust.
DELISA: He also rapped about depression and suicide, through his alter egos, Wolf Haley
and Dr. TC - both recurring characters in his early works.
TYLER: That's the shit I think about. Everybody thinks about dark shit.
Why when somebody finally fucking says it it’s such a big deal, you know?
DELISA: With his sophomore effort ‘Wolf’ in 2013, Tyler delivered a more well-rounded
and refined project.
DELISA: But Tyler stayed true to the subversion that put him on the map.
Like in the “Tamale” video, he filmed himself in blackface and blurred it out, followed
by him bouncing on a model’s butt, which he called quote, “modern day blackface”
to show the absurdity of what is and isn’t acceptable.
TLYER: I was finished with 'Wolf' and I was like, yo this album is missing something.
It's missing annoying Tyler, it's missing me.
DELISA: And while he continued to experiment with his music, the rapper began to branch out.
Loiter Squad, a more polished version of the Odd Future online clips, hit Adult Swim, he
directed a Mountain Dew commercial and the t-shirt line Golf Wang evolved into Golf,
a full-fledged fashion brand and store — showing Tyler’s range as a creative.
EARL: I’m Chim Ritchellsdick.
TYLER: And I’m Storen Hjorenbijoren.
EARL: And we're doing play-by-plays here in the sunny streets of Los Angeles.
DELISA: 2015 brought Tyler’s third and most critically divisive album, ‘Cherry Bomb.’
The project was different from his earlier works, drawing on varying musical influences
and flaunting his success.
DELISA: ‘Cherry Bomb’s tracklist boasted a heavy roster of Tyler’s mentors like Pharrell Williams,
Kanye West and Roy Ayers, as well as collaborators like Kali Uchis and Slow Hollow's
Austin Feinstein.
KALI: I think what I admire most about Tyler is how dedicated he is, how much he really
wants to make something meaningful that’s going to be lasting.
He really hones in on making thing is exactly how he wants it to be.
DELISA: The rock influence drew on the lead singer of the Black Lips, Cole Alexander,
lending his vocals to the opening track, as well as the punk-rap group Death Grips on "RUN."
DELISA: ‘Cherry Bomb’s subject matter was largely different from his previous works,
trading misogyny for bars about expensive cars and jewelry.
In response to a fan’s critique about his shift, he said quote:
DELISA: But despite the negative response, it’s one of his favorite records.
TYLER: Yo what the fuck happened to you dog like I like “Answer" when you cried about
your dad and this one when you were sad and when you were broke and shit and I’m like
yeah dude that was cool 4 years ago but life is really cool right now.
DELISA: And whether it’s issues with his absent father or overcoming depression, Tyler
often talks about deeper subjects, revealing bits of himself and that’s what resonates
with his fans.
In an interview, he even called himself a quote:
DELISA: With the release of his fourth studio album ‘Flower Boy' in 2017, Tyler continued
to explore that vulnerability by addressing his sexuality--though fans weren't sure if he was trolling.
DELISA: With his past use of homophobic slurs, these lines were shocking to most listeners.
But Tyler had alluded to his sexuality before on ‘Wolf’’s “Domo23” in 2013 and
in a tweet and another song two years later.
TYLER: But I’m into dudes so.
- Black guys only?
No, I don’t even like black dudes at all, I’m into white guys.
DELISA: ‘Flower Boy’ was a signal of growth for the artist as a producer, with Tyler producing
the whole album.
He maintained his signature brash anthems like the menacing “WHO DAT BOY” while
providing more melodic hits like “See You Again.”
TYLER: I just wanted to produce and have people sing, and that’s all I wanna listen to
so I kept all my rap verses short and
everything I said I made sure it was really ridiculously important and I think that’s
what people like about it this time around because there’s nothing funny on it.
DELISA: 2019 brought Tyler’s critically acclaimed ‘IGOR’, which charts the journey
of a relationship in his most cohesive piece to date.
It also earned him his highest charting Hot 100 song, with “Earfquake” peaking at No. 13.
DELISA: Fans and critics praised Tyler, who’d written and arranged all of the album’s
production, further expanding his use of melodies and chords.
TYLER: I think my favorite part I’ve done thus far musically is on "New Magic Wand"
and when that low end bass comes in, every time it gets me.
DELISA: But he still found pockets for his rhymes.
DELISA: For some, ‘IGOR’ is the reinvention of Tyler, The Creator but looking back at
his career, it seems this was his plan all along.
TYLER: It kind of all led up to this.
It’s so interesting people are like the early stuff sounds so different from the new stuff or whatever.
I think it’s a throughline through stuff from 'Bastard' up until 'IGOR.'
Some may say #9 don’t sound like #5 but that’s because they look surface level at what's
the throughline and thread and aren't looking at it from a different angle.
DELISA: I’m Delisa with Genius News, bringing you the meaning and the knowledge behind the music.