Tyler, the Creator is one of the most creative forces in modern hip-hop.
He shot to fame in 2008 as the co-founder and leader of the alternative hip-hop group
Odd Future.
But what do we really know about the "Yonkers" hitmaker?
It turns out he's pretty eccentric and controversial.
It might sound surprising that Tyler, the Creator is friends with tech mogul Elon Musk,
but maybe it shouldn't.
In a 2017 interview with Shane Powers on his podcast The Shane Show, Tyler discussed his
love for the McLaren, a pricey British car.
Then he casually mentioned that he and Musk hang out sometimes and talk about the McLaren.
Despite his friendship with the SpaceX founder, Tyler is hesitant to join Musk on a trip to
Mars any time soon.
He explained that there's "nothing on Mars," meaning no air and no food.
He's also worried that he wouldn't be able to listen to music.
However, Tyler eventually admitted he might explore the red planet after Musk gets all
the initial bugs worked out from the early trips.
"Even though I'm always the type to, 'Let's go there, let's go experience this," but that's
so new.
Let's see what these n------ do in five years after they're there."
Tyler's eclectic musical tastes go way back.
As he told Spin in 2011 about his high school days, he was a skater kid who liked Good Charlotte
and Kenny G. He explained how this alienated him from his classmates, saying,
"I went to school with a bunch of black kids so they kinda swayed away from me…
I guess because of slavery and s---, we just have to stick together and be so strong that
being different is taboo.
It's like you can't think outside the box in the black community."
At least Good Charlotte frontman Joel Madden appreciated the compliment, having tweeted
"SWEET DUDE" in response to Tyler's comments.
No response yet from Kenny G.
In March 2014, Tyler was arrested and charged by Austin, Texas police for inciting a riot
during his headlining spot at the South by Southwest Festival.
Just hours after two people were killed and 23 people were injured when a car plowed through
a crowd outside the Austin bar Mohawk, Tyler allegedly incited a large group of fans outside
the crowded venue to storm past security.
After starting his set on a bad note, Tyler implored the crowd outside to break through
the gates by chanting "PUSH, PUSH, PUSH!", with his audience soon joining in.
He was charged with the misdemeanor of inciting a riot.
Tyler later explained his side of the story during an interview on HuffPost Live.
"'So what are you in here for?'
And I'm like, 'I started a riot, I guess?
Which it was…'
And they're lookin', and they're like, 'Wow, that sucks.
'Cause we didn't know that was illegal.'"
On August 26th, 2015, Tyler tweeted that, based on lyrics from 2009, he was banned from
visiting the United Kingdom for 3 to 5 years, which forced him to cancel some tour dates.
The person who authorized the ban was Theresa May, the current British prime minister who
was home secretary at the time.
According to a letter explaining the ban, Tyler's work
"... encourages violence and intolerance of homosexuality [and] fosters hatred with views
that seek to provoke others to terrorist acts.”
May's office released a statement defending the decision, which explained that visiting
the UK is "a privilege" and that visitors are expected to respect "shared values."
Due to the controversial nature of his lyrics, Tyler has faced accusations of homophobia,
misogyny, and promoting violence against women throughout his career.
According to Fader, on his 2011 album Goblin, he used the word "bitch" 68 times and homophobic
slurs nine times.
In interviews, Tyler has pushed back against the accusations, insisting that he's not homophobic.
Speaking to MTV News, he compared his use of gay slurs to a common racial slur, saying,
"I have gay fans and they don't really take it offensive, so I don't know.
If it offends you, it offends you…
If you call me a n----, I really don't care, but that's just me, personally.
Some people might take it the other way; I personally don't give a s---."
Tyler, the Creator and Jaden Smith have a weird, rocky relationship.
At the Camp Flog Gnaw musical festival in November 2018, Smith really took it to the
next level, as he screamed to the crowd that Tyler was his boyfriend.
Smith followed up that claim in a since-deleted tweet, posting, "I Told Everyone You Can't
Deny It Now."
Tyler tweeted back, calling Smith "crazy."
During an Apple Music Beats 1 Radio show appearance later that month, Smith wanted everyone to
know that what he said wasn't a joke.
As he put it,
"I recently said that Tyler, the Creator is my boyfriend, and that's true, so just so
you know."