Tyler the Creator is many things. An artist, a producer, a social media influencer, a fashion designer, and above all, a genius. Let’s dive into why Tyler is so great, and why when it is all said and done, may end up a better artist than the great Kanye West. But first, we must discover who this guy is.
A brief history
Tyler Okonma was born on March 6th, 1991 in Ladera Heights, California. He was raised by a single mother as his father sadly left him at age 9. Now, that may sound like a sad moment, but for Tyler, he didn’t look at it that way. In an interview with Larry King, Tyler says, “Nah dude I’m stoked. I think if I had to dad I would have went the normal college route like a lot of other people”. That started Tyler’s career in music. Tyler admits he grew inspiration from Kanye and his flow and style of music.
Tyler began rapping solo in 2009 when he released his debut album Bastard. Many had mixed reviews. Tyler had a unique flow, this kind of weirdo, intense rant rap he would use from time to time, and many enjoyed it. Two years later Tyler released Goblin and jump-started his career. Again he channeled this unique flow and got better at it in this project. Tyler turned heads with this album, and it only got better from there.
We won’t even get into the beginning of Odd Future and how he put them on the map.
Now that you know where he came from, now we must answer the question: just why is Tyler the Creator so unique and talented compared to other artists of this decade?
I boil it down to 3 main reasons why Tyler is so special.
1: The floor is high
2: He just gets better with every release
3: Very wide range of…everything? (I’ll explain in a minute)
Tyler released 2 albums between 2011 and 2017, those being Wolf and Cherry Bomb. One of his most popular releases on Wolf to this day is IFHY. It seemed as if Tyler had hit another level, but he is still so far from his peak. Already Tyler was one of the most popular artists, and he wasn’t even close to his prime phase
Then, the release of Flower Boy in 2017, his 3rd best album to date. This was the album that introduced me to Tyler, and to this date is one of my favorite go-to albums to listen to. My personal favorite and it seems to be everyone else’s favorite track off this project is by far See You Again with the uber-talented Kali Uchis. This song is perfect in just about any way you can picture it, the music just puts me in a different world listening to it, the lyrics are extremely catchy and the flow of this song is perfectly accompanied by Kali Uchis perfect chorus that is so iconic.
Another unique part of Tyler’s game is the storytelling inside of his music. Many artists tend to rap about the same thing over and over again; cars, women, money, drugs, guns, etc. Tyler isn’t trying to flex or prove anything, all he does simply is tell a story in his music. Which is done perfectly in his next album, Igor.
Remember when I said he gets better and better with every release? Yeah, he did that. Just when people thought Tyler was at his peak, he took his game to another planet. Igor was released in 2019, and is by far and away from my album to date. It ended up winning a Grammy that year for best album of the year. Every song in this album is good, if not perfect. Essentially, Tyler uses his genius creativity and tells a story.
The album opens with IGOR’S THEME, which introduces the character, Igor, as kind of an edgy character. Igor falls in love with a girl and the next 7 songs tell stories of his love for her, some of the best being EARFQUAKE, A BOY IS A GUN*, and NEW MAGIC WAND. Then, Igor breaks up with her and goes into a mental downward spiral. This theme is exemplified with songs such as the iconic GONE GONE/THANK YOU, which is Tyler’s best song in this project in my opinion. But Igor finds empathy in the end, which is shown in the song ARE WE STILL FRIENDS? Tyler crafts this album together so well, and I can never get enough of it.
And then, the long-anticipated Call Me if You Get Lost dropped in June of 2021. Tyler hinted at this album throughout the year, with the iconic billboards (Reddit) he put up, the release of Lumberjack as kind of a taste to get you satisfied long enough till the album’s release, he teased this album and it worked. And he didn’t disappoint, as the album won BET’s best hip-hop album of the year. And once more, Tyler evolved.
What makes this album so phenomenal is the variety all over this album. It’s not just trap or jazzy hip-hop, he discovers and plays with many types of hip hop in this project. For example, JUGGERNAUT which is my favorite song on the project, is more of a trap song with heavy 808s and many flex bars, but a song like SWEET/I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE is…a reggae song? Yes, Tyler messed around with reggae and made a hit out of it. And the most popular song which is WUSYANAME is a more soul-type of a song. There are not two identical songs on this album, everything is different.
But Tyler isn’t just a musician. Oh no no no, far from it. Tyler has used his creativity to expand his grip on things. He is the creator of GOLF, his brand he started in 2011 and has grown like a wildfire ever since. He has made many appearances on talk shows and interviews. He runs an Instagram account that promotes his brand and other things. He is so much more than just an artist.
Tyler is his inspiration. His music videos are unlike anything I’ve seen, and his creativity and uniqueness are on display at all times. The use of elements and themes in these videos exemplify what the songs are about and make them stick in your head.
Another thing I love about Tyler is his personality. Someone of Tyler’s popularity is bound to get cocky and arrogant. But Tyler is one of the most humble people you can meet. He’s just himself, he shows that during interviews and conversations, he’ll crack jokes and mess around, as that is who he is. Many celebrities tend to act tough and cool when put as a public figure, and Tyler is just a kid living in his world. He doesn’t like to make controversial statements on things in society or problems that arise. Tyler refused to make comments on the BLM situation in 2020, as he didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention that may hurt him, and I agree and respect it.
And you know what the best part is? He’s not even close to done yet. He is already this good, and he’s not even CLOSE to perfect. This is a once-in-a-generation musical artist, and we need to appreciate him through the years he continues to produce and write music. Tyler isn’t even close to done and will continue to get better and perfect his craft, and when it is all said and done, maybe, just maybe, he could be one of the greatest artists of all time. Not hip hop, not soul, not rap, I mean music as a whole. His influence on upcoming artists will be key for the success of the music industry, and his legacy will continue for the rest of music’s history.
