The Strange Case of Tyler, The Creator
Sergio Lozano - January 31, 2023
Over winter break I decided to finally get into one of the most popular artists in the world of hip-hop right now: Tyler, the Creator. Tyler, the Creator is an American rapper, producer, songwriter, and fashion designer that has been growing in the music industry since the early 2010s. Being a hip-hop fan I knew of Tyler, partly because of his music career and because of his Adult Swim show Loiter Squad, a sketch show featuring himself and his rap collective Odd Future, but I never really gave his music a listen until recently. Now, I will review and at the end, rank, every single one of his studio albums. (Note: I do know that his 2009 mixtape Bastard is usually included with rankings and reviews, but for the purpose of this review I’m only doing full studio album releases, so Bastard will be left out.)
Goblin (2011)
Goblin is the first studio album by Tyler, the Creator, and yeah, you can tell. First off, early Tyler was much like early Eminem, they both used really crude and shocking lyrics in their songs. Tyler has no filter in this album, saying whatever he wants and directs it at whomever he wants. This album also shot Tyler into popularity with the single “Yonkers”. Listeners at the time used the term “horrorcore” to describe the album, and I can’t say it doesn’t fit. I think the album is good, just a little too long. I do think it is produced very well, a staple in Tylers albums moving forward. It also has guest appearances from other Odd Future members such as Frank Ocean, Jasper Dolphin, and Domo Genesis. My favorite tracks off the album are She, Yonkers, Sandwiches, and Radicals.
Wolf (2013)
Wolf is the second studio album by Tyler, the Creator. While more newcomer-friendly than Goblin, it still retains that old Tyler energy as it’s still as crude as ever, but with a bit more maturity in not just the lyrics but also the beats. Take songs like Answer where Tyler talks to his absent father directly while backed up by a near entire acoustic beat. A song so personal and sometimes beautiful accompanying the same album as songs like Tamale, whose entire existence for being there is literally because Tyler wanted an annoying song for the album. Or Colossus, a song about a fan making Tyler uncomfortable at Six Flags. I am no way calling this album bad, I actually prefer it over Goblin, it's just that to the ordinary listener this can feel like a rollercoaster at some points. It’s also worthy to note that there is a popular theory that Tyler’s first 3 projects are all connected. I forgot to say that through Bastard and Goblin Tyler repeatedly talks to his therapist Dr. TC, and there are multiple characters to the stories of the albums, and that the full story is revealed with the listening order of Wolf, Bastard, Goblin. Whether or not that’s true is up to the listener. My favorite tracks are Answer, Tamale, Domo23, and Colossus.
Cherry Bomb (2015)
Cherry Bomb is Tyler, the Creator’s third studio album. For this album, Tyler collaborated with many artists like Schoolboy Q, Kalu Uchis, Pharrell Williams, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. This album is when you start seeing more influences outside of rap, with hints of R&B, jazz, and even pop. This goes directly against Tyler’s style of the previous albums, as in purposefully shocking lyrics and loud beats. However, I don’t really think that worked in the albums favor as this almost feels like totally different projects forced together. I’m not saying it’s the worst one, it’s just very inconsistent. A lot of these problems occur mostly in the beginning though as I believe the second half is much better and doesn’t have a lot of the problems the first half has.This feels like the cocoon for the metamorphosis that Tyler would undergo with his next album. My favorites from this album are Smuckers, F*cking Young / Perfect, Find Your Wings, and Run.
Flower Boy (2017)
Flower Boy is Tyler, the Creator’s fourth studio album. This marks a major shift in Tyler’s music. He shifts from horrorcore rap to almost full jazz and soul music, and he does it super well. He is still rapping on the album, and I think he got better from this new style. The songs focus on things like sexuality, love, and loneliness. With many collaborators like A$AP Rocky, Rex Orange County, Kali Uchis, Steve Lacy and Jaden Smith, this also has a large range of talent shown off in its entirety. Tyler gets more personal on this album, and it’s really artistic. Even from the album cover you can feel the different (and I hate using this word) vibes that the album gives off. It's an amazing gateway into the direction Tyler is taking and it paints an amazing picture of what’s to come. My favorite songs are See You Again, Who Dat Boy, 911 / Mister Lonely, and Forward.
Igor (2019)
Igor is Tyler, the Creator’s masterpiece. I know there’s one album left but I’m just spoiling it right now and saying this is his best album. It’s nigh perfect. This is also his easiest album to listen to for new fans. He takes everything from his past albums and gets all the best parts from every part of himself to make this story. There is so much to talk about on this album that it would need its own bigger review. To start, the story is about Tyler (or Igor) falling in love with a man who is already in a relationship with a woman. The songs detail a journey of falling in love, rejection, anger, trying reconciliation, and repetition. Tyler sings almost all the tracks with a voice changer and it works so well. With comedian Jerrod Carmichael doing narration throughout the album. It has such a unique sound and Tyler’s vocals just complete the whole project. Tracks like EARFQUAKE, which talks about admitting your mistakes while falling in love, and NEW MAGIC WAND where Tyler sings about trying to take the woman's love interest is seeing so he can have him to himself, and of course, ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?, probably the greatest album-ending song of all time. I highly recommend you listen to this album yourself. It is a beautiful experience. My favorites off this album are EARFQUAKE, I THINK, NEW MAGIC WAND, and ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?.
Call Me If You Get Lost (2021)
Call Me If You Get Lost is the most recent album by Tler, the Creator. Tyler continues to evolve his sound from Igor with yet another amazing album. He changes the sound from Igor’s more pop beats into a more rap and lyrical focus here, and has probably the most popular collaborations yet with NBA Youngboy, Lil Uzi Vert, Pharrell Williams, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil Wayne, and Domo Genesis joining him. Again, this is more rap focused so don’t expect Igor Part 2, but there are some remnants of it. Given that it’s his most recent album, I believe this one needs more time for me to conclude on my thoughts fully. But I think it’s still a very good album. Dealing with themes like self-awareness, love, and Tyler’s mind, this album looks like an amazing stepping stone of what’s to come next in his career. My favorites are Lumberjack, WusYaName, Juggernaut, and Risel.
So after all of those, how would I rank them? Well here’s my list! (Please remember this is all my opinion and all of this is very subjective)
Igor
Flower Boy
Call Me If You Get Lost
Cherry Bomb
Wolf
Goblin
I believe Tyler is an amazing artist and one with a really beautiful evolution over time that you can experience with his music. With rumors of an upcoming album releasing this year, I am very excited to see what Tyler, the Creator has is store for us next.