Tyler the Creator

xxp Though Pitchfork’s brief piece on Billie’s apology (which deployed some mighty weasel words like “she now claims”) also simply linked to the Tyler song on YT – and their 8.0 review of the album – without really interrogating the point of why it’s ok for Tyler to say it. (The TMZ article they linked to, which was better than theirs, actually did mention it at the end!)

(it's also telling that they don't frame it in the context of stan wars, just - "an old video which surfaced on TikTok over the weekend," or whatever)

Why telling? (If I'm missing an obvious point, I blame insomnia -- in which case you can just tell me to get some sleep and leave it at that.)

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I should also note that while I don't really rate his new work highly in general, his guest verse on 327 was a standout for me last year.

new album is really pretty good, production is lovely & lush same as the last two

Yeah respectfully Lumberjack is the only track off it I gave a close listen to, and I wouldn't call it lovely or lush. What gives, is it my headphones? Could you give any particularly lush recommendation from the release?

RUNITUP, LEMONHEAD, MASSA so far

"wusyaname", "hot wind blows", "massa", "run it up", "sweet / i thought you wanted to dance", "rise" and "safari" are all pretty lush?

obviously "lumberjack" is going for a different thing

I'm loving this, the first Tyler that I really feel like I can enjoy instead of admiring and respecting it

but I'm not very invested in Tyler and his whole narrative, this is a just a really fun and quirky backpack rap album which is what I'm into

same reason I will always love uknowwhatimsayin? by Danny Brown more than Atrocity Exhibition

i skimmed this, some cool & fun production which is a refreshing change of pace, still not really into him as a rapper

wtf the wayne verse on this is so good lol

the youngboy verse is insane also

i went back to igor and yeah the new one's a lot better than it. igor was him experimenting & is more about the vibes than anything else, it really de-emphasises the vocals & ends up feeling kinda formless as a result, and his different vocal style doesn't really mesh as well with his production? like his gravelly voice was important for anchoring his sound, so with him avoiding that the balance is off & the contrast between the lush higher end & the distorted bass/drums of his style clashes more.

while the new one is just playing to his established strengths from flower boy and might be even better than it too. "this is a just a really fun and quirky backpack rap album which is what I'm into" otm

love all three, it's his imperial phase I reckon
what's good: when this dropped my 19yo daughter, who had been going out of her mind waiting, didn't know - so I got to tell her, and then we synced up streams while I was at work.

xpost

Right, upper MS shakedown OTM.

Out of what's been recommended so far, Massa is the strongest to me. The second half of it is really what I was hoping for from him, but it still sounds like through much of this material he's bored; or despite the braggadocio about how courageous he is, he's still quite guarded.

this is the first thing of his that's completely clicked for me I think

BET AWARDS 2021: LUMBERJACK @BET <3 LOVE pic.twitter.com/Bqzh7dLMxl

— Tyler, The Creator (@tylerthecreator) June 28, 2021

hooked on the first listen to the new stuff. not been fussed since the early days

DAE feel like odd future were the last exciting & punk thing to happen to music. nothing has been as forward and fun in identity since

show streaming right now https://twitch.tv/amazonmusic

this is pretty great on first listen

holding up very nicely in the rising heat

am I the only person who has had the opposite reaction? two listens and this doesn't grab me the way Igor or Flower Boy did.

I loved Igor but have had a hard time getting into this one despite it sounding fairly similar to me. Guest verses are quite strong throughout, though. He still seems like a singular artist with a sound that I don't hear much precedence for and/or followers. Thoughts? Someone mentioned Soundcloud rap up thread...this doesn't sound anything like what I think of when I think of Soundcloud rap?

i love ‘wilshire’

I think it's a pretty great one - I've listened a lot over the weeks since its release and haven't tired of it. Interesting to see him reaching for the oldschool vibe, classic beats, DJ Drama as hypeman etc., while the content is pushing a global perspective as the antidote to 'hood vibes. Him saying "call me when you get lost" is a challenge, not a safety net. Anyway for me this music and especially IGOR feels like I feel about Frank Ocean, the artist's own emotional voyage is the centrepiece, the lyrics and bars are a tapestry of moods and anecdotes which give a complex character portrait which I find really engaging. Also "Juggernaut" slams. Thanks for reading my essay.

also the crossover between "I Thought You Wanted to Dance" and Steve McQueen's LOVERS ROCK is cool

this is illuminating (and beautiful) https://www.vogue.com/article/tyler-mitchell-and-tyler-the-creator-talk-picnics-dreaming-and-mariah-carey/amp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh1pJqEXdsg

want to like that but don't.