Tyler, the Creative

Tyler A C R E AT I V E A N A LY S I S

the Creative Producer Artist Designer Animator Personality Icon OF A FLAMBOYANT ENIGMA

1

Content 6

Who Dat Boy

8

A Timeline

12

Collecting Controversy

74

Re-introduction

24

Odd Future

30

OF Tape Vol.1

32

Radical

34

12 Odd Future Songs

36

OF Tape Vol.2

40

Solo Career

42

Bastard

48

Goblin

56

Wolf

64

Cherry Bomb

72

Flower Boy

84

Camp Flog Gnaw

120

Golf Wang

94

Loiter Squad

124

Golf Fashion Show

102

Nuts + Bolts

128

Golf Le Fleur

108

The Jellies

132

The Iconic Style of Tyler

112

Cover Story

114

Wolf Haley

Who Dat Boy? A biography

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Tyler Gregory Okonma, best known by his persona Tyler, the Creator is one of the most important and influential musicians, personalities and provocateurs of the last decade.

A man with his fingers in many pies, he has changed the landscapes of Hip-Hop music, fashion, television and celebrity personality as well as several other areas of interest that he has applied his wide array of skills towards.

Since he self-released his debut album, Bastard, in 2009, he’s been known as a profane artist with an exceedingly juvenile sense of humour.

The persona has simultaneously made him a pop culture phenomenon and seemingly undermined him every step of the way with critics always quick to call out him out, only looking at his work at face value, simultaneously ignoring the underlying themes and creative spark that have set him apart from his contemporaries and made him a cultural tour-de-force for the 21st century.

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a Timeline

8

of

Los

Heights, Angeles

an

area

County,

Tyler Gregory Okonma was born to a Nigerian father and a mother of mixed

African-Canadian

descent.

Having never met his father he spent much of his early life living in various communities in Southern California.

Okonma’s

creative

streak

was

evident from an early age, he would often be caught creating album covers for himself that included song names and lengths from the age of

In his 12 years of schooling, Tyler attended 12 different schools in the Los Angeles and Sacramento areas, and after working several jobs at places like FedEx and Starbucks Tyler co-founded the alternative hip hop collective and label Odd Future in 2006 with fellow musicians and rappers Hodgy, Left Brain, Casey Veggies, The Super 3 and Jasper Dolphin.

The group began recording music in the basement of fellow musician (and later Odd Future member) Syd or Syd tha Kyd, releasing their first mixtape, The Odd Future Tape in 2008, in which Tyler’s talent was immediately obvious as the standout performer, far excelling everyone else as the group began to figure out it’s presence and identity.

seven, before he could even play an

Although the groups initial works recieved varying

instrument, he soon changed that,

amounts of attention, it did however give Tyler the chance

teaching himself to play the piano at

to showcase his early abilities and break away to release

the age of 14.

his first solo material with Bastard in 2009.

Beginnings in Music

Ladera

Early Life

B

orn on March 6th 1991 in

Not content just staying within the often

constrictive

parameters

of

the music business, Tyler banked off his early success by starting the Golf Wang clothing line, which sells apparel, the vast majority of which is designed and created by Tyler.

The company generally releases drops of items on a bi-annual basis and has in the years that followed it’s

conception,

become

a

well

known and sought-after streetwear brand, collaborating with many huge industry names, such as Converse and Vans. Golf Wang’s clothing is generally characterised by bright, pastel colours and occassional use of animal prints, since 2016 they have also been putting on fashion shows, hosted by Tyler.

Every year since 2012, Odd Future have hosted a festival called Camp Flog Gnaw, hosted by Tyler, the

Tyler’s solo career began on December 25, 2009 with the release of his first mixtape Bastard, which grabbed attention for being an unapologetically loud, polarizing album with many applauding the then 18 year old rapper’s vision.

The mixtape also gave Tyler a much needed foothold on the music business and he started as he meant to go on, continuing to release the albums Goblin, Wolf, Cherry Bomb and Flower Boy, with two year intervals between each, all to critical acclaim and shock from those who find his subject matter gruesome or innapropriate.

Since his initial release, we have also seen Tyler’s music grow and evolve, develop deeper meaning while also maintaining the musical and vocal presence which grabbed so much attention in his early career. His latest album, Flower Boy, was well appreciated by a wider audience for presenting an introspective Tyler, that was questioning material possession and sexuality, not just rapping to shock and make the listener laugh.

Branching Out

Going Solo

Creator and features many well known artists which have grown it from a one day festival initially to the current full weekend format.

Tyler’s maintained presence in the public eye has been bolstered by his appearance in, and creation of several television shows. This started in 2011 with Odd Future’s own Jackass-style TV show, ‘Loiter Sqaud’ running for three seasons on the Adult Swim network until 2015.

After these initial successes, Tyler announced two new solo TV ventures in 2017, Nuts+Bolts on the Viceland network and later on an animated TV series, The Jellies, which premiered in October 2017 and was created and voiced by Tyler himself.

9

“My lyrics are to piss off 10

old white people like

you”

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Collecting

Controversy 12

“Bitch”

Tyler, the Provocateur

The provocative nature of Tyler and

women. The evidence they provide

his music is rooted in humour, not

for these accusations often harks

experience. As such, he seems to

back to the graphic depictions and

feel that he should be afforded some

controversial lyrics on Goblin, Tyler’s

of the leniency granted to stand-

first studio album from 2011. One

up comedians, though often even

of the reasons why Goblin is often

they don’t get as much of a pass on

cited by Tyler’s detractors is that a

offensive material these days.

tally by Fader magazine counted the use of the term “bitch” 68 times

Tyler, for much of his early music

during the 73 minutes of the album.

career was criticized for his use of homophobic slurs, in particular,

A series of three commercials

his frequent use of the epithet

for Mountain Dew directed by

“faggot” in his lyrics and on social

Okonma created controversy in

media, particularly Twitter. He has

May 2013, accused of using “racial

denied accusations of homophobia,

stereotypes” and “making light of

stating in an interview, “I’m not

violence against women”.

homophobic. I just say faggot and use gay as an adjective to describe

A year later, Tyler was arrested for

stupid shit.”

inciting a riot after having shouted to fans to push their way past security

Tyler’s heaviest critics often don’t

guards at a sold-out show at the

hold back with accusations of

South by Southwest music festival.

misogyny and violence against

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Tyler, the Pariah

I

n August of 2015, Tyler took to his various social media platforms to

notify his fans that due to a decision by the then home secretary, Theresa May he would be banned from entering the United Kingdom for 3-5 years.

According to Tyler’s manager, Cristian Clancy, Tyler had been banned from the UK by “the secretary of state for the home department of the United Kingdom”. According

to Clancy, “highlights from the letter include that his work ‘encourages violence and intolerance of homosexuality’ and ‘fosters hatred with views that seek to provoke others to terrorist acts”. He went on to state that May’s decision had come after reviewing Tyler’s controversial earlier albums, namely Bastard (2009) and Goblin (2011).

Possibly feeling under pressure to explain why they’ve spent even 30 seconds of departmental time on this, the home office later released a statement. “Coming to the UK is a privilege,” this reads, “and we expect those who come here to respect our shared values. The Home Secretary has the power to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence

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in the UK is not conducive to the public good or if their exclusion is justified on public policy grounds.”

The main argument aside from this being a free speech issue as well as a potentially racially motivated move, is that the lyrics being cited as the reason for the ban were, at the time, over 6-7 years old, making the ban seem especially draconian as well as mostly arbitrary as the lyrics are neither current or representative of Tyler’s work at the time of the ban or since.

The ban also puts into question whether creative people should be held accountable retrospectively for the things they said when they were aged 18 and also where the limits to free speech and bans like this really lie, leaving many to suggest there was more at play in this decision.

“I’m being treated like a

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Tyler, the Reactionary / Tell Theresa May to let me in / I been going in since 2010 / It gotta be the colour of my skin / Cause there’s n****s there / That doing more damage than my pen, man / Said some old lines was offensive / I was young, I can’t apologise for that shit / They took my fiction literature for literal / I ain’t no motherfuckin’ criminal

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Audio

I

n the years since 2008, Tyler, the Creator has gone from maverick rapper and producer, attracting fans from the very outskirts of the niche music sphere all the way to

becoming one of a select few at the very centre of HipHop with his latest releases.

Always quirky, often abrasive, sometimes introspective

Making Waves

and deeply personal. The trajectory of Tyler’s musical style and career in the business overall has enjoyed many twists and turns, taking a new direction in appearance and sound with almost every release, making him one of the hardest to pin down artists in the industry today.

One thing is for certain, if you have a strong opinion on whatever the most recent piece of his music you heard, you won’t be able to apply it to his next release. The only true way to describe him is a musical chameleon, able to produce something that will keep you guessing time after time.

His loud and proud beginnings with Odd Future are in stark contrast to some of his work post-2013 but as always the devil is in the detail, and to get a clear perspective of Tyler’s career you’ll require a fine-toothed comb and an open mind.

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Musical 22

Raw

&

23

A

short stretch of research will reveal that music has always been in Tyler’s blood from the word ‘Go’

it seems. As a young man Okonma would often create his own album covers with a surprising eye for detail, dreaming of a future in the music business. At age 14 he taught himself to play the piano, with other instruments following soon after.

Citing Washed Out, Beach House, Broadcast and Joy Division as some of his early musical influences Tyler’s musical career has been a lifetime in the making, beggining in earnest at age 16, he doesn’t look like slowing down any time soon.

Odd

Future P 24

art social media carousel. Part

acts within the group has grown exponentially.

hip-hop skate crew. Part weird,

R&B icon Frank Ocean, who had collaborated

creative conglomerate. Odd Future or

with Tyler before Channel Orange made him a

OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them

star, has become a multiple Grammy winner.

All) was formed in Los Angeles between 2006

Earl Sweatshirt’s signature dark cinematic

and 2007 with Tyler being one of it’s original

sound — and lyrics influenced by his turbulent

founding members along with Hodgy Beats,

life and horror flicks — was honed as a teen in

Left Brain, Casey Veggies, The Super 3 and

Odd Future, which led to his critically lauded

Jasper Dolphin.

2013 Columbia Records debut, Doris.

By the time the group had served its initial

The label was a departure point with each

purpose of launching the careers of it’s

act developing its own narrative, aesthetic,

participants Odd Future had amassed over

and sound. Each member was an individual

fourteen members, many of which are now

entrepreneur but they were unified under the

in the top echelons of the Hip Hop and R&B

Odd Future umbrella. Syd was the sensitive

spheres of the music industry.

one, whose home studio was where the crew would often lay down tracks. Tyler was

In 2011 Tyler and Hodgy Beats made an

the maniacal genius whose could spout off

intense television debut on Late Night with

controversial tweets one minute and work with

Jimmy Fallon, their faces obscured by

superstar pop-surrealist painter Mark Ryden

balaclavas, barking staccato rhymes into the

the next. Earl was the mysterious one, who

mic. The group was immediately embraced

disappeared (his family sent him to military

by fans, especially young ones, who idolized

school in the Samoa) then reappeared with a

their gritty beats, absurdist humour, and DIY

devout following.

style. Since then the loose collective of varied

Brandun DeShay 25

Casey Veggies Domo Genesis Earl Sweatshirt Frank Ocean Hodgy Beats Jasper Dolphin L-Boy Left Brain Matt Martians Mike G Taco Tyler, the Creator Syd

Above Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt Below Odd Future outright wackiness was often their greatest asset

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In it’s later years, Odd Future

time to adjust to the newfound fame

Records began to work with Sony

and popularity. The demand for both

to distribute various efforts but the

more music and live performances

group was operating more like a

was overwhelming, and the group

startup, engaging and reacting to

began touring both nationally and

their audience via social media,

internationally while simultaneously

which they use to incubate ideas

creating ‘sub-groups’ within the

for art, music, and fashion before

collective.

a finished product enters the world. In the early days, it was all

Due to the high number of Odd

happening on their laptops; beats

Future members and varying

were fashioned in the bedroom,

creative approaches, Odd Future

distributed on blogs, and promoted

was able to create different types

on Twitter. It’s a different scene than

of music to appeal to a widespread

when 50 Cent or NWA were selling

group of music aficionados. While

CDs after shows in parking lots. Odd

their success in the music industry

Future’s business model is much

was undeniable, the group decided

closer to that of a Silicon Valley

to expand its creative abilities to

startup: lean, agile, responsive. It’s

a new platform; television. Their

hip-hop powered by a punk ethos

comedy sketch ‘Loiter Squad’

and tailor-made for the Twitter age.

appeared on the programming block Adult Swim between 2012 and 2014.

The success of Odd Future occurred so quickly that the group hardly had

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Along with a successful music career

has grown in popularity and success

some of the subject matter in Odd

and television series, the group’s

with each passing year.

Future’s lyrics regarding sexuality.

creativity expanded even further in a

There have also been a number of

way that truly defined their quirkiness

Despite the fact that each of these

reported rifts between members,

and eccentricity. The GOLFWANG

successes incorporates the Odd

which is somewhat expected when

clothing line quickly became a fan

Future collective, a large factor in

so many creatives are looking to go

favourite,

colours

their growth can be attributed to

in different directions. While some

and patterns along with images and

the individual popularity of Tyler the

artists like Tyler, Frank Ocean and

sketches designed by immediate

Creator. While Tyler has played a large

Earl have become household names

members of the group. This clothing

part in the growth of the collective,

in their respective disciplines, other

line quickly emerged at tour stops,

some members have strayed away,

Odd Future members have since

pop-up shops and eventually even

with some even officially announcing

faded out of popularity since the

in established retail stores. The

their departure. It’s hard to even

group reached its peak a number of

Odd Future crew didn’t stop there,

imagine that mature, successful R&B

years prior.

however, and began the now annual

artists such as Frank Ocean and

Camp Flow Gnaw carnival and music

Syd were even once members of

festival in Los Angeles, an event that

the collective, especially considering

utilizing

bright

Despite the different directions

Left Tyler, the Creator and Taco Bennett were among the most entertainingly absurd in the group

that the Odd Future collective has taken, each and every member has played an extremely influential role in pushing the musical and

Below The now household name of Frank Ocean started his career as a member of Odd Future

creative boundaries. Their unique, weird and controversial approach to creating music makes them a famous standout in the music industry that has paved the way for other collectives, and friends, to go beyond the status quo and take full advantage of the creativity possessed by each member. While the group may not be the tight-knit collective it once was, the Odd Future name and label will live on through each of its members, regardless of the directions they choose to take.

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The compilation that predates the Tumblr. The Odd Future guys claim that they released this introductory compilation in 2008, and that the songs had been done since 2007. Listening to it, it’s remarkable how fully formed Tyler, the Creator was way back then, especially compared to the other rappers in the crew. Tyler and Left Brain’s queasy lo-fi production aesthetic is already

30

in place, and Tyler throws his asthmatic rasp through all sorts of weird filters.

A couple of the tracks here later showed up on Tyler’s

The Odd Future

Bastard album, and he’s so far beyond everyone else here that it’s ridiculous. “Bitches Brewin’” is a well-done story-song about losing his virginity to a 26-year-old, “Commercial” vents pure rage at his absent father almost as forcefully as he’d later do on “Bastard”, and “Pimp Slap” gives us this immortal boast: “Fuck dogs, I walk around with my pet dinosaur.” But Tyler’s most illuminating moment on the album comes on the outro “Fin”, where he offers thanks to everything that ever inspired him. It’s a list that includes the 212 bus, D12’s Devil’s Night, Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, “Reading Rainbow”, Terry Richardson, Hitler, Mussolini, Salvador Dali, “all the porn in the world,” and Dr. Seuss.

Tape Vol.1

The Tape Intro Odd Toddlers Back For Another One Bubble Gum Fucking Lame Pimp Slap Bitches Brewin’

Track - Produced & performed by Tyler Track - Featuring Tyler

The Life Like

A quick read through the credits of the Odd Future Tape Vol.1 reveals

Slow It Down Remember Me

just how much the group centred around Tyler, the Creator with the majority of the production and a hefty amount of songs that feature

Lisa Fin Commercial Dracula

him present in the mixtape he was far ahead of everyone else in the group at the time while really just beginning to flex his creative muscles.

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Radical R

adical, a mixtape that

able to steal “Lemonade” away from

showcases every rapper in

Gucci.

the crew, is a rare indication that

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Odd Future don’t live entirely within

But at its best, Radical is a fun

their own self-created universe, that

reminder that these are still just kids

they get the same rap radio stations

bullshitting each other in a basement

as the rest of us. Here, they take

somewhere. On “Swag Me Out”,

a break from their usual hall-of-

all the kids jump on the party-noise

dark-mirrors production to rap over

loop of the Beastie Boys’ “It’s the

actual rap hits like Gucci Mane’s

New Style”, kicking adorably dumb

“Lemonade” and Roscoe Dash’s “All

punchlines and chanting the song’s

the Way Turnt Up”, as well as a few

title over and over for seven minutes.

older, nerdier choices. And though

The whole tape is a minor work as

they stick to the same gleefully

far as these guys go, but it’s a fun

terrifying subject matter as always,

listen and a low-impact introduction

it’s nowhere near as immersive as

to their world. And if you have

their best work. At its worst, Radical

the slightest interest in hearing

shows that these kids have a long

these guys rail mercilessly against

way to go as rappers. Earl and Tyler

establishment kingmaker rap blogs

may be the strongest voices of the

Nah Right and 2DopeBoyz, there’s a

crew, but they’re still nowhere near

whole lot of that here.

Intro Splatter

Blade Double Cheeseburger 33

10 Ugly Girls Orange Juice

Oblivion

Leather Head Up Swag Me Out

Songs O

dd Future as a collective

a Tyler, the Creator track from the

have always put out the

same titled album. The track is a

message that they frankly

personal narrative rapped over an

don’t care how they are viewed

eerie piano and synth tracking, and

by critics, fans, and the general

immediately proves that depth is not

population alike. Shock value lyrics

beyond the Odd Future’s leader.

and deeply-rooted cynicism are

34

peppered throughout all of their

The following track, entitled “67”

releases and coupled with their

boasts one of the strongest tracks

innovative and off-kilter production,

of the collection of odds and ends

they are at the very least worthy of

here. MellowHype is a collaboration

all the talk that they have garnered

between Hodgy Beats (rapper) and

the past several years.

Left Brain (producer), and this track is possibly the best output from

12 Odd Future Songs, is a mixtape

these two.

giving listeners a look at the gamut of rappers and styles that they

With so many strong songs on

each embody. In their quest to

this release, there are still a few

be as different as they can from

that fall short of enjoyable. Domo

every other hip-hop collective,

Genesis’ track “Steamroller” plods

they occasionally stumble across

along with an uninspired beat and

greatness and also take some ill-

even less inspired lyrics, and “Rok

advised turns. It is easy to take the

Rok” is laughably bad compared

vitriolic lyrics at face value and make

to the other two tracks contributed

the argument that the superfluous

by MellowHype. “French” is a

swearing are aimed at a younger

nonsensical track that Tyler and

audience, but when the listener

Hodgy seemed to create just to

digs through the already impressive

be gleefully profane, and the synth

discography of the members

line in the beat seems recycled

involved, they will find creative

compared to the creative ones that

producers and unique MCs.

dominate the great songs on here.

The album starts off with “Bastard”,

The reality of this release is that Odd Future are collectively creating music that they want to, and there are no rules to what they decide to

Bastard

create. For people that have never listened to them, this is the perfect release to decide if Odd Future’s particular brand of profane-laden, strange music is for them or not. As it stands, this is a strong collection

Welcome Home French Rolling Papers

VCR Steam Roller

of songs from a group of irreverent young MCs that are criticized far more than they should be.

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I

ncorporating all of Odd Future’s

success when it comes to group

digest than on Goblin, Tyler’s second

members with surprising ease (not

records, every member here benefits

album. Those three show up on

an easy task considering all the

from the arrangement. For guys like

nearly half of these tracks, and that’s

stylistic differences at play), The OF

Hodgy and Domo, there’s barely any

crucial to the album’s success since

Tape Vol. 2 was a reminder of why

room for filler lines (let alone filler

any combination of the three works

the world fell in love with the LA rap/

verses), and that helps mask their

well together. This is often thanks to

skate/punks in the first place.

lesser-developed personas.

Hodgy, whose versatility finds him just as comfortable turning up the

Part of it is just mathematical.

As for Tyler, well, at the moment, less

aggression with Tyler on “NY (Ned

Contributions here are less than

Tyler is better than more Tyler. His

Flander)” as he is trading verbal

any one person would put into a

presence still dominates the album,

workouts with Domo on “Bitches”

solo album, and though that simple

but his charms are more apparent

for style points.

formula doesn’t always equal

and his abrasiveness is easier to

ture

OF tape Odd Fu

36

But the album is a success mainly

awkwardly dabble in. Frank Ocean

because everyone simply steps

swings by for a few hooks plus

it up. Domo in particular seems

“White”, his lone solo contribution,

to have evolved from the group’s

which will add Stevie Wonder to the

bumbling stoner into a guy who can

list of classic singers he’s usually

spit dizzying, complicated verses.

compared to.

Even the peripheral members manage to hit it out of the park

Which brings us to “Oldie”. The

when given their turns: Mike G’s

10-minute-plus track closes an

“Forest Green” has been out for

album that’s possibly too long in the

close to a year, but its inclusion here

first place, and in theory it borders

is obvious and deserved. Syd has

on overkill. But it’s a reminder that

show-stopping turns as a singer at

when you strip away all the noise,

the end of “Analog 2” and on the

there’s just a group of rappers here,

Internet’s “Ya Know”, the latter being

prolifically talented ones at that,

a more successful take on the sort

both lyrically and in terms of stage

of lounge-soul that Pharrell used to

presence.

NY (Ned Flander)

Analogue 2

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Rella Earl’s verse on “Oldie” rightly caught the headlines, but

P White Hcapd Sam (Is Dead) Doms We Got Bitches Oldie

there’s a nugget in Tyler’s rap on the same song that’s more telling of Odd Future’s plight. Odd Future have mined the online hype machine quite excellently to get to this point in their career.

In the United States, the album debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 40,000 copies, becoming the collectives most succesful group effort and becoming a staple of any Odd Future fan’s collection.

Odd Future W 38

hile, in their later years

Odd Future presented an outlet for

a punch in the face it was hard to

at least, business

empty frustration, one that even

avoid feeling stunned.

flocked behind them

“culture-less” teenagers in the

and the press buzzed the word of

middle of nowhere could tap into.

They attracted a network of die-

Wolf Gang, their growing fanbase

They were a walking paradox that

hard fans – fans who could imagine

and music distribution remained

embodied the intense emotional

themselves as part of Odd Future.

largely DIY, working via word-of-

turbulence felt by young people the

Very quickly, our youth generation

mouth rather than tastemaker

world over. At times they’d appear

became awash with Supreme,

approval. You could argue that Odd

as bolshy swaggering dickheads,

OBEY and – of course – Golf Wang.

Future did to the polished hip-hop

leaving no-one safe from their

Symbols of subversion and skate

of Drake and B.o.B what Nirvana

antagonistic trolling. Other moments

culture were universally adopted.

did to heavy metal. The charisma,

would see them showcase an

The individualism of Odd Future had

intelligence and sheer destructive

enchanting vulnerability, spitting

spawned a generation of strikingly

impulse are definitely similar, all

rhymes about absent parents and

dressed clones who adopted a

spearheaded by a group of hyper-

unrequited loves.

similar “no-fucks-given” attitude.

Being more a franchise than a hip-

It would appear that Odd Future as

hop collective, OFWGKTA extended

a collective is dead. Their story isn’t

While Odd Future never managed

their empire past its musical

a tale of one-hit wonders and sad

a clear “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

boundaries to include a sketch

decline, but one of evolution. Frank

moment, the punk aesthetic was

comedy show on Cartoon Network’s

Ocean has become a worldwide

evident. There was a rawkus energy

Adult Swim (Loiter Squad), a

star. The Internet are cult darlings.

on both ends of their live shows,

commercial-free online radio

Earl Sweatshirt has the critics in

complete with stage dives and

station, the Golf Wang streetwear

the palm of his hand, while Tyler as

die-hard fans screaming their lyrics.

label, a boutique on the landmark

usual has an array of projects on

The lines “Fuck the fame and all

Fairfax Avenue in LA and a Carnival.

the go at any given time, constantly

the hype, G./I just want to know if

Through their various creative

reinventing himself and the Hip-Hop

my father would ever like me” and

outlets, Odd Future were able to

mainstream.

“Kill people. Burn shit. Fuck school”

saturate the current hip-hop market

embody everything they were about.

with their oddball mentality, and like

creative music nerds who play the rebel role artfully.

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O

fficially speaking, Tyler’s solo music career began on December 25th 2009 when

he self-released Bastard, his first mixtape.

His first effort recieved modest critical acclaim and since then, he has released four more full length studio albums at the metronomic rate of one every two years. With every release we have seen and have been able to track Tyler’s growth as a person, as the subject matter of his lyrics has slowly changed over time. In addition to this the theme of every album is a seismic shift from the last, ranging from dark and demonic to summer vibes and all things nature.

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B 42

astard is the debut mixtape,

only wrote and produced every song

and truthfully the jumping off

on the fifteen-track mixtape, but

point into Tyler’s solo career. At the

also self-released it, after posting

time he was the de facto leader

it to several leading Hip-Hop blogs

of the fledgling rap collective Odd

of the time and recieving little to no

Future, a group made famous by

response.

their wacky aesthetic and shock value lyrics and themes, a lot of

The production on this mixtape

these charachteristics are reflected

is the star of the show, as it’s

in Tyler’s first venture away from the

innovative and interesting. The full

enigmatic group, not least because

mixtape is self-produced, and goes

the mixtape shares a couple of

to show why Tyler is one of the best

tracks from The Odd Future Tape

producers in modern Hip-Hop. It

Vol.1.

also makes one wonder what could be achieved if Tyler were to produce

The concept and premise of the

for artists outside of the Odd Future

album is interesting, Bastard

lineup more often.

features Tyler speaking to a character named Dr. TC, who plays

The lyrics and themes can vary as

the part of Tyler’s therapist and

wildly to be about rape all the way

guidance counselor.

to his absent father, despite this they don’t come off as sick and evil,

The album also serves to highlight

instead they can come off as shock

Tyler as a real all-rounder for the first

value at the extreme end of the

time as a stand alone artist. He not

alternative Hip-Hop spectrum.

Bastard Seven Odd Toddlers French!

Blow Pigs Fly Parade Slow It Down AssMilk VCR Session Sarah Jack And The Beanstalk Tina Inglorious

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The album begins with the song Bastard as Tyler

never bad. Track 12: Sarah has excellent execution for

exercises all of his energy into introducing himself to the

such a young artist. Tyler gives you all sides of the story,

listener and does it in great style, the production gives

from the real life perspective, to the awkward second

the accurate feeling of the monologue Tyler is having

verse where he switches it for fantasy and it’s definitely

with Dr. TC, even though the lack of professionalism he

eerie. Amazingly put together, the vocals are kind of

suffered from at the time took a toll on the final product,

muffled but they add to the texture and the beat works

with amateur mixing and low microphone quality causing

very well.

issues throughout the track. Nevertheless, quite a stellar

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presentation of Tyler’s musical character.

Finally the listener come to the final track, Inglorious, which serves as amazing closure to the mixtape with

The mixtape begins to wane a little with the tracks Seven

Tyler’s verses fitting with the eerie Christmas-y sound

and Odd Toddlers but picks up again in a massive way

of the instrumental, the subject matter and the way

for French! The instrumental is amazing and perfectly

is approached is completely original and you’re able

meets Tyler’s abrasive lyrics that compose two verses

to imagine a younger Tyler breaking his fun character

with stunning imagery, hilarious wordplay, a great

doing things related to his father. Overall, Bastard is a

frame for Tyler’s rebellious attitude through music.

solid mixtape from a young artist who seems to know

Unfortunately, Hodgy Beats doesn’t meet the same

what he’s doing, lyrically Tyler does show moments of

height nor fit on this beat as perfectly as Tyler did.

genius and impressive wordplay , but doesn’t quite get the execution right some of the time. The production is

Once again the mixtape meanders around between

stellar for the most part, and while Tyler does shows a

mediocre tracks for the songs Blow, Pigs Fly, Parade and

great deal of promise as an MC, he just needed to work

Slow It Down, before it hits another highlight in his duet

on fixing some of his faults, like his often forced subject

with Earl Sweatshirt on track nine of the album Assmilk

matter and lyrics.

They bounce off each other well, the interlude is funny, the two-part instrumental is solid, complimenting the

What we are left with at the end is a good debut effort

horrorcore backdrop on all of their verses as well as their

for such a young artist with some excellent highlight

personalities; Earl being the more calm and impartial and

tracks and a good intorduction to the artist Tyler would

Tyler playing the passionate and evil part.

become.

The remainder of the mixtape is once again patchy, but

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O 48

ff the back of the relative

message boards, critics, hype,

success of Bastard came

expectations, media scrutiny, and

Goblin, Tyler’s first attempt at a long

being a role model, before selling a

player and in the two years since his

single album.

first release, he and Odd Future had blown up on both the alternative and

There were a lot of expectations

mainstream Hip-Hop scenes and

placed on Goblin, namely, that it

recognised as an act to watch with

would serve as a potential crossover

baited breath.

for Tyler into the carefully curated and image sharp mainstream. But

Word of mouth spread by the day

while that might have been the hope

one fans had pushed Tyler’s number

for a lot of those industry co-signers,

of Twitter followers well into six

or even a lot of listeners, it’s clearly

figures. And between he and Hodgy

not Tyler’s intention. Goblin does

Beats’ performance on “Late Night

not sound like a record made by the

with Jimmy Fallon” and his excellent

goofy, smiling kid with the pulled-up

Yonkers single and video, the

tube socks riding Jimmy Fallon’s

industry noticed, too; Billboard put

back. Instead, it’s a natural sequel

Odd Future on their cover, a major

to Bastard, a dark, insular indie-rap

label secured them to a record deal

album. Where Bastard was more

as many of the old guard of Hip-Hop

accessible and inviting, this album is

began to take notice.

bleak, long and monolithic. It’s also uncomfortable and brave, a brutal

It was in this Vein that Tyler began

but honest look at Tyler’s image of

his second solo release, Goblin,

himself.

venting to his therapist about fame,

Goblin Yonkers Radicals She Transylvania Nightmare Tron Cat Her Sandwitches Fish/Boppin Bitch Analog Bitch Suck Dick Window AU79 Golden Burger Untitled 63 Steak Sauce

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Musically, Goblin is essentially

to independent hip-hop.)

unmoored mind struggling to remain

a turn-of-the-millennium indie

Of course, Tyler isn’t interested in

grounded.

rap record; abstract, difficult for

the political questions that drove

outsiders to locate a way in to,

many of his indie-rap forbearers.

The record’s themes of drift and

and bled completely of anything

Instead, his primary mode of thought

desperation also lends a very

that resembles pop. It features

is negation. From the Stooges to

different tone to the controversial

almost nothing that counts as a

Sex Pistols to NWA to Eminem,

nature of Tyler’s raps, which even

chorus, making few gestures to the

telling the world to fuck itself can

at their most radical and out there

mainstream. It’s a purist’s record,

be a compelling, even meaningful

feel like the ramblings of a lonely

leaning on inventive production

or necessary expression. Yet while

outsider.

and Tyler’s flow and meter. With

a lot of Goblin’s appeal may come

hindsight, then, it makes sense that

from this train of thought Goblin is at

The album really compartmentalises

the rise of Odd Future started in

its best when Tyler sounds isolated,

the group’s darkness and confusion,

the avant UK music mag The Wire,

frightened, and confused. It’s the

which makes sense in that Odd

which a decade ago was putting

work of someone trying to figure out

Future guys like Frank Ocean and

leftfield rap groups like cLOUDDEAD

the world around him and his place

Domo Genesis usually weren’t

and Anti-Pop Consortium on its

within it, someone who often doesn’t

expressing anger or violence

cover. In another world, before the

like the conclusions he’s drawing.

anyway. And even here, when other

Internet was the music industry’s

Odd Future members join Tyler,

central delivery system, that might

The highs are very high in this

they tend to let a little light into

have been the limit of Goblin’s

album: “Yonkers” remains one of

the album, particularly the Hodgy

reach, it could have been a well-

the songs of 2011, and tracks like

Beats pairings “Sandwitches”

received indie hip-hop record to

“Sandwitches”, “Analog”, “Tron

and “Analog”. The coziness and

place alongside releases on Def

Cat”, and the Frank Ocean feature

camaraderie between Tyler and his

Jux or Anticon. (Fittingly, it comes

“She” work as standalones away

cohorts even meets with a nasty

via XL Records, the imprint that

from the album as a whole. Tyler’s

end on Goblin, which concludes

last decade signed Dizzee Rascal,

most inwardly focused songs, the

with a suite of tracks in which

another culturally omnivorous,

therapy-session set pieces “Goblin”,

Tyler inexplicably kills his friends

incredibly hyped teen rapper and

“Nightmare”, and “Golden” are

before suffering a total emotional

producer who added a new wrinkle

also fascinating portraits from an

breakdown.

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What is here is a gamechanging record for indie hip-hop, a singular and sonically complex album neither in homage to 198688 “real” hip-hop nor created by rappers aiming to define themselves in opposition to the mainstream. (It takes about three minutes for Tyler to align himself with other artists here, but he chooses Erykah Badu, Pusha T, and Waka Flocka Flame instead of Immortal Technique.)

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Odd Future’s most impressive accolade was harnessing the Internet to communicate directly and often and pushing a new kind of indie hip-hop, often rambling, not always musical, frequently surprising, and absolutely beloved by some. It takes work to get through, and a lot of its success rests on cult of personality. Those two barriers are particularly why it’s so successful: You have to commit to it in many ways.

You have to want to be an insider. And that’s a club that was ripe for expanding back in 2011.

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I

t’s a truth self-evident that

nihilist aesthetic into a single album,

Tyler has a rap persona

Wolf pulls back the curtain and

pitched between shock-riddled

reveal the talented introvert behind

misanthropy and confessional

the music. The first thing to go is the

reflection, he’s preoccupied with his

bratty punk fury of earlier material.

own press and he uses his music as

The insurgent bravado of “Radicals”,

a vent for anger and frustration.

“Sandwitches”, and “French” is scaled back, replaced by songs

In the two years following Goblin’s

that flip the conventions of his

release, Earl Sweatshirt returned

songwriting inside out. The songs

from Samoan exile, Frank Ocean

about women are earnest where

opened up about his sexuality in a

they used to carry murder ballads’

heartfelt Tumblr note and released

air of ill intent. Drugs come up, but

the Grammy Award winning Channel

we also hear about a remorseful

Orange. As a group, Odd Future

dealer surveying the havoc he’s

embarked on a series of tours that

caused and a man having a

connected them with an expanding

mercilessly terrible time while

base of teenagers and outcasts

high. Wolf is still the balancing act

even as they drew fire from LGBT

between gruff cynicism and juvenilia

advocates, women’s groups, and a

that we’ve come to expect from

music press none too amused by

Odd Future (especially on “Pigs”,

the macabre content of their lyrics.

a bleak radio play about exacting

A lot has changed, and then Tyler

revenge on bullies), but these songs

returned with Wolf.

are more three-dimensional. Tyler’s more likely to aim for melody instead

Where Goblin felt like an attempt to shoehorn the whole of Odd Future’s

of menace.

Wolf Jamba Cowboy Awkward Domo23 Answer Slater 48 Colossus PartyIsn’tOver Campfire Bimmer IFHY Pigs Parking Lot Rusty Trashwang Treehome95 Tamale Lone

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Wolf as a whole also sounds gorgeous, and that even

Genesis’ Rolling Papers, But the pieces here don’t hang

goes for the bruisers. The polyrhythmic hi-hats of the

together, and “Bimmer” is too fleeting of a payoff for the

madcap posse cut “Trashwang” eventually give pause to

uphill trudge it takes to get there. Wolf is full of good

a piano bridge, and the blustery lead single “Domo 23”

songs but in the wrong order.

gets a bump from a boisterous horn section. Foreboding numbers like “Rusty” (a lush reimagining of 1990s RZA

Tyler makes very clear that he doesn’t enjoy the

production) and the nightmarish, tribal “Cowboy” are

trappings of fame. The album is shot through with harsh

declawed by rich textures and melodicism. “Answer”

words for critics, sheepish venue owners, puritanical

sets Tyler’s longing for his late grandmother and

parents, and groups who’ve picketed Odd Future shows.

absentee father to a bright guitar figure and shimmering

With Wolf, Tyler, the Creator displays a radical growth as

organs. “48”’s crack epidemic reminiscence is adorned

a producer, composer and arranger, even if, as a rapper,

with elegant pianos, string stabs, tasteful guitar, and

he’s still up to some of the same antics. Still, the album

spoken word interludes from Nas. Tyler’s pet sounds

contains a few of the best songs he’s ever written. “48”

are dark melodies hammered out on wonky synths and

is a wonder, “Answer” and “Lone” delve into deeply

clattering breakbeats but here they come padded with

personal matters with poise, and “Rusty” is one of the

embellishments that give Wolf a cinematic breadth. The

most arresting lyrical performances on the record if you

album is pretty, but beguilingly so.

can see past the self-serving chest-beating. It’s a big screen rendering of the Neptunes-meet-Stevie-Wonder-

Wolf reprises the winding sprawl of Goblin, hitting its

in-a-microwave quality of Tyler’s earlier works, the sound

stride on a series of midtempo cuts on the front and

of a creative mind coming into the possession of the

back ends but losing steam on a midsection that places

proper means to carry out its ideas. At its best, Wolf

too many of its longest and slowest songs back-to-

manages to make the inroads toward accessibility that

back. “PartyIsntOver/Campfire/Bimmer” marries three

Goblin wouldn’t and pulls it off without sacrificing too

unrelated fragments in a manner not unlike Domo

much of Tyler’s refreshing capriciousness.

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The most important thing about the Wolf album is when veiwed after a step back to look at it’s place in Tyler’s discography as a whole. Wolf was a seminal moment in the development of Tyler, the Creator as an artist, it was the point at which he reached a crossroads, for him it suddenly became less about shock value and rapping about subject matter that others refused to go near and a more introspective Tyler surfaced, he began to question things that had seemed like foregone conclusions before, he was certainly growing lyrically as a rapper and in tandem with this was his ever present skills as a producer which

had been markedly improved since his first mixtape four years previously.

These changes that his fans saw on Wolf really saw Tyler begin to properly crack the mainstream, but at no point did it seem like he was selling out, to put it simply, he refined what was good about his early efforts and then brought more to the table in other areas to compliment it perfectly. The end result was 89,000 copies of Wolf sold in first week as well as debuting at number 3 on the Billboard 200 charts as well as its status as a now cult classic alternative rap album.

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Above: Tyler performing at Coachella, 2018 Left: Tyler performing in New York, 2017

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C

herry Bomb, Tyler’s fourth

relationship. What makes the joke

long-player and third

“land,” of course, is that the song is

official album, bears all

really good, a warm-sounding piece

the hallmarks of his personality, for

of pop music. It’s a smart, annoying,

good and for ill. Smart, annoying,

obnoxious, creative, and borderline

obnoxious, and creative, it’s a

genius tactic from someone who

reminder that Tyler, the Creator only

was still working on reaching his

creates as the sum of his exhaustive,

final form.

trying, kaleidoscopic self.

The best thing Cherry Bomb has One of Tyler’s greatest strengths has

going for it is relative brevity. Goblin

always been world-building, using a

and Wolf were notoriously long,

synth-heavy blitz of candy-colored

which felt like a betrayal of one of

jazz chords. Cherry Bomb isn’t

Tyler’s biggest strengths—shotgun

exactly a hard left turn from this

blasts of creativity and anguish as

lane, but it is a quick swerve. He’s

opposed to woozy, multi-part dirges

still occasionally obnoxious and

that bordered on self-parody. Cherry

shockingly adolescent for someone

Bomb still features three songs that

almost a quarter-century old with

are longer than six minutes, but the

defiantly loud and proud raps on

songs transform within themselves,

songs like “Smuckers”. His idea

like the jazz Tyler admires, so that

of a joke is making the lead single

they almost feel like three songs in

to his rap album a Stevie Wonder-

one.

inspired bop about an underage

Deathcamp Buffalo Pilot Run Find Your Wings Cherry Bomb Blow My Load 2Seater The Brown Stains Of Darkeese Latifah Part 6-12 Fucking Young/Perfect Smuckers Keep Da O’s Okaga, CA

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Opener “Deathcamp” was allegedly inspired by the

having fun in this playground (Kanye’s “Richer than white

Stooges, and it sounds like what would happen if you

people with black kids/ Scarier than black people with

put Tyler’s idea of the Stooges on top of Glassjaw on top

ideas” is an instant classic, while Wayne slides into a

of Trash Talk, and, it should go without saying, on top a

comfortable vintage flow).

vintage N.E.R.D. production.The influence of rock music, while always present in Tyler’s music, is overwhelming

At the time of its release there was a lot of talk about

here, which creates a Rebirth-ian wrinkle to an album

how unfocused or chaotic this album is, but that’s often

that, to its strength and detriment, mostly recycles three

par for the course with any Tyler music. Tyler is still going

or four similar ideas.

to do whatever Tyler feels like doing next, whatever path that takes him down, and it’s refreshing when an

“Pilot” and the title track to me recall none other than

artist creates exactly the kind of art they want to create.

Big Black—drum machine-led walls of sound that break

A quick glance at the announced five alternate covers

down and start up again as Tyler struggles to be heard

to the album was revealing, there’s a real aesthetic

over the noise. “Find Your Wings” is Tyler’s gentlest song

consistency to them. Tyler is an artist with a panache

to date, an interlude that’s partially a quiet storm, and

for creating intentionally ugly and tacky art, with the

completely without pretense or sarcasm.

knowing observation, “Yes, this is ugly, but I can’t stop looking at it.” It seems to say “I know it’s a mess, I put a

Kanye and Wayne have verses on “Smuckers”, the

lot of work into creating this mess, and it’s your problem

album’s best song. All three artists are auteurs in their

if you can’t handle it.” In the same vein, a funhouse

own right, and with Tyler’s verses bookending and

mirror doesn’t make sense without knowledge of how a

sandwiching the track and a beat switch thrown in the

regular mirror works. Tyler, the Creator only creates as

middle, it’s as if he’s playing hot potato with rap’s most

the sum of his exhaustive, trying, kaleidoscope self, yet

singular voices and inserting himself in their world, a

we seem to keep looking at him, waiting to see what

vandal placing his imprimatur on a piece in a gallery. The

he’s going to do next.

thrilling part is how at home Kanye and Wayne sound

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While on the surface it may appear like Cherry Bomb

The Documentary also goes on to highlight the extents

lacked depth compared to some of Tyler’s other work,

to which Tyler will go to get what he wants from his

the album and the documentary that was released

music, he is seen to push the artists he works with,

alongside it actually taught us a lot about how Tyler

directing and giving pointers until he is happy with the

works as a musician, how he collaborates with other

product.

artists and his thought processes when he’s writing.

The 43 minute documentary guest stars some of the artists that Tyler worked with on Cherry Bomb like Syd, Pharrell Williams and Kanye West and is full of interesting stories decribing what it’s like to work with Tyler. One exellent example of this is with Kanye. After hearing Tyler and Lil’ Wayne’s verses on “Smuckers”, he scraps his verse and completely re-writes it as he feels like he needs to up his game. Kanye, quite boldly, later goes on to state that Yeezus (Kanye’s 2013 album) probably wouldn’t have happened if it were not for the inspiration he recieved from Tyler and the input he gave.

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2017 Foreword

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How many cars can I buy till I run out of drive?

How much drive can I have, until I run out of road?

How much road can they pave, until I run out of land?

How much land can it be until I run in the ocean?

Niggas go with the motions and all the plans See, I was never into the beaches and all the sands See, I was in the woods with flowers, rainbows and posies Falling out of my pocket, but ya’ll want to know if I swam to cool down How much cooler can I get until run out of fans?

How many fans can I have till they turn on the AC? If the AC blow up, then I’m TNT, I’m

Boy

(and all it encompasses)

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would like to reintroduce himself

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The Tyler, the Creator of the present day is not the boy

where black kids can self-determine and express

we once knew. Before the release of 2017’s Flower

themsleves and live unchallenged. It sounds like Tyler

Boy album, the mention of Tyler to many would hark

working out who he is, who he wants to be and deciding

back to memories from the Odd Future era, perhaps

that he’s not that much of an outright troublemaker

Tyler’s appearance on Jimmy Fallon, performing

anymore.

“Sandwiches” clad in a ski mask with Hodgy Beats, terrifying the guests and predominantly white audience.

His live performances have undergone a significant

The performance was funny smart and wierd for those

change too, and his Coachella 2018 performance

who knew about Tyler at the time and those who would

(one of the most anticipated of the year) was a perfect

become fans of his after, but for many they assumed

extension of the new aesthetic showcased on Flower

that was Tyler’s sole operational mode: 100 percent pure

Boy. We’re seeing the depth of Tyler as a performer

shock value.

and as a songwriter. No longer an agitator, Tyler is now something of a showman. He’s sweet onstage, often

So when Tyler released Flower Boy in mid-2017,

asking the crowd to sing along with him for some of the

following the decidedly emotionally detatched Cherry

more anthmic hooks to his songs, in a way that’s almost

Bomb, it was an easy target for skeptical critics. What

childlike.

he produced however was a lush, warm concept album with an ambiguous and ostensibly queer narrative.

Tyler’s recent sets have become notable for just how

Cynics were quick to dismiss the record as a way for

solitary he has become on stage, compared to his

Tyler to score some points with those he may have

previous performances from years gone by when he’s

wronged in the past with his use of slurs and slang.

been surrounded by friends and other performers on

Listen closely, however, and Flower Boy will reveal itself

stages with big set pieces. This is in many ways the

to be the opposite; it’s an album about growing up and

perfect distillation of the album’s mood, Tyler all alone in

reckoning with identity, a paste coloured wonderland

a technicolour fantasy world of his own creation.

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would like to reintroduce himself It’s not only Tyler’s persona and live performances that have undergone a significant change, he sporting a different look these days too.

Gone are the days of Tyler the skate rat leader of Odd Future, he’s one hundred percent his own man now, something which is evident in the way he styles himself now. Pastel colours, flowery trousers and often seen sporting a bucket hat in place of his signature snapbacks nowadays. It seems like each time you see Tyler in public he looks increasingly different from his contemporaries in the hip-hop business yet he still manages to keep looking incredibly sharp while doing it. Among some of the visual changes he’s recently adopted are a cheetah spot hairstyle and a special Golfwang hi-vis vest, no one is even close to Tyler’s level when it comes to just how out there a musician can go with their aesthetic.

With the advent of Flower Boy era Tyler, the Creator we have also witnessed Tyler’s vocal style enjoy a significant change-up in some areas. The Flower Boy songs were incredibly impressive, and gave Tyler a chance to show off just how much of a talented vocalist he’s become, modulating his voice from its usual growl during “Garden Shed” into snarls and shrieks, and into an outright scream during “Who Dat Boy” and “I Ain’t Got Time.”

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On Tyler’s sincere and most accomplished album, he gets to the essence of what he’s been chiseling at: the angst of a missed connection, the pain of unrequited love, and navigating youthful dispair.

Tyler, the Creator’s music has often been defined by exclusion. He was furious when rap blogs refused to post Odd Future songs. He has gleefully responded to being banned from countries. His songs attempted to reconcile with a divided fanbase. The subtext of Odd Future was that pearl-clutching moralists simply weren’t in on the (obscene) joke, the whole point of being radicals is to be “apart from.”

flower

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Flower Boy (promoted as Scum Fuck Flower Boy) is Tyler’s course-correction, surprisingly meditative and beautifully colored, a collage of memories and daydreams that trades bratty subversion for reflection and selfimprovement. He probes the things that shaped his psyche; loneliness, isolation, and disorientation. He also focuses on outgrowing friendships, balancing the pull of nostalgia and the necessity for growth. Not only is Flower Boy Tyler’s most incisive work, it’s his most inclusive. The Album is gentle and liberating.

“Tell these black kids they can be who they are,” he raps on “Where This Flower Blooms,” as he grows into the artist he’s always longed to be, and perhaps always was.

Where his previous effort Cherry Bomb fell short, Flower Boy is transformational, lovestruck and penetrating. Finally, Tyler gets to the essence of ideas he’s been chiseling at all along: the angst of a missed connection, the pain of unrequited

Boy

love, navigating youthful ennui. These are hopeful and sincere songs about finding yourself and trying to find someone who values you completely.

Tyler spends much of Flower Boy chasing his “‘95 Leo,” coming out in the process.

The album’s literal and figurative centerpiece is “Garden Shed,” an inwardlooking sexual awakening turning an extended metaphor into a watershed moment. Flower Boy unfurls from this revelation and the subsequent romance. He pens songs for his lover (“See You Again”), leaves him voicemails (“Glitter”), and seeks comfort through contact. These lyrics and themes paint a portrait of a confused and tactless young introvert in crisis. However listeners choose to interpret this conflict, Tyler doesn’t seem to be rapping to make amends but to be understood.

This is not an apology or even an explanation. Flower Boy gingerly disentangles a knot of personal and complicated thoughts and feelings through the lens of flashbacks and love songs.

Foreword Where This Flower Blooms Sometimes...

See You Again Who Dat Boy Pothole

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Garden Shed Boredom I Ain’t Got Time!

911 / Mr Lonely

November Glitter Enjoy Right Now, Today

tracklist

Droppin’ Seeds

So subdued, wistful, permissive, and relatable, are these songs—they are Tyler’s most refined to date. Collectively, they’re a kaleidoscopic sonic wonder. Though still obviously taking influence from the Neptunes, his production remains unlike anything else right now— glowing oddball orchestrations with unpredictable chord progressions, adorned by choruses of sweet voices.

“Garden Shed” and “Glitter” are among his prettiest creations. He cedes “Droppin’ Seeds” to an in-form Lil Wayne, content to show off his peculiar ear for sound.

“Enjoy Right Now, Today” takes it a step further, going lyric-free, accented by light Pharrell vocals. The title and the warm soul interior seem to usher the listener outside.

For those chasing a Bastard-esque, punchy rap fix, there’s “Who Dat Boy” and “Pothole.”

In the past, Tyler’s albums have been criticised for being, on occasion, too messy. Flower Boy is 17-minutes

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shorter than the average Tyler album with more understated transitions and less disorder and chaos.

He has been known to overthink things or get too cute with compositions, tagging on eight-minute posse cuts, piecing together mismatched songs, adding attachments and embellishments where they aren’t needed. These songs here carry in them his tinkerer’s spirit without becoming overwrought. His ambition is a driving force in his work, but he curtails it for a more enjoyable and streamlined listen. The standouts, “911 / Mr. Lonely” and “I Ain’t Got Time!,” are carefully assembled arrangements made of gorgeous parts that fasten together seamlessly.

There are several neat aesthetic choices, like playing “See You Again” as a radio request or pitching the halves of “Glitter” at opposing frequencies. There’s the juxtaposition of “Boredom” with “I Ain’t Got Time!”, a song about finding time with one about not having enough—then ending the latter abruptly to take a phone call. Where previous outings were tangled, Tyler’s adds a new elegance to his work.

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Like the tangerine orange-splashed cover art, musically Flower Boy feels like the brightest Technicolor incarnation of Tyler we’ve ever seen. Flower Boy, with all its noodly jazz piano chords, qualifies as sophisticated neo-soul. Yet for all the album’s velvety-smooth production, it’s never clear whether we’re seeing the real Tyler. On 911 – Mr. Lonely (which flits dramatically between melancholy and cheerful beatwork): “I’m the loneliest man alive/ But I keep on dancin’ to throw ’em off”.

For long time fans, Tyler’s appeal has never been in his use of controversy; it’s the multiple layers that keep us guessing, trying to get into his headspace. Flower Boy has arrived in the age of wokeness and Tyler has swapped antics for introspection, though still with the same buttonpushing that hooked a whole generation of kids nearly ten years ago.

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flog gnaw W

hen people say music festivals haven’t changed, they all look the same, book the

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same acts, they obviously haven’t been to

Camp Flog Gnaw – a festival with a huge skatepark and a varied yet carefully curated line-up. Started by Tyler in 2012, the festival neatly slides in with the carnival-like “meet-me-by-the-lake” summer camp aesthetic that flows across his music and videos.

When Tyler launched the Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, it was a way to put his Odd Future collective’s raucous approach to hip-hop on full display while marking the close of the group’s tour that year.

Quite a lot has changed since Camp Flog’s inaugural

two day festival and year by year has been evolving its

year. Odd Future’s members have gone from internet

line-up to feature a more diverse and impressive, yet

sensations churning out free mixtapes and quirky

carefully curated by Tyler, selection of artists.The size

YouTube videos to bona-fide rap and R&B stars with a

of talent on display at the festival is matched only by

reach that over the years has included a retail store on

the size of the crowd that attends every year, in 2017

Fairfax Avenue and an Adult Swim series. So it comes

the attendance was over 40,000 people who descended

as no surprise that Camp Flog, now in its sixth year and

upon Exposition Park in Los Angeles.

produced by the rapper alongside festival juggernaut Goldenvoice, has swelled alongside its founder’s

Odd Future’s classic pink doughnut motif can seen

growing commercial ambitions.

almost everywhere and billboards for Tyler’s Golf clothing line, Le Fleur Shoes and his latest album, “Flower Boy,”

Since 2016 Camp Flog Gnaw has been a

hugs the ground’s perimeter.

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Camp Flog’s biggest success, though, wasn’t just distilling Odd Future’s kooky aesthetics for the masses. Ultimately, the festival offered a necessary respite from the weariness of current events. At a time when the world feels constantly on edge, the festival offered escapism at its purest form.

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That’s not to say that the festival is always devoid of seriousness. The bill often features plenty of artists with a lot to say, having previously seen Solange’s meditations on black life, Kehlani’s uplifting manifestoes, Kid Cudi’s honest exploration of mental illness and Brockhampton’s push for inclusiveness, these are all potent reminders that life outside this crazy, colorful carnival isn’t always fun.

At its core, Camp Flog Gnaw is presented as a statement of Tyler’s taste and a summit for those who share it. Competing stacks of performers appear on two stages, the Flog stage and the Camp stage, a hearty walk apart from each other. This means that traversing the grounds is an investment, but with the guarantee that something interesting was happening at the other end.

Even as Tyler outgrows the spastic immaturity that put him in a position to close multi-zero deals with Converse and throw an annual music festival, his hold over the fickle attention of the fans of Flog Gnaw, who are several years his junior represents something of a pop-culture coup.

gnaw

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flog

businessman

Camp Flog Gnaw as a business and money making strategy was a master stroke from Tyler, let’s not forget

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that bold ventures like this would not exist were it not for the fact that they’re capable of bringing in shedloads of money and attention to the brand he’s trying to sell.

Among the attractions that keep people flooding in are the hypnotic rides swaying in the distance, two roughly twelve-foot installations of a giant foot wearing Tyler’s Converse sneaker sprouted from grass patches, and ads for the Golf Wang clothing line appeared on towering LCD screens. There were well-stocked food stands, and a beer tent was sectioned off, equipped with specific entrances and exits, and manned by a fleet of security guards.

By far, the most immense attraction is the carnival’s crowd, which included a few senior citizens and waddling toddlers, and around forty thousand giddy teenagers, coated in expensive streetwear logos and festival merch, or clad in strategically placed fabrics and straps that can be bought from several merchandise locations on site, in fact you’d struggle to find many that hadn’t bought at least one item.

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Visual

W

hen it comes to the world of the visual, Tyler, the Creator’s CV is exceptional

for such a young age considering how many other interests he has in music and fashion.

Since his solo career started in 2009 he has directed the vast majority of his music videos for his own work, a feat uncommon among musicians today. In addition to this he has released several documentarty films that he directed to accompany the making of his three most recent albums, Wolf, Cherry Bomb and Flower Boy. He has also released a film accompanying Wolf, which tells the story of the album, he created, wrote and directed the film under the name Wolf Haley.

Tyler has also created, writen, directed and starred in three different TV series, starting with Odd Future’s Loiter Squad (2012-2014), a

Jackass-style clip show on Adult Swim, Nuts + Bolts (2017) a Viceland series that focuses on things Tyler finds interesting or is passionate about, and explains how they are created and The Jellies (2017), an adult animated sitcom which follows a family of anthropomorphic jellyfish and their 16-year-old human son Cornell.

Tyler continues to surprise his audience with every project he embarks on, visually he’s still got a lot left in the tank.

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Loiter

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O

dd Future’s Adult Swim comedy show, Loiter

To some degree, to fully make sense of the show

Squad, is an odd, surreal sprint through

requires a knowledge of the history of “black humour”.

the mind of a millennial brain with ADD. In

Writing about Richard Pryor in The New Yorker in 1999,

weekly 15-minute-long increments, produced by Johnny

Hilton Als described one of the fundamental difficulties

Knoxville’s Dickhouse Productions, Tyler, Lionel, Taco,

faced by black artists playing for white audiences:

Jasper Dolphin, Earl Sweatshirt, and a rotating cast of

“The subject of blackness has taken a strange and

other Odd Future members and affiliates make a case for

unsatisfying journey through American thought: first,

the unlikely brilliance of the collective’s kinetic teen-boy

because blackness has almost always had to explain

ethos.

itself to a largely white audience in order to be heard, and, second, because it has generally been assumed to

The show ran for 3 seasons between 2012 and 2014

have only one story to tell—a story of oppression that

and features mostly a mashup of wild sketch scenarios,

plays on liberal guilt.” Als cites Pryor as an exception to

Jackass-style slapstick, and terroristic on-the-street

this reality.

humour interspersed with social commentary so astute it often seems impossible. Sketches and improvised

Following in the great comedian’s footsteps was

scenes form no real narrative. Instead, they’re linked

Dave Chappelle, whose clashes with whiteness led

together by quick cuts of Odd Future’s Tyler-guided

him to famously quit his own show. One of the lasting

brand of Internet art: a psychedelic cat here, a green

qualities of Chappelle’s Show was its uncommon way of

screen of the cosmos there. Frankly, Loiter Squad makes

presenting, and engaging with, blackness as something

no sense. But its lack of linear continuity is its defining

complex and capable of self-awareness. Loiter Squad,

characteristic: a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgment that

whether by accident or design, exists in the same

life is weird and crazy and impossible to make sense

tradition.

of, especially for a group of young black boys with the budget, audience, and balls to do pretty much whatever they want.

importance/ relevance

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Loiter Below: Promotional poster for the second season of Loiter Squad, 2013

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Though Tyler consistently bucks the importance of

must make themselves and their humour palatable to

race, instead trotting out the misguidedly utopian but

anyone but each other. If you get it, you get it. If you

ultimately dangerous myth of post-racialism, there is

don’t, it’s not for you.

something essentially black in the series: it stars five black men who are also its masterminds. Discussions

A hilarious reference to rapper Joe Budden’s turn on the

of race and racism on Loiter Squad, like on Chappelle’s

VH1 reality show Love and Hip Hop, for example, does

Show, tend to magnify just how ridiculous America’s

not come with an explainer; it is intended for a specific

legacy with race has been, relying more on absurdism

sliver of audience. In fact, Love and Hip Hop is a cultural

than anger as the basis of its humour. The recurring

reference so black and niche that Saturday Night Live’s

police sketch, for instance, in which human-sized rats

Jay Pharaoh recently said, on an episode of the podcast

and cigars are victimized by the cops, treats police

“The Champs,” that it could never exist on SNL, whose

brutality and corruption poignantly through caricature.

white audience dictates the form that blackness that can take. Like much of Loiter Squad, the sketch is an inside

It’s a spirit summed up on Odd Future’s 2011 cri de

joke broadcast nationally.

guerre, “Radicals”: “Fuck your traditions, fuck your positions/Fuck your religion, fuck your decisions/

Aesthetically, Loiter Squad more resembles Jackass, but

See, they’re not mine, so you gotta let ‘em go/See,

it accomplishes something much closer to Chappelle’s

we can be ourselves, but you gotta let us know,” Tyler

Show.

raps earnestly. The crew live by those words, actively shaking off the dogmas and traumas of their parents’

In a recurring sketch, Tyler plays ‘Young Nigga’, a

generation. More than solemn anxiety over the word

debaucherous rapper who happily plays into the genre’s

“nigger” and images of police dogs and water cannons,

money, guns, women stereotype. Young Nigga has

their approach to and discussions of racism are more

friends with bazookas, and a llama for a pet. Tyler’s

informed by the mania that surrounded the Rodney

caricature of the rapper is some of his best work: “I

King riots and the OJ Simpson trial, the latter of which

spent a lot of money, I’m happy/I smoked a fuck nigga,

has provided us with two decades’ worth of comedic

I’m happy/I fucked a Thotiana, I’m happy/I just bought a

material.

Bugatti, I’m happy” he raps, in imitation of the currently trendy staccato flow, on a track featuring viral Vine star

While many black comedians have historically been

Ice JJ Fish. But the joke functions at a higher level than

tasked with explaining blackness to their audiences,

it appears to: it’s not just the ignorant, money-obsessed

the Loiter Squad gang, partly because they belong to

rapper who is being lampooned, but also the essentially

a generation whose understanding of race borders on

American assumption that to be black is something

denying its existence, dismisses the notion that they

inherently pitiable. Perfect and perfectly absurd.

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As the main creative force behind the show it’s no surprise that Tyler has writing credits on all 31 episodes of Loiter Squad, in addition to this Tyler composed the playful theme tune to the show “I Like Cheese” The show was produced by Dickhouse Productions for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming block during its first and second seasons. Season three’s production shifted to Gorilla Flicks, a new company founded by Dickhouse producer Jeff Tremaine. The show was originally going to be named Blackass, a portmanteau of the TV series Jackass and the fact that most of the cast is black. This was however, changed to the title’s current variation of Loiter Squad. It was not until September 8, 2011 that the show was finally confirmed as a 15-minute live action show composed of various sketches, man on the street segments, pranks and music made by Odd Future.

On July 14, 2015, Tyler, the Creator confirmed that the show was “no more,” stating, “It opened the doors up for other things that my boys want to do. That was a great thing, but we’re off that.”

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Nuts + I

n a rather unexpected move, Tyler, the

Star, the Converse Golf Le Fleur, which he

Creator announced in June 2017 that he

went on to release on his GOLF WANG fashion

would be releasing a new show titled Nuts

label.

+ Bolts which would focus on Tyler himself

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exploring the things he loves and the ways

The third episode sees Tyler visit Crown Maple

they work, with the help of experts and

to learn where maple syrup comes from by

personal heroes.

exploring the woods and extracting his own maple syrup and creates his own breakfast

The series featured six episodes and

sushi.

premiered on Viceland in August of 2017. The

In the fourth episode, we see Tyler meet

first episode of the series includes the rapper

several geniuses like Neil DeGrasse Tyson in

interviewing the creative minds behind the

the hopes of finding a way to float while on

long-running Adult Swim stop-motion series

earth.

“Robot Chicken,� as well as new footage showing how Tyler and fellow Odd Future

Episode five sees Tyler use his love of speed

member Jasper created their own claymation

to try and create the ultimate electric go-kart.

film.

The season finale sees Tyler visit Herman In the second episode, Tyler visits the

Miller furniture to find out about how several

Converse shoe factory, learning how all the

design classics were produced on the way

classic shoes were made, what Converse

to designing a two-storey bed to fit into his

pioneered and eventually going on to create

house.

his own version of the classic Converse One

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Throughout the 6-episode season he meets with people

+ Bolts titled “Breakfast” he asks Professor Andrew F.

within the industry of what he’s trying to create in an

Smith, “What came first: the waffle or the waffle-maker?”

attempt to understand the ins and outs.

Later on in the episode he asks the COO of Crown Maple if he’s read the Facebook of a tree to make sure

While meeting these people and trying out different

it’s ok. What’s great is that Tyler isn’t worried about

things may have been eye-opening for Tyler, as a viewer

being prim and proper when talking to these people, he’s

the most interesting aspects of Nuts + Bolts for me

unapologetically himself.

are his interactions, and seeing how Tyler works with his fascination and imagination to create something

Tyler’s actions show that too. For example, in his

tangible.

episode about floating he claims to have to shown up to the sleep-deprivation chamber drunk (despite the

In terms of interactions, his commentary is important.

fact that it’s well documented that he doesn’t drink).

His commentary is his interaction with the audience.

In the episode Tyler and Neil deGrasse Tyson hug and

It lets us know that he’s not really a fan of water or the

fall into their seats while doing so,and continue their

dark, in addition to a number of other things. Sometimes

conversation about floating as if nothing happened.

his commentary is just a place for emotion. At times he’s hype, other times slightly hesitant and inquisitive. His

The thing that can be learned from the show above all is

commentary also simply reminds us that Tyler is Tyler.

that this is essentially how Tyler’s brain works, it gives a great insight to his creative processes and how it could

His conversations with the people he’s learning from remind us of this as well. In the fourth episode of Nuts

apply to all the other projects he’s done in his career.

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T

yler, The Creator tends to attract a lot of personal

The show was originally conceived by Tyler and Odd

readings of his work. Partly, that’s because the

Future’s Lionel Boyce for the GOLF Media app, where

material is highly personal, and because it’s

the first season aired, but it’s since been picked up Adult

so heavily driven by his public persona. So there’s a

Swim.

temptation to engage in a semi-autobiographical reading of The Jellies!, the animated series Tyler created with

The Jellies! are a buffoonish version of your standard

Loiter Squad collaborator Lionel Boyce, especially given

sitcom family: Barry, the goofy father, spends too

the premise of the show: teen boy Cornell (voiced by Phil

much money on blenders and belly button tattoos and

LaMarr), who looks a bit like Tyler himself, discovers he’s

commiserates with his friends at the bar; Debbie, the

adopted, kicking off a quest to find himself.

mother, is an angry drunk willing to be won over by grand displays of affection; and brilliant older sister

But there’s little to nothing resembling the father-directed

KY mostly sneers at her brother while dating a Carl

angst and anger that defined Tyler’s early work, at least

Sagan lookalike. The Jellies! is packed with an almost

not in the episodes made available to critics. Outside

obscene density of pop-culture references, including one

of a quick photo of Barry and Debbie Jelly seeming to

sequence that bounces from the music video for Tupac’s

find baby Cornell in a dumpster, there’s no reference to

“Brenda’s Got A Baby” to 16 And Pregnant to Catfish to

the adoption at all. In fact, in the original version of The

True Life, all at Family Guy-level speeds.

Jellies! that streamed on Tyler’s Golf Media app, Cornell was white—his race was changed in part because,

There are jokes about everything from the iconic blue

in Tyler’s words, “How many fucking black cartoon

and purple “Jazz” pattern to the aging of ’90s R&B icons

characters are on TV right now?”

to the Watts Riots. (One episode takes place largely in a retirement home for ’90s celebrities operated by a

“So I said fuck that,” Tyler continued. “He ain’t got no

robotic Coolio.) Tyler’s musical ability helps the jokes

guns, he ain’t shooting no fucking basketball, and he

immensely—he does the score himself, and his capacity

a fucking goober, and we’re gonna put him on TV. And

to do spot-on parodies (and the occasional original song

he’s the lead character, he ain’t the comic relief, he ain’t

snippet) makes The Jellies! worth a viewing for fans of

the sidekick, he the lead.”

his music career.

“He ain’t got no guns, he ain’t shooting no fucking basketball, and he a fucking goober, and we’re gonna put him on TV”

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And underneath the layers of gags, The Jellies! has a warm heart, somewhere. The Xzibit episode begins like an obnoxiously bad sitcom, with Cornell trying to make sure his friend finds a date to homecoming and going full Mrs. Doubtfire, becoming a girl named Jamila. There are a thousand ways this could go horribly wrong, but the complete lack of irony or attempt to “say” anything with the episode makes it feel almost childishly kind and specific. Cornell’s unexamined, unwavering sweetness is reminiscent of something that has been a part of Tyler’s persona for years but has only recently risen to the surface.

The rest of the world around the Jellies has a bit more definition than you might expect from a show relying solely on the next joke. That might partly be because of the Golf Media run, which gave Tyler and Boyce time to hone the characters and tone they’re going for. But

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it’s also because the jokes rack up in a way that feels specific, and representative of one, broader worldview.

Cornell’s dorky friends wear matching shirts to rep their

Put another way: There are more than a few superficial

crew, and giving Reggie, one of his white friends, the

similarities between The Jellies! and Bojack Horseman.

booming, distinctive voice of Kevin Michael Richardson feels like a gag that would only have come out of this creative team.

Both shows feature disillusioned celebrities, lovable idiots, and anthropomorphic animals running for office (In Bojack, Mr. Peanutbutter runs for governor, while in The Jellies a whale named Mervin decides to run for mayor after an unfortunate incident with a “no shirt no service” policy at the mall.) But where every scrap of kindness and faith in humanity on Bojack is won through pain and misery, The Jellies is almost pathologically sunny.

There’s a lot to be said for brevity in TV at the moment.

With so many options, and so many series demanding at least four or five hours before they “get good,” something like Neo Yokio, which wraps up an entire season in six half-hour episodes, is refreshing almost regardless of its quality. In that respect, The Jellies! has more than enough going for it to justify watching a few 12-minute episodes, especially when each episode is guaranteed a least a couple of laughs.

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nspiring a legion of kids just like him to take things into their own hands, Tyler has remained in control of his vision from

day one. That extends to his videos, which he helms under the guise of Wolf Haley.

Capturing plenty of attention through his gruesome, goofy, and often hilarious videos, Tyler has matured as both a musician and a director since gaining infamy.

Far

Wolf

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removed

“Yonkers”

from

video,

his

the

confrontational

work

has

gotten

increasingly vibrant and colorful, reflecting the sounds his music have taken on as of late. His early efforts definitely showed promise, creating something striking but also provocative, but he’s only getting better over time. His “Who Dat Boy” video, however, pays tribute to his early work with some more grotesque elements while remaining true to his progression. It’s the perfect combination of the artist who genuinely provoked listeners and the artist Tyler is now, continuing to challenge himself on all fronts.

Haley 115

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Though music videos are an important creative outlet for hip-hop artists, few videos are actually made by the artists they feature. Tyler, The Creator is not only an exception to this rule, but proof that the rule need not be followed.

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Fabric

A

s we watched Tyler progress, his famous personality has taken shifted from an

angry, skate rat, hilariously outspoken artist to a less angry, possibly gay, still hilarious, and outspoken creative with many projects to his name. He’s produced everything from music content to television shows, but perhaps the most surprising avenue that Tyler has taken has been his fashion-forward direction, branding himself as a designer.

In 2011, Odd Future opened a pop-up store in Los Angeles that lasted a successful month. The store served as an opener and introduction for Golf Wang’s official lookbook. The company sells clothing, which is designed by Tyler. The name is a spoonerism of Wolf Gang. Collections are usually released twice a year, for Spring/Summer and for Fall/ Winter.

As he’s expanded from T-shirts to surprisingly classy velour tracksuits, brightly colored fur, and delicate gold earrings, he’s made the aesthetic tighter and more grown-up while still retaining that outsider, skate rat feeling.

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T

yler’s influence in fashion spans an incredibly

like London, Berlin, Tokyo, and lined up for hours to try

long way back. He’s had a central role in

cop a rare piece and get a glimpse of the crew.

building both the Odd Future brand, from

When Golf Wang was launched in 2011, many weren’t

designing OF-branded socks to starting the yearly Camp

sure of the distinction between it and the Odd Future

Flognaw, and his own Golf Wang line.

line. Tyler was involved in both, and they shared so many of the same visual aspects. Things were clarified

Practically as soon as Odd Future released their debut

in October of 2014, when Tyler confirmed on Twitter that

mixtape, in 2010, Tyler and the collective set about

he hadn’t been involved in Odd Future’s designs since

making themselves masters of merch. In November of

2012.

2011, Odd Future opened a month-long, Los Angeles pop-up that ended up becoming a permanent streetwear

The same year he proclaimed his love for having total

fixture on the prestigeous Fairfax Avenue in LA. The

creative control. “Everyone started designing their own

store hosted garments featuring their signature donuts,

shit, so I started my baby, Golf Wang. Every design, the

dolphins, and cat graphics, all tie-dyed and emblazoned

way the photos are shot, the way the site is….because

onto streetwear silhouettes. It was also home to Tyler’s

I’m the boss. I’ve never said that before. I don’t like

newly founded line, Golf Wang, which released its first

saying that; I like being regular. But I call the shots. I am

official lookbook, “Holiday 1991” that December. The

my reality. Everything with T is fucking what he wanted.”

lookbook featured the OF crew running around a theme park decked out in pastel colors, all over prints, and

After becoming an integral part of the Fairfax scene the

carrying OFWGKTA skateboard decks.

Odd Future store shut down in in late 2014, reportedly due to landlord issues. Though plans were made to re-

The OF Tape Vol. 2 came out the next year and launched

open, as of yet the store has not relocated. In its time,

a worldwide tour for the collective. With each tour date

the pop-up became the physical embodiment of the

came a pop-up shop; fans came out in droves in places

community that Odd Future and Tyler built.

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Wang

Golf Wang 122

It makes sense that Tyler, The Creator values

Tyler was arrested for inciting riots at SXSW

his creative position so highly when so much

in 2014, and he’s been banned from England,

of himself goes into his brand. Tyler has

New Zealand, and Australia for “posing a

always embraced the idea of wearing what

threat to public order.” His clothes are not

you want, and doing you, and his designs are

immune from controversy either. In Golf

more about pushing his own style to the limits

Wang’s Spring/Summer collection from 2015,

than pandering to current trends. One example

Tyler repurposed a Neo-Nazi symbol to make

is Tyler’s collaboration with Vans — which,

an anti-racism, anti-homophobia graphic,

considering how synonymous Tyler is with Old

though this time he explained his intentions in

Skools, is as natural as brand collaborations

detail on his Tumblr post. The original ‘White

can get. Having partnered every year since

Pride WorldWide’ symbol became ‘Golf Wang

2013, Golf Wang’s Vans and Vans Syndicate

WorldWide’ with the addition of a rainbow flag.

collaborations have become progressively

This was coupled with a promotional picture of

more ‘Tyler’ with each release. As the colors

Tyler and a model holding hands that Tyler felt

get brighter, the checkerboard patterns

“HAS to piss off the guys who takes this logo

become more prominent, and the clashes

serious.” Tyler explained, his re-appropriation

stronger, it’s clear he’s a designer becoming

of hateful words imagery are attempting to

more comfortable and confident with every

“take the power out of something.”

iteration.

Most recently, Tyler has been showing how In an interview with Vogue Tyler explained his

he feels about the upcoming presidential

process; “I just make whatever clothes I want

election, releasing two election themed

to wear for the next five months and then run

T-shirts — one pro-Bernie and the other

that. I don’t really put deep, intricate thought

anti-Trump. With the latter, Tyler slammed the

into it, it’s more like a feeling.” He’s putting

Republican candidate, showing him grinning,

everything that is quintessentially himself into

with a Hitler mustache, above the dates of the

Golf Wang, his color palettes, his energy and

next presidential term and the inscription “we

his controversies.

fucked up.”

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Golf Wang

Controversies aside, as time has gone on, Tyler’s designs have matured. As he’s expanded from T-shirts to surprisingly classy velour tracksuits, brightly coloured fur, and delicate gold earrings, he’s made the aesthetic tighter and more grown-up while still retaining that outsider, skate rat feeling. He says that “the more I travel, the older I get, shit changes. I know I will be making suits in the future. I’ll make a pair of boots in the future. I’ll be making some old dude stuff in the future.”

A huge moment in the clothing line’s history was Golf’s first fashion show, named Golf 2016, was held on June 11, 2016, and was attended by Kanye West, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Kendall Jenner, and YG among others.

Tyler’s clothing line combines the loose fits of hip-hop and skate styles alongside prim collegiate silhouettes, all in bursting primary shades and soaked with repeating patterns bearing Golf Wang insignia. The flat-brimmed caps, striped polos, and high-water cuffs, childlike in their slants and sags, insist upon their early-nineties influence,

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the formative years when street wear first began to take shape, and when many of the models in the show were young enough to still be dressed like miniature versions of their parents. The clothes bear a strong hand, and seem intent to stand out against even the most closely comparable lines. “The difference between me and these niggas is that I make what I like,” Tyler explained, of his design choices, in subtle criticism of predictable looks that bow to seasonal trends or the Web-driven menswear community. If producing what you “like” in spite of a market demand is an act of insubordination, then shifting tastes can be considered a marker of progress, and a fashion presentation a vehicle for protest. The Golf Wang runway, flanked by a clear blue sky, pillow-sized sunflowers, and patches of fake grass, was just short of a rainbow; models of various ages, races, and body types cruised around a summer vacation on mini bikes and skateboards. Fans swarmed the stage at the show’s end, tearing off keepsakes and trying out the six-foot-tall chairs fashioned after Coke cans. The Golf Wang pieces do not aspire to practicality: they are meant to be the loudest items in your closet, statement pieces delivered with a shriek, barely palatable, but impossible to ignore.

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I

n 2016 Tyler announced the release of his new sneaker line, Golf Le Fleur, a collaboration with Converse after years of partnership with Vans, a move he described as “taking a leap”. Announced at Golf 2016 he explained from the stage. “But I just realized, black people don’t really own shit. So I said, fuck royalty checks, I’ma start my own shit, and if it fails, it fails. I decided to start my own shoe company and shit,” he continued. “It’s Golf Le Fleur in fucking French, and it means ‘flower boy.’ I like flowers.”

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The most impressive thing about the Golf Le Fleur is not actually the shoe itself, but the way it’s advertised. Adverts for the shoe usually feature bright colours, stunning pastel shades and more often than not a scene featuring some kind of action sport or comical scenario, harking back to some of Tyler’s early influences.

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t’s important to note that Tyler has always, since finding

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fame, been seen as a stylish role model for the children of today. Although Supreme was already a decently

large brand, it’s known by many streetwear enthusiasts that he has definitely made the brand more popular, and even Tyler himself believes this to be true. After the rising prominence of the LA-based musician, Supreme box logo hoodies were even more highly coveted by streetwear enthusiasts.

Tyler’s fashion sense has always been flashy and colorful.

Inspired by skateboarding, you can almost always see Tyler wearing an outfit of crazy patterns, complete with slim shorts and skateboarding shoes.

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Arguably, Tyler’s style today is even more out there than when he first hit the headlines at the turn of the decade.

Nearly ten years later and he’s still turning heads for all the right reasons, every time you see him what he’s wearing is completely different from the last time you saw him, somehow he has managed to mature radically with his wardrobe but by still wearing stuff that before him, no one else was wearing.