Worst To Best: Tyler, The Creator (List)
What up world. Sky Bento here once again on the check in. Hope you & yours are doing well, drinking water, protecting your mental health, knowing the vibes & all that. It’s been a year since Tyler the Creator dropped his Gangsta Grillz masterpiece Call Me If You Get Lost. What a surprise it was to get that project, but surprises are nothing new for Tyler. He came up off the same shock value rap that made Eminem a household name back in the late 90s. But that wasn’t shocking enough, so Tyler continued to forge his own path, pushing both himself and our culture forward into unexpected territory. And what a discography he has created. So I figure what better time than now to reflect on Wolf Haley’s career and rank the projects like we’ve done with Kanye, Drake, and Kendrick before him. So without further ado, I bring you Worst To Best: Tyler the Creator edition. Let’s get it.
Before we start, this is just my opinion and does not reflect the views of TDN as a label, staff, or as a m************ crew. Feel free to crucify me on Twitter @plzsaythebento if you think I’m wrong.
7. Bastard
Now as a journalist myself, I’m familiar with a few rankings of Tyler’s projects that have been floating around the internet and usually Goblin ranks as his worst project with Bastard just narrowly beating it out. Those rankings are wrong. This ranking is right. Bastard is Tyler’s first project, and you can tell. While there is definitely substance to Bastard (arguably more than Goblin), it just lacks the high highs that literally every other Tyler project has. This may be a bit more personal than his next album, but the rawness and questionable lyrics make it much more a product of its time than any other products of its time. Overall, the production is good even if the overall package does play out a bit repetitive. Can't say it's not cohesive.
6. Goblin
Goblin has “She” featuring Frank Ocean. That alone makes it better than Bastard. Goblin was Tyler’s breakthrough project. “Yonkers” shifted culture. This was really a moment for Tyler & the Odd Future camp as they had fully officially arrived as blog era critical darlings. The neo-soul & R&B influences are a bit more pronounced with records like “Analog”. Overall this album isn’t as raw and punchy as Bastard, while still being more raw & punchy than pretty much every other Tyler project. Like much of the early Odd Future work, Goblin packed sheer energy. This is exactly why this is so low on the list. But again, this album has “She” and fleshes out the Dr. TC concept a bit more than Bastard. Other notable tracks include “Tron Cat” & “Sandwitches” which have the same “F*CK EVERYTHING” kind of energy as Tyler’s debut, but where that album maintained the nuance of a rebellious teen whose father has walked out on him this record just carries over and expects you to already have understood that nuance - meaning it focuses just on being loud and harsh. The dialed back approach makes way for more of Tyler’s influences to shine through.
5. Cherry Bomb
Speaking of raw & punchy albums, this has got it in spades. This is Tyler’s punk rock diversion and his most N.E.R.D-inspired work yet. The mixing is very harsh and I would consider it extremely influential when you consider the Soundcloud era that followed this work often shares a lot of aesthetic similarities with this album particularly. This album is extremely polarizing and marks a huge turning point in Tyler’s career. Everything before this was rowdy and extremely representative of what Odd Future was doing. Everything after this is a brilliant display of musicianship. But this right here was what led to the shift. Tyler pushed himself structurally with a lot of these records and the incredible musicianship he’d later fully focus on was starting to leak out more and more like with records like “FIND YOUR WINGS”. I still love “DEATHCAMP”, the intro where Tyler raps his ass off a over a distorted electric guitar loop. “SMUCKERS” is one of the far too few Kanye/Weezy collaborations. Tyler still had a lot to prove with and after this project, but as always he made a project based on his own tastes and true to himself. This album is a masterclass in texture and while many point to it as Tyler’s worse album, the lack of questionable lyrical content compared to his earlier work make it a much more enjoyable listen.
4. Wolf
From this point forward, we’re going to only be talking about Tyler’s best projects. Wolf was the natural evolution of those first few Tyler projects, and completes a bit of a trilogy. This one doesn’t rely on the Dr. TC narrative like the others, instead focusing on a narrative surrounding a group of boys at camp. Answer is touching. “Bimmer” is incredible. “IFHY”, “Domo23”, “Awkward”, “Parking Lot”, “Treehome95”.. Tyler was beginning to spread his wings. The versatility on display is so dope that it actually held fans over who were let down by Cherry Bomb. If it weren’t for how good this album was, Cherry Bomb might’ve marked the end for Tyler in the eye of the public. That speaks to how good this project is, musically. One of the better rap albums of 2013.
3. FLOWER BOY
Originally titled “SCUM F*** FLOWER BOY”, this is Tyler’s first widely accepted great project. Tyler came out with this project and utilized the metaphor of the flower to great effect both literally and aesthetically. “See You Again” was the first time Tyler had a radio single. “Who Dat Boy” brought him & A$AP Rocky together for the first time. “911” might be the best of Tyler’s track 10 multi-song outings. “Pothole” got a very 90’s hip-hop kinda chorus. This album is really Tyler’s manifesto and perfectly encapsulates everything he’s always been about. Self-acceptance. Living on your own terms. It also retroactively changes how his previous work can be enjoyed and perceived, since a lot of his homophobic lyrics now have a sense of self-hatred to them and his discography looks more like a battle of self-acceptance because of it. This album took Tyler from a creative outlier to one of the most exciting men in music. In contrast to Tyler’s earlier work, this album is shorter, more cohesive, and uses features more as a seasoning to Tyler’s main dish, a trait that would carry on over to every project he’s released since. Lyrically, he left behind the brash persona and reinvented himself in a new light. Less rebellion, more freedom. After years of grappling with an own need for acceptance, he’d finally accepted himself and in doing so reached new heights musically. Heights that many artists who have come up behind Tyler (pause) have still struggled to match.
2. Call Me If You Get Lost
Released just a year ago, Tyler’s Gangsta Grillz pipe dream came to full fruition. At this point, Tyler had become such a huge name that you could hardly consider him an outsider anymore. He’d released a non-rap album that won a Grammy for best rap album, worked with and befriended most of his idols (Pharrell, Kanye West, etc.), and done the soundtrack for Illumination’s 2018 remake of The Grinch. He had officially trancended rap. So what he do now? Go back to rap. Call Me If You Get Lost is a love letter to the genre that made Tyler, regardless of how far he’s expanded outside of it. There is greater musicality on this album (see “SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE” for more) than just rapping over other beats like the mixtape Tyler initially intended the project as, but what’s really amazing his how Tyler brings it altogether while rapping his ass off. I’m serious, this is the best Tyler has ever rapped. This project made Tyler the Creator my favorite rapper of 2021. He brought along artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Brent Faiyaz, NBA YoungBoy, 42 Dugg, and more. He even reunited with Odd Future heavy hitter Domo Genesis after years of the OF talents having split and gone their separate ways. Hearing DJ Drama yell “OF” on the track in its own was exciting. While not as narratively structured as some of Tyler’s other work, what keeps this album together is a sense of self. Tyler is extravagant and bragging like a rapper do, sure, but more importantly he’s bragging about things he cares about. He’s bragging about the little things in life compared to other MCs. And he’s not just stunting on listeners, this is an experience meant to encourage you to go on your own journey. Not to get lost in Tyler’s world, but to find your own way. It’s just all tied together with the aesthetics of Tyler’s world. Best rap album of 2021. Classic. Should’ve went triple.
1. IGOR
Speaking of RAP ALBUMS, how on-brand is it that Tyler’s best album isn’t one? Tyler has always operated outside of hip-hop’s bubble and done things on his own terms entirely but this? This might be the biggest leap we’ve seen a rapper take since Kanye’s own 808’s & Heartbreak. After coming out on his previous album, he created another character (as he does) and made one of the greatest breakup albums of the last decade. The way he used pitch-shifting (not auto-tune) and background vocalists to hold up his “shaky” singing voice gives IGOR this uniquely Tyler aesthetic as he takes us through the journey of falling in love, questioning love, and of course the aches and breaks that follow. This album is Tyler’s best album because it succeeds at everything a listening experience should. From the transitions, to the concise nature of it, unified themes and aesthetics, even the way the album loops pretty much seamlessly. 12 tracks, 40 minutes, every emotion experienced is put on full vulnerable display. The moment you press play, it transports you directly into Tyler’s heart by way of his mind. Tyler’s mixes have always been a point of contention, but the texture of this record feels every bit as warped as reality is when you’re in love. Every synth stab, bass riff, drum loop feels straight out of an actual romantic relationship. I haven’t even mentioned any individual songs yet, that’s how well put together this project is. “EARFQUAKE” is probably the biggest hit of Tyler’s career thus far. “I THINK” is so danceable it’s hard to believe Tyler made it (at the time). Jerrod Carmichael’s narration throughout brings the album back down to Earth. “A BOY IS A GUN” is a rap song, but has the vibe of old soul to it that gives it an intense vulnerability despite Tyler’s bravado and pride putting up a wall around his own voice. “NEW MAGIC WAND”, “PUPPET”, “GONE GONE”. No skips to be found anywhere. If you can’t tell, I love this album. I’m a sucker for rappers trying something new when it actually works, and with what Tyler’s done with his other work defies genre. Instead, this one DEFINES genre. And the genre is Tyler. I have a feeling we’re gonna see the influence of this record in years to come, much like with 808’s. Or maybe Tyler will make something new that trumps this out in every way. Only time will tell. But until then, IGOR is not just Tyler’s best album or the best album of 2019. IGOR is one of the greatest breakup albums I’ve ever heard.