Let’s get into it!ĭue to its free online release and lack of retail availability, Bastard is commonly considered a mixtape, although Tyler himself refers to the project as his debut album. You will probably think one album is ranked too low, but hey – this is OUR list and this is what WE think.
His sixth studio album, Call Me If You Get Lost ( 2021), was released on June 25, 2021, to widespread critical acclaim.]įor this list, we have ranked Tyler’s six studio albums, plus his debut mixtape – because Tyler himself considers it an album too. His fifth album, Igor (2019), was also acclaimed by critics, it became Tyler’s first number-one album on the Billboard 200, and won Best Rap Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. His fourth album, Flower Boy (2017) was met with widespread acclaim. He released the albums Wolf in 2013 and Cherry Bomb in 2015, the latter of which was considered to be a contrast from his previous releases as he experimented with a more melody-focused and jazz-fused sound. With his gritty, horrorcore-influenced earlier releases, Tyler was often criticized for his use of homophobic and misogynistic slurs in his lyrics. After releasing his debut studio album Goblin via XL Recordings in April 2011, he signed a joint deal with RED Distribution and Sony Music Entertainment for himself and his label Odd Future Records. During the first listen, you might think that this is just another album with the same ol’ Tyler on it, but after a couple of times through, the growth is impossible to miss.[ Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), better known as Tyler, the Creator, is a Californian rapper, musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, visual artist, designer, and comedian. He rose to prominence in the early 2010s as the co-founder and de facto leader of alternative Hip Hop collective Odd Future and has performed on and produced songs for nearly every Odd Future release.įollowing a large contribution to Odd Future’s early work, Tyler released his debut solo mixtape Bastard in 2009. However juvenile it may be at times, Wolf is the most imaginative hip-hop album to be released in years. Jasper Dolphin is on it, delivering his standard less-than-stellar, but entertaining, performance, along with Taco and Left Brain in the hook. and it is probably the closest thing to trap-rap that Tyler will ever release. That’s followed by the Wocka Flocka-esque “Trashwang,” which sounds like something off the collective’s The OF Tape Vol. Earl Sweatshirt and Domo Genesis jump in with Tyler on “Rusty,” which has some of the hardest verses on the album.
Of course there are also more upbeat tracks with other members of the OF collective. Every track has an entirely different concept attached to it, and you really have to have a willing suspension of disbelief to get into them. Then on “Pigs” he raps from the perspective of a bullied mass shooter (think Eminem’s character from “Brain Damage” all grown up) as police sirens wail in the background. He continues that thought on “Slater” when he goes on to discuss women over a more relaxed, snare-filled track as he rides his bike around town. “I f-–g hate you / but I love you / I’m bad at keeping my emotions bubbled,” raps Tyler on “IFHY,” as he explains his passive aggressive and jealous tendencies over a heavy drum track and somber organ line that manages to perfectly match his lyrics. Bastard brought issues to light, Goblin celebrated them, and now Wolf is attempting to solve them. There is a clear progression within his work. It’s easy to forget that Tyler is an introvert at heart because he’s been in the spotlight and bumping from the stereos of outcast kids for three years now. Tyler can masterfully pull out these deep, dark emotions from his music that everyone has felt and put them into words. Tyler is known for being a brash, ignorant punk who can’t seem to sit still or keep his mouth shut, but Wolf reminds listeners why they started paying attention to him years ago. His invented therapist from previous releases Bastard and Goblin doesn’t make an appearance, but it seems Tyler is comfortable taking on these deep-rooted issues on his own now.
A collection of misanthropic confessions and, of course, riddled with vulgar humor, Wolf dives into Tyler’s insecurities about fame, relationships with women and his broken childhood. The eccentric, foul-mouthed Odd Future ringleader is still rapping without a filter, but he seems to be more focused in his third release (as focused as he can be, at least). Tyler, the Creator has outdone himself with Wolf, which sounds like his most engrossing work yet.