Call Me If You Get Lost - Tyler, The Creator
Intro:
Tyler, The Creator is one of the greatest artists to come out of the past decade. He’s continued to evolve as both a rapper & producer throughout his discography. The California native is back with this new DJ Drama hosted album. It’s one of the first major album releases of the year, & seems to be one of Tyler’s most successful albums yet. Let’s see if the album lives up to it’s hype.
Strengths:
On first listen,The album initially felt like a victory lap to me. There’s lots of bragging & boasting in Tyler’s lyrics; mainly topics revolving around money, status & vehicles. There’s also a love triangle present on the album. Despite all he has earned, he still can’t get the woman he truly wants (Ex: Wilshire). Tyler is vocally pro-black & it can be heard on songs like “Manifesto” & “Lumberjack”. His maturity is a major element to the album:
“Yeah, when I turned twenty-three that's when pubеrty finally hit me”
Lyrically, Tyler is rapping the best he ever has in his career (Ex: Hot Wind Blows). There’s a lot less shock value in his lyrics, yet still remains outlandish at the right times. His flow is extremely versatile, and he’s able to make his deep voice fit over many different styles. Songs like “Wusyaname” & “Lumberjack” showcase a very New York/Dipset vibe. There’s the song “Wilshire” where his delivery reminds me of Drake. For the most part though, he’s rapping similarly to his earlier work (except improved & with elements of New Tyler).
Strengths (Continued):
The production on this album is amazing and mainly comes from Tyler himself. It was noticeably more similar to his Odd Future/Wolf sound, but still had elements of his other work. There are still instances where Tyler utilizes his signature analog synths, quirky sounds & luscious chords (among other instruments). I appreciated his style combined with the reggae/island sound on the song “Sweet”. He even makes quite a few legitimate bangers: RunItUp, Lemonhead, Juggernaut.
The more traditional/boom bap songs reminded me of a lot of Griselda, Earl Sweatshirt & Madlib’s work. There are lots of dusty drums & beautifully vintage samples used on those beats. Feature wise, I think everyone did an excellent job for the most part. Specifically, the trap artists such as NBA Youngboy & 42 Dugg execute their guest appearances perfectly. Brent Faiyaz sounds majestic on their collab, and Pharell bodies his verse on Juggernaut alongside Lil Uzi Vert. Lil Wayne easily has the best verse on the entire album though:
“The wind beneath my wings, Desert Eagle underneath my coat” ~ Lil Wayne
Overall:
I could understand why some would argue this to be Tyler’s best album so far. While I think it’s way too early to tell, it definitely lives up to highly acclaimed albums like Flower Boy & Igor. He proves that he’s one of the most important artists in the genre, and is entering his peak. I look forward to whatever he plans on releasing next. Thank you all for reading and be sure to listen to the project yourself with the link below.
