By Jeremy Binning
Tyler, The Creator, has been in the lives of young adults since he burst into the scene in early 2009 with the release of his debut mixtape “Goblin.” Since then, he has shown his true potential in music by seemingly beating out his previous albums whenever he released a new album. Most notably his last two albums both went number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in “Igor” and “Call Me If You Get Lost” as well as won a Grammy for best rap album in 2020 and 2022.
It seems Tyler has finally peaked in the music industry and it’s getting harder to not put him at the top of the rap game with his second straight No. 1 album still doing numbers. He recently released “Call Me If You Get Lost” on vinyl off his website and has since been named the biggest rap album on vinyl since 1991. On top of that, the tour dates have already sold out. He has come a long way since creating Odd Future and has blossomed into the megastar many people didn’t think he’d ever be.
Tyler is known for his outrageous humor, mainly from his show on Adult Swim, “Loiter Squad.” The show featured other members from Odd Future and would carry out various skits. The show brought Tyler into the mainstream light as fans were already buzzing about him from his music.
His early work was classified under “horrorcore” which is a genre in rap that is darker and aggressive. This gave both good and bad publicity as many fans loved how raw he was. However, others felt his lyrics were too gory and homophobic at times. He has been open about his sexuality and has identified as bisexual. However, fans still felt that he shouldn’t have used some of his word choices. This has come back to haunt Tyler as it had banned him from the United Kingdom for three to five years as he revealed in 2015, because of lyrics off his mixtape “Bastard” that was released in 2009.
Kevin Wright, a senior majoring in TV production, has been a fan of Tyler since 2012 and has been a big supporter of the growth the artist has been through.
“I feel like if he didn’t change his style up, he would have been left in 2015,” he said. “That style he had was good for the moment, but I like the grown-up version of him too because it shows he actually cares about his craft and making the best music possible, which he’s been doing his whole career.”
Much like other Odd Future fans, Kevin feels that he still hasn’t reached his full potential. Whether it’s in acting or even dabbling more in fashion, Tyler has become an icon through all the work he has been doing. His brand Golf Wang has been increasingly become popular due to the colorful aesthetic it brings out. No matter what Tyler’s next project is, it is sure to be a masterpiece as he has proved countless times he only gets better with age.
