Reflections on Tyler, The Creator's discography and Flower Boy review
TITLE: Flower Boy
ARTIST: Tyler, The Creator
GENRE: Rap
LISTEN HERE: Spotify
Ladera Heights rapper Tyler, The Creator’s new album, unofficially titled Scum Fuck Flower Boy and officially shortened to Flower Boy, is the culmination of a long, varied, and controversial discography. Tyler has been the center of a lot of attention since his 2009 debut Bastard, which, like the rest of his early work, emphasizes his internal strife, with his albums usually structured as conversations between him and his therapist. He wasn’t afraid to offend, stepping on countless toes and getting banned from entering a series of countries as a result of the vivid imagery of murder, rape, and stalking featured in his music. Despite this, Bastard and Goblin held a unique and disturbing authenticity that earned Tyler a significant fanbase, a great deal of controversy, and moderate critical acclaim. Tyler’s art centers around his feelings of exclusion and angst, and the anger was so real and visceral that it wasn’t hard to see why its obscenity grew him and the rest of Odd Future a substantial fanbase.
Wolf and Cherry Bomb were steps in a very different direction for Tyler’s sound. He moved away from the under-produced, grittier beats and towards more detailed, diverse instrumentation. His lyrics, while still often obscene and offensive (see: “FUCKING YOUNG/PERFECT”) also lost some of their signature rage and nihilistic themes. Wolf was still stuffed with bipolar tone shifts, anger, and anxiety, but it seemed that Tyler’s days of using explicit shock humor and discussing rape/shooting up schools was mostly over. As his life continued to change, he even veered into the experimental on Cherry Bomb, featuring heavily distorted production and more uplifting lyrics.
8 years after his debut, Flower Boy is the climax of the ideas explored within his previous work. Tyler’s self-production is exceptionally smooth and soulful, his flows beautifully combining with whatever emotions he’s attempting to convey in a given track, whether it’s the anger of “Who Dat Boy”, the dreamy smoothness of “Boredom”, or the introspective, discordant moodiness of “Garden Shed”. Tyler’s experimentations on Cherry Bomb and elsewhere have paid dividends and there’s none of his previous questionable mixing or tracks filled with untapped potential.
Flower Boy is also remarkably mature, transcending Tyler’s previous tendency to focus on the conveyance of a single emotion. The abject depression of Bastard and the unbridled joy of Cherry Bomb both exist in certain forms on the album, but their coexistence is a sign of Tyler’s evolution as both an artist and a person. “911/Mr. Lonely”, explores the overwhelming loneliness that casts its shadow over his lifestyle and career. “November” explores the nostalgia of a more carefree time, “Boredom” is a calming self-explanatory reflection on complacency, and “Garden Shed” introspects regarding sexuality and his past actions. These tracks and more compose a compelling collage of emotion that explains and contextualizes Tyler’s past controversy and his vibrantly fun-focused and attention-seeking lifestyle.
A lot of ground is covered on the compact and refined 46-minute album, which also finds time to include both a brief Lil’ Wayne solo track and a longer outro, titled “Enjoy Right Now, Today”, featuring Pharrell’s echoed vocals and an uplifting instrumental. It’s exactly as complex as it should be, a refined compilation of Tyler’s emotions and thoughts as he ages, set to his most refined and soulful production to date. Flower Boy is the finest work Tyler’s ever created.
Listen to Flower Boy below: