“Tyler isn’t edgy, he isn’t fighting the system, he’s an obnoxious kid, who thinks making art consists of taking all of the confused feelings or jokes he and his friends think are clever and making music with them. In the end, we should hate ourselves for even paying attention to him,” rants AWOL magazine.
24 year old Tyler Gregory Okonma, better known by his stage name “Tyler the Creator” just released his third studio album Wolf earlier this month. Starting out in the 12-member rap group Odd Future (sometimes abbreviated as OFWGKTA), his first solo album Bastard was released in 2009 with a follow up in 2011 titled Goblin. He’s also guest appeared on many television programs and also starred in the OFWGKTA television show Loiter Squad.
The young man has become an iconic social symbol known for his vulgar and repulsive lyrics rebelling against the social norms. “Everyone thinks about dark [stuff]. Why when somebody [freaking] says it is it such a big deal, you know?” He defensively says his songs are stories “I’m writing [some] song from the mind of some [freaking] serial killer from thirty years ago who’s a white male,” Tyler says in one interview.
He’s also known for his “tact” in handling situations, like when the popular Sara Quin of the band Tegan and Sara wrote a piece titled “A Call for Change,” saying that “In any other industry would I be expected to tolerate, overlook, and find deeper meaning in this kid’s sickening rhetoric? Why should I care about this music or its ‘brilliance’ when the message is so repulsive and irresponsible?” Tyler responded with a simple tweet: “If Tegan And Sara Need Some Hard Dick, Hit Me Up!”
Now I’m not saying that Tyler, the Creator is a bad guy, or for that matter, a good guy. His unique unfurnished sound, bassy voice, and rebellious attitude towards life led young alternative-rap listeners to flock to him. One of the prime reasons he is so successful is because he’s so “out there”. Think of all the rappers that go unnoticed, while there are many better underground rappers than Tyler his vulgarity and abusive lyrics are what he’s known for and the reason he got famous.