Today I’m going to be reviewing one of my favorite artists, and that is Tyler, The Creator. Through his career he has progressed from grungy violent rap in his early Goblin days to a more aesthetically pleasing vibe with Flower Boy. IGOR is an addition onto this new sound as he tries to break down the barriers and cross genres that don’t normally mix. A critically acclaimed album, which brought in Album of the year from the most recent Grammy awards for best rap album.

IGOR

Album by TYLER THE CREATOR

Release year: 2019

Total Score: 8.5/10

Genre: Neo-soul, Experimental, Hip-Hop, Synth Funk

I'll start by reviewing the stand out tracks for me personally and what strikes me as a listener. It is important to note that you need to give music time to air around your brain and listen multiple times, otherwise you can miss the intentions of the artist's message.

IGORS THEME: It sounds like Tyler tried to make a brilliant instrumental that reminds me of something MBDTF-esque. With harmonic production, silky vibes and an explosively emotional ending, this could not be a greater culmination of the character IGOR’s mindset shifting between love and insanity.

EARFQUAKE: This song is the typical single of the album with possibly Tyler’s greatest amount of commercial success, breaking through to radio plays, even though the vast majority of his exposure comes from streaming. The song is great with its layered R&B production, light texture and self admitting apologetic hook that hits feelings. I also get why some find the vocals a bit irritating. If you isolated the vocals from the beat ambience, Tyler’ already quirky vocals would’ve sounded less pleasing.

EARFQUAKE By Tyler the creator (Youtube)

I THINK: Not only does the track entertain the high-flying disco-funk production, but Solange’s vocals ooze a gorgeous featured delivery.

RUNNING OUT OF TIME: An interesting tension anecdote, Tyler’s rhymes on an adventurous beat that feels like a funky evolution to his older work, particularly WOLF

NEW MAGIC WAND: A gripping track, Tyler drags you into his view so well with his desperation of going lengths as far as murder, while he shells out the concept of jealousy as if it were a living, breathing entity. It’s a glamorous bass of venom.

PUPPET: I feel like some people overrate this track. It’s nice but the main issue was Kanye’s vagueness and being eclipsed from the beat to make a lasting impression, but overall the structure feels sleepy in the less nicely-delivered way.

WHAT’S GOOD: Very solid cynical bars, even though the beat starts off as irritating, but grows on you eventually. The second verse lacks lyricism in places but all in all still a decent track.

ARE WE STILL FRIENDS: Great ambience, a cushioned end to the album. My main complaint being Tyler not putting enough content lyrically just to make it a much more detailed wonder about whether or not his former lover will remain friends.

Final Impressions:

Along with the lack of greater detail in some of its lyrical content to make IGOR into the greatest album he has made, I felt Tyler relied a little too much on atmospherics than content despite that being his intention, I just feel like the above case is presented in tracks like I DON’T LOVE YOU ANY MORE.

Nevertheless, IGOR’s strengths are reflected by it’s earthly relatability, its brave relay of uninhibited feelings that we usually don’t want to express to our love interests & fearlessly jumping into different territories to solidify his rap chameleon status. Meanwhile, IGOR’s THEME received a 10 because I felt it was the most accurate representation of IGOR’s wild rollercoaster mindset under love of cruising about in a car just drifting away, akin to his love interest.

IGOR has been overrated by some people that I feel overlooked the places where the lack of sufficient content & tension was obvious, but it felt like a far more mature version of Cherry Bomb.

A lot of this seems very negative, but this isn’t me trying to knock Tyler’s progress as an artist. Personally, I loved the album but I feel like with the way he is bending genres in this project is always going to encounter some problems, whether it be sonically or in terms of content.

Track Ratings:

IGORS THEME - 10

EARFQUAKE - 9

I THINK - 9

RUNNING OUT OF TIME - 9

NEW MAGIC WAND - 9

A BOY IS A GUN - 9

PUPPET - 7

WHATS GOOD - 8

GONE GONE/THANK YOU - 9

I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE - 8

ARE WE STILL FRIENDS - 8

Reccomendation:

If you enjoy this kind of music, which is a lot more accessible than his previous work, i have a few artists/bands that have similar sounds and would be worthwhile to listen to, such as ;

• Brockhampton
• Rex Orange County
• Bakar
• Frank Ocean

For those of you looking to experience this music first hand and truly connect with artists, festivals are a great opportunity to let them take over your mind for the short while they are on stage. A major festival that Tyler is involved with is Camp Flog gnaw (CFG), which has been held since 2012 and features some of the best performers in the genre.

With special surprise guest last year of A$AP ROCKY, Lil Uzi Vert and also Drake, it is a certified commercial success but don't let that fool you, as it is also teaming with unbelievably talented artists. As you can see from last year's line-up below, it is well worth the trip and i couldn't advise it anymore for someone who enjoyed Tyler's album, IGOR.