Tyler The Creator’s latest drop, IGOR, has earned him his first number one album. This is so fucking cool for him and the fans who have been following him for years. Tyler The Creator deserved a #1 album. IGOR didn’t though.
I recently gave the album a second full pass through. I give every artist I respect the double pass through. The first is rarely enough to fully appreciate it. Plus, I was kind of listening on cheap headphones with only one working bud on the first go round. That’s on me. Second time I gave it a proper listen on good headphones, top to bottom no interruptions, and I really enjoyed it. It’s a good piece of work. I’m just not sure it should be #1. I mean I guess going number one is more symbolic than anything else these days. Tons of subpar albums go #1 based on timing or trendiness. But regardless, it’s still nice that he achieved this milestone.
Don’t be mistaken. I couldn’t be happier for Tyler. It may not seem like that from my above statement but I’ve been following Tyler for years. So allow me to clarify my statement a bit.
Tyler has been nothing but an inspiration from the moment he gained recognition.
In music he was brash and paid no mind to the rules. He evoked real emotion and energized an entire generation of young people who were looking for something real. And just when everyone had him figured out he switched gears to show his lighter side and his obsession with beautiful bridges and melodic chord progressions. Starting with Flower Boy his pivot has been a joy to watch. The dude screaming about ripping out Bruno Mars throat is the same guy as Mr. Lonley. Not many artists get the chance to change their style this drastically but Tyler has dismounted with grace.
When it comes to style, Tyler was inspiring fashion way before he had his own clothing line. I’ve never seen him follow a trend, only start them. And while many have tried to emulate his taste, the real message behind the way he dresses is that anyone should feel comfortable wearing what ever the fuck they want. For me, this may be even more important than his music.
Finally, when talking about Tyler it feels necessary to bring up his unwavering authenticity. In an industry of media-trained, publicist- armed, label backed artists, it feels rare to see someone telling the truth regardless of how it could effect sales or streams. Ironically, but unsurprisingly, Tyler’s ability to be candid and true to himself in all moments is one of the biggest draws to his music in the first place. Label artists who are being told to act a certain way could learn a lot from him.
So all of this considered, why did I degrade IGOR? It’s not so much that I wanted to downplay IGOR as much as I wanted to stress the importance of what Tyler has built and how it is bigger than one album. In the nicest terms, the success of IGOR rests on the back of what Tyler has previously built rather than it’s own laurels. And that’s cool as shit. That’s more important than having a number one album. That’s long lasting. That’s the thing that allows you to continue to experiment, grow, and create for decades to come. IGOR won’t be Tyler’s only number 1. Not if his fans have anything to say about it. And I can assure you, they’ll have plenty to say.
So to circle back to the beginning, Tyler deserved this number one whether IGOR did or not.
