Tyler, the Creator, the controversial leader of Odd Future, released his third studio album, “Wolf,” last Tuesday. The rapper, known for his graphic lyrics and wild antics, takes his audience into his mad world of insults, violence and obscenities once again just like he did with his last two albums.
Tyler released his first album, “Bastard,” back in December 2009, when he was just starting to make his way onto the rap scene. His second album, “Goblin,” was released in May 2011 and made him an even more prominent and distinguishable member of the music community.
This one-of-a-kind artist has steadily gained recognition from critics, and anyone who is in tune with the rap genre. His unique and blunt style is part of the reason for his appeal, and is what truly makes him stand out from other artists.
This distinct and infamous style and type of personality is carried through all of the “creations” and albums he has released thus far, and is simply characteristic of him. Tyler’s new album, “Wolf,” continues to maintain this feel, and has an even more dynamic and new sound to it.
“Wolf” is one of the most divisive albums of the year. For die-hard Odd Future fans this album is just for you. Tyler spits his usual violent, controversial lyrics that he is known for on this album. But for those who haven’t been down with Odd Future or haven’t heard anything Odd Future related will have to give this album a few more listens before admiring it.
“Wolf” is a solid album from start to finish. With this album Tyler has grown since his two previous efforts. “Wolf” features some of the best production that we’ve ever heard from Tyler. Tyler’s production shines bright on tracks like “Jamba”, “Tamale”, and the Frank Ocean assisted “Bimmer”. “Treehome95” is a melodic, smooth jazz influenced track that is arguably Tyler’s best song production wise.
With this album Tyler took a different approach than his previous works. In an interview with SPIN magazine Tyler told fans that “talking about rape and cutting bodies up, it just doesn’t interest me anymore… what interests me is making weird hippie music for people to get high to”.
Despite “Wolf” not having as much violent themes as “Bastard” and “Goblin”, it contains some of Tyler’s deepest lyrics. But Tyler still manages to squeeze in the violent content even though it’s toned down a little in comparison to his last two albums.
“IFHY” is a confession of Tyler expressing his hatred towards a female that hurt his feelings. “Answer” is a song full of resentment towards Tyler’s absentee father and Tyler hoping his father finally answers him. “Awkward”, as the title suggests, portrays teen love and all the self-doubt, weird feelings and drama that goes along with it. “Pigs” explains why bullied teens resort to violence as retaliation and “Colossus” is a cry for privacy in public from his fans and how sick he is of the fame.
Tyler displays his maturation on “Wolf” on his own terms. On “Wolf” Tyler shows how talented he is as a lyricist, producer, and entertainer. For fanatics it’s a great album but the constant use of shock value overshadows how great the album is minus the violent lyrics.
When he’s not dropping F-bombs or homosexual slurs, Tyler is capable of spitting conscious lyrics that mimic those of Kendrick Lamar. Newcomers to Tyler’s music will admire the production of this album but will miss what makes this album great and that is Tyler’s growth from a teen cult figure to a fixture in pop culture.
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