Elias ( Curaçao )
The album “IGOR” by Tyler, The Creator – Elias’s goosebump moment
“Hello! My name is Elias and I come from Curaçao. My goosebump moment would be when I heard the album “IGOR” from Tyler, The Creator for the first time. It means a lot to me, because for a long time I wanted to listen Tyler, The Creator’s music and when I did, early this year, I listened to the entire album and the songs were so amazing. It was a new sound, something I was looking for, a new experience, a new music that I could listen to, and the song that stuck with me the most is, and if I am not mistaken, “GONE, GONE/THANK YOU”. Which, if I am not mistaken, are two songs, but I just love everything from it. The rhythm, the drums, the bass, everything is amazing.”
“IGOR”, the addictive album by Tyler, The Creator
Tyler Okonma’s career is one marked by very specific moments, which helped build the figure of The Creator, in addition to forging the Californian artist’s own musical sound.
“IGOR”, the rapper’s sixth studio album, takes us into a tangle of sound atmospheres, musicalized feelings and convoluted discourses. Undoubtedly, it is his best work to date. What had begun with “Cherry Bomb” as a search for his own art, and that had a surprisingly mature approach in “Flower Boy”, in “IGOR” becomes a cathartic moment for the rapper and for his fans.
The album sounds like anything but a rap album. It’s more like a well-prepared mix of the different genres that give Tyler, The Creator his identity, an approximation of his true self that could have gone very wrong, but for our good fortune turned out extremely well.
The album’s own psychology is torn between acceptance for the loss of different figures and people in Tyler’s life, and despair for not being able to cope with his feelings in the right way. But there is not a single moment where the album descends into melodrama.
A handmade album by Tyler, The Creator
After being nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Album for “Flower Boy”, Tyler, The Creator had the bar set very high to continue developing his rhymes and productions in the future, even more thinking that with “Flower Boy” he left everything to deliver a work that was inspired by all the melancholy of “Blond”, the last album of his friend and partner in Odd Future, Frank Ocean.
“Flower Boy”, however, and despite being a great album, did not convey this feeling in a way that “IGOR” did. That very similar feeling of Frank Ocean’s “Blond” that Tyler was trying to convey on “Flower Boy”.
Since days before the album’s release, the 28-year-old Californian rapper sent a message in his stories on his Instagram account, as if giving instructions on how to listen and enjoy “IGOR”. An image with somewhat explanatory instructions and with words that can be read even exciting from the artist before the release of his new material, something that only generated more anxiousness to be able to listen.
From head to toe, “IGOR” is fully handmade by Tyler, The Creator, from the lyrical and musical composition of each of its excerpts, as in the production of the album. Taking care with this every detail of sound, and even better intoning his voice to offer greater quality in each piece.
In this new album, the collaborations of Tyler, The Creator’s musician friends were to be expected, adding more spice to the already exquisite tracks. “IGOR’S THEME” with Lil Uzi Vert and the Colombian Kali Uchis is an incredible electronic track that besides opening the album, could well fit in a DJ set at the club of your choice.
“IGOR” is an album beyond Rap and Hip Hop, it is experimental and a portal to a barbaric ambition with originality and genius in every track. It is the passion and maximum inspiration of Tyler Okonma after the great “Flower Boy” was nominated for a Grammy. It was the demonstration that there is still more to come and find out about Tyler, The Creator. Now we can safely state that we could call “IGOR” his definitive consecration in his career.
Tyler, The Creator: the walking paradox of rap
Tyler Gregory Okonma Halley was born in the city of Los Angeles in 1991.
His passion for music accompanied him from the very moment he came into the world. Already at the age of seven he fantasized about imaginary mixtapes, with the names of the songs included. They never materialized though, because Tyler didn’t have the slightest musical education. This did not happen until he was fourteen years old when he began to learn instruments, essentially the piano, in a self-taught way.
In 2007, when Tyler was only sixteen, he co-founded the supergroup OFWGKTA, better known as Odd Future. The collective’s first lineup would feature Left Brain, Jasper Dolphin, Hodgy Bats and, of course, Tyler himself. Later, Odd Future would be completed with the arrivals of Earl Sweatshirt, Domo Genesis, Mike G and Frank Ocean.
Many said at that time that Odd Future was the spiritual replacement of Wu-Tang Clan for this new generation. This comparison is not at all far-fetched. Both were huge groups, with an overflowing creativity, an attitude bordering on punk, and, above all, they were full of talent capable of shining both as a group and as solo artists (Just ask Frank Ocean).
Odd Future’s career would not last long. Their split took place in 2015, but before that they released brilliant mixtapes, toured in ways that changed the way we understand concerts and even had a their own TV-series. However, the seed of Tyler, The Creator’s talent had already been planted.
Perhaps the best-known alter-ego of Tyler, The Creator is Igor, the polyhedral and strange character that is the protagonist of his latest album, and with whom he has undoubtedly gained more recognition. But Igor’s personality is not the only one that the Californian has built during his career.
If anything defines Tyler, The Creator’s career, it is the search for an identity, the exploration of different ways of creating and expanding that creation. To do so, he has made use of several complex characters. Tyler is not the same person in “Cherry Bomb” as in “Flower Boy” or “Goblin”, he has always metamorphosed with each new release.
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