One random middle school morning, after losing a battle to my sister over who controls the TV before school, I saw Tyler, the Creator eat a roach and hang himself on MTV Morning Music Videos. To which my sister replied,"That boy crazy."
I, on the other hand, gravitated to every 'crazy' thing Tyler, the Creator did and declared him a genius any chance I had. From proclaiming 'Bastard' as the greatest mixtape intro ever to crediting him as the reason Supreme is a billion-dollar clothing brand, I admit to exaggerating the greatness of Tyler, the Creator in the past.
No exaggeration is needed to declare the greatness of Tyler, the Creator's sixth studio album, IGOR.
In every aspect, from demanding undivided attention from its audience to telling a concise story, IGOR behaves like a multi-layered movie, needing multiple viewings to fully understand the idea being shared. Upon early listens, it's easy to get lost in the grandiose of the production and lose Tyler's voice altogether. However, I feel as though the masking nature of the production was intended, considering how Tyler has publically stated to Fader how much he hates his own voice. The production isn't the only way Tyler, the Creator hides his biggest weakness, as numbers show Tyler hid his voice more than ever on IGOR.
With IGOR, Tyler, the Creator has a very direct story to tell, and he doesn't stray from it. IGOR is a tragic love story that adresses a number of complex relationship issues, from remaining friends post-breakup to a person being confused about their sexual orientation. Each song acts as a different scene and stage of love.
However, before any element of the album can be praised, it's important to appreciate how bold of a project IGOR is. According to Tyler, the Creator:
An artist crafting every major piece of their project opens the door for genuinely new creations like IGOR. With the main story being centered around a failed love attempt between Tyler and a man(likely white) who isn't ready to come out yet, nothing about IGOR is safe.
Speaking of the main story, although it is initially outshadowed by the production, a straight-to-the-point tale of Tyler, the Creator falling in love with a man who chooses the safety of his heterosexual relationship over the uncharted territory of being with another man sounds like a Lifetime movie I tell my sister is stupid but stay in the living room to watch. Tyler falls in love on 'I Think', realizes the roadblocks of this love on 'Running Out of Time', threatens to kill aforementioned roadblock on 'New Magic Wand', begins to give up on the love on 'A Boy Is A Gun', second guesses giving up on 'Puppet', actually gives up the failed love on 'Gone, Gone/Thank You' and wonders about their life after love on 'Are We Still Friends?'. A true Lifetime movie would have continued to escalate after 'New Magic Wand', but IGOR still tells an exciting story.
Overall, the production and story of the album act as the two main aspects that leave a lasting impression on pivotal positives of IGOR.
This is usually the part where the negatives of the album would go, but, aside from rearranging where 'Earfquake' comes in, IGOR has no major negatives. Initially, with the album being one story altogether, I assumed the songs wouldn't be able to shine individually, but Tyler, the Creator's Apple Music performance put an end to that thought.
The same crazy boy who ate a roach and hung himself for the world to see is on the verge of having arguably his second classic album.
Score: Jordan Peele's Get Out/10