In recent years, Tyler Okonma, better known as Tyler, The Creator, has exploded in popularity, mostly due to his recent albums. However, before his huge leap in listeners around 2017-2019, he made several other albums that are stylistically very different than his newer work. While they still garnered a fanbase, it’s nowhere near the size of his projects that released post-2015. I’ve become a pretty big fan of Tyler over the past year or so, and while I vastly prefer his more recent work, there’s still some value to be found in his earlier albums. So, I’ll go through Tyler, The Creator’s whole discography, and analyze what makes each one great or awful.
Bastard (2009)
Favorite Tracks: ‘Pigs Fly’, ‘VCR / Wheels’, ‘Session’
Before Tyler was able to make a studio-released album, he released the mixtape Bastard on Christmas Day, and I find it to have aged pretty poorly. While it hasn’t hit its most extreme yet, Bastard features overly graphic and edgy lyrics and production that just make it cringy or uncomfortable to listen to most of the time. The narrative of the story involves Tyler, a clearly very disturbed teenager, sitting through a session with his therapist, Dr. TC. While Tyler touches on his mental health struggles and desires to be in a relationship a lot, a main focus of this mixtape is his hatred for his absent father. This is one of the most prevalent and important themes throughout Tyler’s discography, and while he doesn’t mention it as much anymore, it still clearly bothers him. In Bastard, you can tell how strong Tyler’s feelings towards his father were at this point in his life; he channels all of the hatred and anger into some very aggressive rapping and lyrics. While the album has a few strong tracks, most of it blends together as a bunch of mediocre and angsty rap, with some real stinkers here and there, especially ‘French!’, ‘Sarah’, and ‘Tina’.
My favorite element of this mixtape is the early Odd Future vibes it gives off. I love seeing artists like Tyler, Earl Sweatshirt, Hodgy, Domo Genesis, and later on, Frank Ocean showing off talent so early on in their careers, and you can tell that they had fun making this. Despite not loving all of the music that came out of this era, listening to Odd Future projects can be pretty fun because you get to see a bunch of friends making music together. Despite the few aspects of Bastard that I do like, this is still an overall bad mixtape that’s pretty rough around the edges at this point. It’s trying to be shocking, but honestly, it gets pretty boring after awhile, listening to one ridiculously explicit lyric after another. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against explicit lyrics, but it’s almost comical how graphic these first couple Tyler projects are. It often goes beyond profanity, too- Tyler says a couple pretty nasty things on this, even being enough to get it banned in the UK. This is worth listening to once or twice if you like Tyler for the few decent tracks, but you’re probably fine just skipping it and only listening to the good songs.
Goblin (2011)
Favorite Tracks: ‘Yonkers’, ‘She’
Here we are: the lowest low in Tyler Okonma’s entire career. I personally cannot stand pretty much all of Goblin, and I’m always shocked to remember that people genuinely like this album. Everything bad about Bastard is taken to the highest level possible, and there are even fewer good tracks here. The two best tracks, ‘Yonkers’ and ‘She’, are probably the most iconic, and credit where credit’s due, they’re pretty decent. However, two above average songs cannot salvage an album that is an otherwise complete mess of unimpressive production, underwhelming performances, and sickening lyrics, and the two tracks I mentioned aren’t even that good. I really can’t overstate how far Tyler takes it; the tracks ‘Transylvania’ and ‘Tron Cat’ are specifically known for being extremely controversial. Narratively, this is very much a sequel to Bastard, featuring the return of Dr. TC as he tries to work Tyler through his many issues. Towards the end of the album, Tyler kills all of his Odd Future friends, only to realize that all of them and TC were in his head the whole time. This is a completely unearned twist, and it just feels like a very lazy moment to drive home the shock value the album wants to have so badly. I guess he got what he was going for, because I feel like I want to take a shower after listening to some of Goblin‘s tracks.
Aside from the lyrics, this is probably Tyler’s lowest point in terms of production and performance. Yonkers has a pretty good beat, but aside from that, it all feels very lazy and safe for how dark the record wants to be. Tyler honestly seems like he’s phoning it in here, just yelling and being overly hostile at every moment. I know for a fact that Tyler has a lot of talent in terms of both production and rapping, so seeing such minimal effort in addition to the lyrics just upsets me. The track ‘B.S.D.’ is genuinely one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard; I can’t even describe why it’s bad. The energy that song holds is a pretty good representation of the album’s vibe as a whole, and it’s astonishing to me how much I dislike some songs on this album, as Tyler is one of my favorite artists. I relistened to this and Flower Boy back to back, and it’s so drastically different that I felt like I was listening to two separate people. Goblin is also far longer than it has any right to be; it’s his lengthiest project to date, at an hour and twenty-two minutes, which could easily be shaved down by half an hour; this just makes me dislike it even more. If you’re looking for a good Odd Future album that features similar dark beats, features, and very explicit lyrics, listen to Earl Sweatshirt’s Doris. I always recommend that album when discussing Goblin or Bastard because it’s a great example of how to do a record like this correctly; it even features Tyler a couple of times. Ultimately, I’ll chalk this one up to a young artist early on into his career trying to express his many frustrations with life through music.
Wolf (2013)
Favorite Tracks: ‘Jamba’, ‘Answer’, ‘Slater’, ‘Colossus’, ‘IFHY’
Listening to Wolf after the garbage I just slogged through is a true breath of fresh air. I actually like this one quite a bit; it’s still pretty nasty at times, but it tones it down enough to feel natural and not forced. The production gets a very noticeable improvement, giving us some truly incredible beats. The album still falls more in line with Goblin and Bastard than something like Flower Boy, but it still has a very different energy than anything else he’s made. This is a mostly relaxed and low-key album, with a few bangers mixed in to keep things interesting. Tyler takes a slower approach to rapping here over gorgeous beats like ‘Cowboy’ and ‘Colossus’, but knows when to prove his ability on tracks such as ‘Tamale’ and ‘Domo23’. I think the standouts are definitely ‘IFHY’ and ‘Answer’; ‘IFHY’ still stands among Tyler’s entire discography as one of his most unique tracks, and ‘Answer’ serves as a really nice conclusion to the themes and narrative elements of his absent father seen on the first two albums.
Wolf has a strangely melancholic feel to it at times- it takes a much different approach to Tyler’s mental health struggles than his previous works. Instead of being an in-your-face, uncomfortable, and obnoxious piece of music that serves as a platform for a bunch of edgy teenagers to make gross jokes, Wolf is far more slower-paced, and allows Tyler to give a much more logical and less aggressive statement on what he’s going through. It’s a perfect evolution of Tyler’s style, and while I know that the ‘Wolf Trilogy’ is technically one narrative, I like to think of this record as its own thing. There aren’t as many features here, but the ones present are fantastic; the Odd Future members are utilized perfectly, and I really love Frank, Hodgy, and Earl’s performances. This is also the first time Tyler was able to get a really notable guest star in the form of Pharell on ‘IFHY’, who would become a frequent collaborator. For some reason, I find myself returning to this record in full more than Tyler’s other albums; it’s very easy to throw on, and gives me the Odd Future feel that I want without having to listen to Goblin. Wolf is one of the best albums we got from the Odd Future era, and is still a worthwhile album to this day.
Cherry Bomb (2015)
Favorite tracks: ‘DEATHCAMP’, ‘2SEATER’, ‘THE BROWN STAINS OF DARKEESE LATIFAH PART 6-12 (Remix)’, ‘SMUCKERS’
This is by far the biggest missed opportunity of Tyler’s whole discography. Once again taking a different approach to the style that he’s has established, Cherry Bomb is essentially half Goblin and half Flower Boy, and don’t get me wrong, the segments similar to Goblin are nowhere near that level of awfulness. I actually think that some of the aggressive tracks can work on this one; ‘DEATHCAMP’ starts the album off with an immediate banger, and might be my favorite of the entire tracklist. It shows Tyler rapping over an insane electric guitar beat, and I wish that more of the album’s songs shared a similar style. The only other track like this that’s all too notable is ‘THE BROWN STAINS OF DARKEESE LATIFAH’, which I’ve developed a strange affinity for. The beat is unlike anything I’ve ever heard, the ScHoolboy Q feature is great, and I always give it a listen when it comes up on random. Tracks like ‘CHERRY BOMB’ and ‘KEEP DA O’S’ are annoyingly loud for the sake of it, and songs like this are what ultimately ruins the record for me.
The other half of the album features a very drastic shift in tone, and is strangely comparable to something you’d find on Flower Boy and CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST. ‘2SEATER’, ‘FIND YOUR WINGS’, and ‘OKAGA, CA’ are great, and help you from getting too annoyed with the production on a few other tracks. ‘SMUCKERS’ is an absolute classic, and is one of Tyler’s most star-studded tracks ever, starring himself, Lil Wayne, and Kanye. I did like this album a lot more on my second listen, as I was able to focus more on the good aspects than just being annoyed by the wasted potential, but it’s still pretty hit or miss overall. If Tyler had just been able to trim some fat or replace a few songs with better ones, we’d be looking at a classic. However, this isn’t the case, and we end up with the most mediocre album in his discography. This is still worth your time, however, and I wouldn’t skip any of it if you’re getting into Tyler’s music. It sort of marks the end of Odd Future, and I like to think of it as a promising look into the rest Tyler and the other members of Odd Future’s careers, and less as a forgettable end to their dynasty.
Flower Boy (2017)
Favorite tracks: ‘Where This Flower Blooms’, ‘See You Again’, ‘Boredom’, ‘I Ain’t Got Time!’, ‘November’
Flower Boy marks the true shift in tone for Tyler; while he still raps here, it’s much more focused on singing and the style seen on earlier tracks like ‘2SEATER’. While there was plenty to love about Wolf and Cherry Bomb, I think that this is where Tyler really found a style that fit him. He manages to still deliver bangers in the form of ‘Who Dat Boi’ and ‘I Ain’t Got Time!’ while also making more upbeat or neo-soul tracks. Even on these songs, he delivers some of the best verses of his career; ‘Foreward’, ‘Where This Flower Blooms’, and ‘November’ are all very low-key songs where he still provides insane performances. Not only is this a new style for Tyler in terms of production, but also narrative. Past works have shown Tyler’s issues to make him aggressive and unpredictable, and Flower Boy’s approach focuses much more on his feelings of depression and loneliness. I believe that the true moment Tyler switched styles is when he decided to officially title this album Flower Boy instead of the alternative, ‘Scum F*ck Flower Boy’.
In addition to the increased focus on depression and loneliness, Tyler also discusses his sexuality, specifically on the track ‘Garden Shed’. He’d hinted at his bisexuality many times, and many had speculated that this was the case, but Flower Boy is the first time he’s officially addressed it, and I think he does it in a great way. ‘Garden Shed’ is a beautiful song, and it’s great to see an artist feel comfortable enough to reveal something like this. I also love the commentary on ‘November’, where Tyler talks about his fame and his worries of losing everything. It’s a very personal song, and is one of my favorites on the whole album for the production and rapping alone. Flower Boy takes the more melancholic tone of Wolf and blends it with some of the lighter moments on Cherry Bomb, and I think that the new direction was the correct one to take for his career. Even if I like portions of early Tyler, I don’t think that I would like him as an artist all that much if he hadn’t released Flower Boy. It paved the way for his newest projects, which stand with this one as his best, and I believe that he’s been able to balance the slower tracks with the fast-paced rap songs perfectly in recent years.
Igor (2019)
Favorite tracks: ‘IGOR’S THEME’, ‘EARFQUAKE’, ‘NEW MAGIC WAND’, ‘A BOY IS A GUN*’, ‘ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?’
I don’t even need to introduce this one; Igor is one of the most popular albums of the past few years, and it’s what truly cemented Tyler, The Creator as a great artist in the eyes of the public. He’s always had his fans, and was widely known, but Igor is easily his most successful project. Like many, I love Igor, and find it to be his most emotional album out of the bunch. The narrative here is much more linear than before, and it serves as a way for Tyler to tell the story of a rough breakup that he experienced through the character of Igor. I’ve already written an article about and deeply analyzed this album, but I still have a desire to relisten to and examine it further. When you really listen to it, Igor is a realistic and depressing representation of the grief and desperation that comes with the end of a relationship. Despite this, I almost never skip any of its tracks; something about this album still grabs me no matter how much I listen to it. Ignoring the fact that it won best rap album at the Grammys, this is in no way a rap album; it’s part pop, part neo-soul, part hip-hop, and probably has about ten other genres mixed in. It’s by far Tyler’s most experimental, but this worked out quite well, and I think that it will stand as his most unique.
CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST (2021)
Favorite tracks: ‘LEMONHEAD’, ‘WUSYANAME’, ‘HOT WIND BLOWS’, ‘JUGGERNAUT’, ‘WILSHIRE’
To me, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST is the ultimate summer album. It heavily emphasizes the theme of travel, and tracks like ‘HOT WIND BLOWS’ and ‘RUNITUP’ are perfect to throw on when you’re driving or hanging out with friends during the summertime. This isn’t my favorite Tyler album, but it’s easily my favorite vibe of all of them. The laid back feel that so many tracks hold is a lot of fun to listen to, and the album knows to turn up the notch when it needs to with songs like ‘LEMONHEAD’ and ‘JUGGERNAUT’. This record also pays homage to DJ Drama mixtapes of previous decades, being consistently narrated by Drama, which I feel adds to the energy it’s trying to go for. This is also probably Tyler’s best feature list, as he brings incredible performances out of all his guests, especially Lil Wayne and Teezo Touchdown, of all people. The only negative thing I can really say about CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST is that its existence has been completely overshadowed by the release of its exanded edition. While I do love the tracks here, many of them are overshadowed by a few that didn’t make the initial cut, and I think that the tracklist just feels more complete with the release of the Estate Sale version.
CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST: THE ESTATE SALE (2023)
Favorite tracks: ‘STUNTMAN’, ‘WHARF TALK’, ‘DOGTOOTH’, ‘SORRY NOT SORRY’
What an incredible release this is; it’s a genuine contender for the best deluxe edition of all time, in my opinion. With the addition of eight songs, Tyler fleshes out the tracklist of CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST so much more, adding one or two tracks for each of the styles present on the original release. ‘STUNTMAN’ is a personal favorite of mine, and I feel that it doesn’t get enough attention- it’s by far my favorite of the bangers on this album. Tyler also adds to the already insane feature list with Vince Staples and A$AP Rocky, who both deliver some of the best verses on the album, and match Tyler’s tone on the album perfectly. As much as I love the original version, it does feel a little incomplete at times, and this version fixes every single problem that I had. ‘SAFARI’ is a good song, but it’s not the best finale, and ‘SORRY NOT SORRY’ just blows it out of the water in every single way. I have such positive memories associated with listening to THE ESTATE SALE, and I would honestly call this version of the album my favorite of Tyler’s discography.
Final album ranking:
8. Goblin
7. Bastard
6. Cherry Bomb
5. Wolf
4. CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST
3. Flower Boy
2. Igor
1. CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST: THE ESTATE SALE
