Many had criticized Tyler of alleged homophobia (among other things) with his rampant use of slurs like “faggot” (a word that doesn’t show up on this album once). But what this revelation does is create a new lens with which to look through the history of Tyler’s career. Much has been made of Tyler’s sexuality, and it’s been talked about probably way too much. On “Garden Shed”, Tyler confesses “Garden shed for the garçons / Them feelings that I was guardin’ / Heavy on my mind.” And again on “I Ain’t Got Time”, “I’ve been kissing white boys since 2004.” And those are just a few of the most obvious points. He hints not so subtly at this throughout the album. And these themes are symbols used, as many have pointed out already, to talk about Tyler’s apparent “coming out”. In fact, flowers and gardens are some of the main themes of Flower Boy (obviously). While on the subject of features, Lil Wayne’s verse on “Droppin’ Seeds” is one of his best in years, employing “flowery” puns and innuendos over an excellent jazz track. While Tyler has obviously worked on his singing chops since previous efforts, he still prefers to call on talented friends like Frank Ocean, Rex Orange County, and Kali Uchis to deliver gorgeously dreamy hooks, most notably on “Where This Flower Blooms”, “See You Again”, and “911/Mr. The features on the album make this album stronger as well. The piano interludes, subdued jazz chords, and string arrangements highlighted on tracks like “Where This Flower Blooms” create an atmosphere for Tyler to daydream in his McLaren, while the sinister first minute of absolute banger “Who Dat Boy” creates a tension akin to the themes from Jaws or Psycho. From beginning to end, he capitalizes on the neo-soul and jazzy elements he’s flirted with previously to create a smooth, conceptual, even cinematic album.

While connections will still be made to the Neptunes, particularly on tracks like instrumental closer “Enjoy Right Now, Today” with its flat, punchy drums and even an appearance by Pharrell, Tyler’s production and arrangement has never sounded this good. And his personal soul-searching has often been bogged down by distractions and thematic crutches such as using a fictional therapist and other characters for three albums to help him with his feelings.īut all the imperfections and risk-taking of Tyler’s past efforts bloom into fruition now on Flower Boy, his most beautiful and open record to date. His production has often been compared to his idol and collaborator Pharrell, while other influences like Eminem (“Colossus”), and on his last record, Death Grips (“CHERRY BOMB”), are obvious sometimes to the point of mimicry.

To this point, Tyler’s honest exploration of music and emotion has been fruitful, if inconsistent. From the early Odd Future tapes to the shock rap of Goblin to the production improvements on Wolf to the dabbling in neo-soul on tracks like “Find Your Wings” from Cherry Bomb, each album has built on itself in some way or another as Tyler has attempted to perfect his craft and dive deeper into his psyche. Odd Future leader Tyler, The Creator is one of those artists where, looking back over his career, one could trace a clear trajectory from where he began to where he is now.

Tyler the creator wolf vinyl head