Tyler, The Creator; also known as Ace, Gap Tooth T, DJ Stank Daddy, Tyler Haley, or Wolf Haley; is one of my favorite artists… ever. While I wasn’t a fan during his infamous Bastard or Goblin days, I’ve been hooked since he released his album (Scum F*ck) Flower Boy.
After that discovery I began to dive into his work and I began to really appreciate his talent and the way he thinks about things. While his earlier music and actions were often criticized, he’s defended them by saying it was an act and a character- not his own opinions. He’s also grown in his artistry and mellowed out the harsh lyrics with each new album released.
Tyler hasn’t only worked with music either, he created the clothing brand Golf Wang, started the music festival Camp Flog Gnaw, and created the streaming service Golf Media which aired original scripted series from him.
Once I made these realizations, he quickly became one of my top artists who I consistently listened to. With that being said, IGOR is (in most opinions) some of his best work to date.
Not only did IGOR debut at #1- becoming his first number one single- but it won him his first Grammy for Best Rap Album. Did I mention that he wrote and produced the entire record?
Right: A lyrics page included inside the IGOR record listing its themes.
This IGOR character represents an alter-ego that shows up after Tyler pours out all of his heart for his love interest, though his love interest remains focused on his ex. The album’s first half follows that love triangle while the second half shows IGOR trying to move on. Comedian Jerrod Carmichael serves as the narrator, with snippets of him speaking making appearances throughout various tracks. It’s important to note that this is a narrative album which connects each song to each other to tell a story.
Puppet, featuring Kanye West, is one of my personal favorites from the record. This track is in the stage of the story where he’s crawling back to his love interest despite telling him in earlier songs that he wanted to stay just friends and never see him again.
I really enjoy how the song progresses slowly and builds with the chorus repeating “I’m your puppet” following with alternating lyrics between “you control me” and “I don’t know me”, then adding in vocals by Kanye.
Puppet ends with: Kanye telling Tyler to “breathe on a song”, a pitched-up Tyler (or someone) saying “cut me loose”, and Jerrod Carmichael stating, “But at some point, you come to your senses”, signaling finally moving on and the appearance of IGOR’s character in the rest of the album.
However, the next track on the album, What’s Good?, ends with “I don’t know what’s harder, letting go or just being okay with it” revealing that even though he seemingly “came to his senses”, he still can’t fully let go.
My other top song from IGOR has to be its closing track, Are We Still Friends?. It’s not only a gorgeous, impactful number, but it’s the most perfect ending to a record that wraps everything up in a neat bow and sends you on your way. In the storyline, it’s the final scene where Tyler is hoping to finally move past this love triangle and is asking if they’re able to just be friends.
The song samples Al Green’s song “Dream” by fading it in and out of the intro and when you look at the lyrics of “Dream,” they’re all about a dream coming true and lasting forever. Now, looking at “Are We Still Friends?”, it’s obvious that Tyler hopes this dream of being friends with this love interest can come true.
He admits, “I’ve been back there, and I cannot die too” because he knows he can’t keep continuing in the love triangle because it was toxic to him. But Tyler also pleads “don’t get green skin, keep contact” then “don’t say goodbye, smell you later” making sure that he knows he doesn’t want him to become an alien (stranger) because he cares about him, even if they can’t be together romantically.
The build up in the end of the song is the climax of the entire album, with Tyler finally realizing he’d rather be friends with him than not have him in his life at all. Ending with Tyler yelling- presumably letting it all out finally- and then dropping off with the instruments almost abruptly.
A masterpiece of a finale.
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