Tyler, the Creator's new album is a change of pace.
Tyler, the Creator's new album is a change of pace.
Did you want another dose of bratty skate-punk rap, the kind that got Tyler, the Creator banned from performing in New Zealand back in 2014?
Did you want a repeat of his angst-ridden hip-hop, a bleak soul-baring that spawned hits like Yonkiers, Domo23 and Sandwiches?
Did you want to seehim jumping around stages, sparking frenzied moshpits and near riots just like the Tyler of old?
Sorry, it ain't happening. Flower Boy, Tyler's fourth solo album outside the confines of his Odd Future collective, is a completely different beast, one that takes the same path as Jay-Z on 4:44, replacing intensity with emotional honesty.
"Truth is, since a youth kid, thought it was a phase / Thought it'd be like the phrase: 'poof,' gone / But, it's still goin' on," he rasps on the minimalist soul jam Garden Shed, a song many have interpreted as Tyler's coming-out moment.
Is it true? Possibly. Part of Flower Boy's fun is interpreting the real meaning. "I've been kissing white boys since 2004," he reveals on the clattering summer jam I Ain't Got Time!
Then there's this, from 911/Mr Lonely's funk flex: "Purchase some things until I'm annoyed /These items is fillin' the void / Been fillin' it for so long / I don't even know if it's shit I enjoy."
It's the music that will really put off fans of old. Flower Boy's replaces bass-led minimalism with subtle throwback loops, orchestral scores, soothing ballads, and actual singing, with only Who Dat Boy recreating the hyper-real energy of old.
Mostly, however, this is a left-turn that confuses, confounds and only occasionally succeeds.
But maybe, just maybe, this is the album that could change the perception of Tyler from an instigator to an artist - and that may mean his New Zealand performance ban is relaxed. Here's hoping.
Flower Boy - Tyler, the Creator
Label: Columbia Verdict: Brat rapper takes time to smell the roses
