And he does it all over break beats, accompanied by a DJ, and using rap as his weapon of choice. Instead, he crafted a concise piece of work about a very confident adult realizing his own ego is both his best asset and indeed his worst enemy. To Tyler’s credit, he didn’t rest on his laurels.
When your last album gets so many standing ovations, creating a follow-up can feel daunting. That’s that ego talking, and it’s a feeling most of us can relate to. Still, he does it effortlessly and even shows vulnerability with a couple admissions that he isn’t immune to criticism from people who have “lunch breaks.” Even for someone with a Grammy to his name, the mean tweets and handful of bad reviews still sting. The song kind of apologizes for the less-than-beloved Cherry Bomb, charts his growth as a man, and serves as an anthem for all successful young Black men who “massa couldn’t catch.” That’s not an easy feat, even for a good rapper. The way he lays out his own history with witty and insightful storytelling on “MASSA” is, no pun intended, masterful. And it’s an incredible one at that, because when he’s focused, there’s maybe a handful of people better at the art of rapping than Tyler Okonma. Well, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, from its samples to even its referential artwork, is unmistakably a rap album. Tyler’s 2019 LP threw several genres into a blender and, as the man pointed out, wasn’t really a rap album. Maybe that same ego is the reason why this album feels less experimental than IGOR. The ego is tucked into the closet for one song, further blurring the lines between the man, the persona, and the alter-ego. On an album filled with dope lines from a guy who always says it with his chest, “WILSHIRE” is a rare moment where we feel him holding back.
He stumbles over words and mumbles parts of a sad story, sounding like someone not fully ready to handle the truth. “WILSHIRE” is eight and a half minutes of a once-intense love affair turned to dust due to his need to feed his ego. That journey includes heartbreak, because no Tyler, The Creator album is complete without romance. He’s finding his way through the darkness, just like the rest of us. Whether you believe he’s wrong for spending some of his hard-earned cash on a necklace, rather than donating it all, is irrelevant. That burden is even heavier for someone with the influence and wealth that Tyler, The Creator has. While Tyler isn’t the type to question himself publicly, his music offers a peek into the soul of another Black person wondering if they’re doing enough to fight injustice. That last part makes “MANIFESTO” a highlight, if only for its raw honesty when he raps: “Am I doing enough or not doing enough/ I’m trying to run with the baton but see my shoes in the mud/ Anything I say dog, I’m screwing shit up/ so I just tell these Black babies they should do what they want.” Tyler acknowledges his bravado, failures, regrets, contradictions, and feelings about being a Black man in 2021. That self-awareness bleeds into the album’s second half.
All features on call me if you get lost skin#
Some rappers are conflicted about their lavish lifestyles The Creator is the rare well-adjusted artist comfortable in his own skin and massive ego.
He takes us from the limo to the views from his plane’s window seat without an ounce of regret. Seriously, for a guy who once looked ready to ride into that Miami sunset and call it a day, Wayne’s raps sound like they bathed in a fountain of youth on “HOT WIND BLOWS.” While Weezy talks about the wind beneath his wings and the Desert Eagle underneath his coat, Tyler is more concerned with living the literal jet life. We’d be amiss not to mention the album-stealing verse by another DJ Drama partner-in-rhyme, Lil’ Wayne. The pace only lets up for a bit on the single “WUSYANAME,” a YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Ty Dolla $ign-assisted joint that sounds right out of the era of baggy jeans, Cross Colours, and when Marques Houston went by Batman (though Tyler generally opts to express a particular brand of dirty hedonism instead of going for the era’s soulful, gritty instrumentals). The tough talk, bragging, and glamorous self-reflection carry the first 12 minutes of the album with speed more associated with track meets than hip-hop albums.
0 kommentar(er)
