I was first introduced to Tyler through YouTube recommendations, which presented “Yonkers” to me in high school. I’ll be the first to say I’m not a day one fan, but I’ve listened to his entire discography multiple times now.
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It was fascinating hearing him develop and blossom with each release while also staying true to himself. With the release of CMIYGL, I went back and listened through Tyler’s entire discography. With the release of every recent Tyler album, I often find myself comparatively listening to his old work to see how far he’s come. Today, he’s a 30-year-old established artist and producer telling everyone, “I told you so.” His ability to rap over his own production has garnered him loads of success, ramping towards greatness status on this front to the levels of Kanye West, RZA, and Dr. The former Odd Future ringleader has now released seven albums in his career, evolving individually and sonically as time went on. He started making music as a rebellious teenager in 2007. While Wolf doesn’t have as many instantly memorable tracks as Goblin, Tyler’s production is better than ever.Throughout his time in the rap game, Tyler’s character arc has been one of the most fascinating to watch unfold. Wolf appears to be a turning point in Tyler’s career, allowing him to maintain the dark content of his earlier efforts while developing and maturing as a producer. The combination of appearances by both Odd Future members and outside artists creates an album that acts as a sort of bridge between the more juvenile and violent work on Tyler’s earlier work (including his work with Odd Future) and a more emotionally developed, melodic music.
#Tyler the creator wolf album work full
While Earl’s verse doesn’t reach its full potential, it is still a welcome appearance and is integral to the storyline of Wolf. Earl Sweatshirt provides his first verse on a Tyler album since Bastard on “Rusty”. Wolf is also full of guest appearances by contributors including previously-mentioned Pharrell and Erykah Badu who provides vocals on the excellent jazz/soul track “Treehome95” as well as contributions from many of Odd Future’s best rappers including Hodgy Beats, Casey Veggies, and Mike G, not to mention Odd Future’s prolific R&B singer Frank Ocean. Although the album drags on a bit towards the middle like Goblin and Bastard, it isn’t long before it picks up momentum again.
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One of the album’s high points “IFHY” manages to blend his new musical direction with his emotionally-charged lyrics of old while featuring a verse from Tyler’s idol Pharrell, and the result is one of the album’s strongest tracks. In part influenced by jazz and lounge music, the music on Wolf is some of Tyler’s best, from the smooth and mellow tracks like “Answer” and “Lone” to the more hard-hitting tracks that appeal more to the Bastard and Goblin fans like “Domo23” and “Trashwang”. Musically, Tyler’s production has never been better. Wolf, and thus Tyler himself, has been transformed into the deeply troubled person we see on Bastard and Goblin. By the end of the album, Wolf’s innocence has disappeared. The conflict between Sam and Wolf introduces tension that builds up until Wolf is forced to deal with Sam head on. But Wolf also introduces another element that bends Wolf’s innocence until it breaks entirely: conflict. The album initially reminisces on simpler times: summer love, youthful innocence, and meeting new people at camp. Wolf provides a narrative of how innocence is destroyed. Wolf replies that if he’d seen him he would have killed him (“Lone”). TC asking Wolf if he’s seen Sam anywhere. Once Sam finds out what’s been going on between Wolf and Salem, he vows to kill Wolf and kills Wolf’s friend Earl (“Rusty”), culminating in a fight breaking out between Sam’s and Wolf’s allies (“Trashwang”). Wolf meets his rival/alter-ego Sam (“Wolf), and soon finds himself in love with Sam’s girlfriend Salem and begins seeing her behind Sam’s back (“PartyIsntOver/Campfire/Bimmer”). Wolf is a side-story not directly connected to the storyline of Bastard and Goblin, narrating the title character Wolf’s experiences at a summer camp named Camp Flog Gnaw. Rather, Wolf hides Tyler’s deeply rooted issues behind a mask of smooth, Summery music. The harsh beats and violent lyrics of previous tracks like “Yonkers” and “Tron Cat” are all but absent on Wolf, appearing only in a few tracks over the album’s 70 minute span.
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In fact, ‘mellow’ would probably be the best way to sum the album up as a whole in one word. Tyler had long stated that his next planned album Wolf would move away from the violent themes of Bastard and Goblin and be far mellower album. Tyler, the Creator has always been known for his shock-value lyrics, dark themes, and tight production, and with 2011’s Goblin all three of these elements reached their apex.