Tyler, the Creator is one of the most unique musicians out there right now. The music world has no idea what to do with him. He never tells the media anything of any importance just odd things that don’t have much to do with what they ask him.
He’s been criticized in the media for being homophobic but then he has songs like Domo23 where he says “So, a couple fags threw a little hissfit Came to Pitchfork with a couple Jada Pinkett signs, and said I was a racist homophobic so I grabbed Lucas and filmed us kissing.” He has been very confusing with his sexuality with nobody exactly sure what he is. This is due to him being a very private person, but I also believe that he uses his to his advantage as a way for people to find answers in his music and not as much what he says in interviews.
His latest album Flower Boy which is a nod to homosexual tendencies continues to make people question his sexuality. Many people believe he has some sort of relationship with singer and longtime collaborator Frank Ocean who came out as being bi-sexual in 2012. I don’t particularly think that this matters nor my business.
What I like is that a Hip-Hop artist can say whatever he wants and not get scrutinized in a Hip-Hop committee that has always been primarily a very masculine. Tyler is a very controversial figure who steers quite clear of the popular tropes of a Hip-hop artist. At the beginning of his career, I believe he was controversial to break away from an earlier mold in Hip-hop and to stand out. He ate a cockroach in a music video he had extremely controversial lyrics about women, gay people and just about anyone. He also talked about how he doesn’t do drugs, but then would also occasionally talk about them in songs he has been all over the place.
Though I think he has matured a lot with his latest project Flower Boy he talks about fame and it’s consequences it has had on him as a person and how he only has cars as comfort, and also is even more explicit about how he feels about guys. In a song called I ain’t got time! He says the lyrics “I’ve been kissing white boys since 2004” then when asked about it in an interview he states “It’s still such a grey area with people, which is cool with me,” he explained. “Even though I’m considered loud and out there, I’m private, which is a weird dichotomy. The juxtaposition of loud and quiet is weird.”
I believe he is becoming more open about his interest with men which I think is a great and that he is growing as a musician instead of just using his old shock value tricks that he used to. He is maturing into a man who is much more comfortable in his own skin, and I can’t wait for his next album!
https://www.complex.com/music/2018/09/tyler-the-creator-talks-sobriety-fashion-in-fantasticman-cover-story
https://genius.com/1505325