One of the reasons why I love this time of year is watching every music elitist out there sum up the best of 2011 with their own appraisal of new music that graced the year. As I was perusing the top countdowns (from Pitchfork to MTV), I noticed one disturbing trend: Tyler, the Creator in the top spots.
Although not always #1, the loud-mouthed leader of OFWGKTA made serious waves this year with the release of his album Goblin. If you’re a 16-year-old white male or particularly engaged in the indier-than-thou music world, you’ve known about Tyler’s unique, offensive, and brutish style since his self-released album Bastard. But for many of us, his fame really came into light when he won MTV’s Best New Artist for his song “Yonkers.” It’s cooler than cool to think of Tyler as the next great visionary, with provocative lyrics and a sound unlike anything else.
And before I start: yes, I “get” it. His overall sound is reminiscent of good old-school hip-hop, with no auto-tuning. I appreciate how real his music sounds without industry frills or needing a Nicki Minaj verse or two to get people to listen. That’s not why you should hate him.
What MTV (and what seems like a majority of the hip music critics out there) fails to find fault in is Tyler’s sickeningly violent persona steeped in his lyrics – which many in the industry praise obscenely for being so innovative and creative. “Although these lyrics are violent, that’s the point,” says Olivia Sledzik of The Blue and Grey. That seems to be the argument of many music reviewers, at least. The industry can’t seem to get enough of his edginess, dripping with violent homophobic and misogynistic lyrics. And when he’s not making a joke about killing himself, he’s rapping from a perspective of a rapist, or making jokes about rape and domestic violence in general.
Tyler, the Creator — “Yonkers”
His lyrics are at time cringe-worthy, with rhymes like “I’ll crash that fucking airplane that that fucking nigga B.o.B. is in / And stab Bruno Mars in his goddamn esophagus.” And while at times the hipsters of the world agree that auto-tuning and Top-40 jams are killing music as we know it, his overtly aggressive lyric – featured in the song that earned Tyler an MTV award in the first place – is deemed by the industry to be so raw and real that we should be praising his free speech, not demonizing it. Consider these telling lyrics from his eloquently titled “Bitch Suck Dick:”
Beat your bitch in her mouth just for talkin’ shit
You lurkin’ bitch? Well, I see that shit
Once again I gotta punch a bitch in her shit
I’m icy bitch, don’t look at my wrist
Because if you do, I might blind you bitch
It’s not just his lyrics – it’s his personality, too. His Twitter account is drenched in homophobic slurs such as “faggot” and “gay” (as an adjective). In any interview I have watched of him, such as this one in Interview magazine, Tyler drops the f-bomb like it’s his job.
I don’t think Tyler, the Creator is actually a bad guy. In one interview in particular, he even seems harmless: “Everyone thinks about dark shit, why when somebody fuckin’ says it is it such a big deal, you know?” His jokes about rape, he says, are supposed to be “a storyline.” “I’m writing this song from the mind of some fuckin’ serial killer from thirty years ago who’s a white male. Like, really? If they sit back and actually listen to the fuckin’ coolness and genius of it, like, shit, that’s what irks me.” He even compares his “art” to that of Quentin Tarantino, claiming that the violence in both Tarantino’s iconic films and his music that of the same genre of “art.”
Tyler also says that he’s not homophobic. “I just say ‘faggot’ and use ‘gay’ as an adjective to describe stupid shit.” He goes on to explain that things just do not offend him the way it might offend someone else, that he just “doesn’t give a shit.”
Perhaps the most public condemnation of Tyler’s music came from Sara Quin of the band Tegan and Sara. She wrote a very eloquent piece titled “A Call for Change,” saying that “In any other industry would I be expected to tolerate, overlook, and find deeper meaning in this kid’s sickening rhetoric? Why should I care about this music or its ‘brilliance’ when the message is so repulsive and irresponsible?” to which, Tyler responded with a simple Tweet: “If Tegan And Sara Need Some Hard Dick, Hit Me Up!”
And yet, this still is not why you should hate Tyler, the Creator.
To be perfectly honest, Tyler’s just a kid. He has no idea what impact his lyrics have on society, especially when his music is praised so openly by a plethora of young minds, listening to his songs as an example of how to think and act. Perhaps, you say, someone should combat this young and disturbed rapper’s culture of violence with words of wisdom; something like, “Now Tyler, even though the industry is praising your innovation, this gives you more power than you really know what to do with, and your violent, homophobic and misogynistic lyrics, even if they are with a twistedly ‘good’ intention, are perpetuating a culture which is accepting of these offenses and makes them seemingly okay to your fans, other listeners, and society as a whole.” But alas, Tyler would probably retort with a similarly juvenile comeback that he gave Sara Quin.
You shouldn’t hate Tyler, the Creator for being sexist, or homophobic, or violent because in the end, we as a society of listeners are merely making it okay for him to keep making music by accepting this culture of violence into our Top 50 Albums of the Year, et cetera. Tyler isn’t edgy, he isn’t fighting the system, he’s an obnoxious kid, who thinks making art consists of taking all of the confused feelings or jokes he and his friends think are clever and making music with them. In the end, we should hate ourselves for even paying attention to him.
Photo by mehan via Flickr.
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As much as I respect your opinion and the known fact Tyler the Creator may not be for everyone, I find it preposterous you would go out of your way so as to take time in titling it “Why you should hate Tyler the Creator”. Before criticizing a talented young artist so violently, you should be sure to have had a some background on his music. Clearly you seem to be focused on the music that has gotten much critical acclaim in the tabloids, but if you were to expand your basis to his other music you would understand he’s not just “an obnoxious kid who thinks making art consists of taking all of the confused feelings or jokes and making music with them.” Although his lyrics are often times disturbing and dark, he’s an artist nonetheless and many lyrics have much deeper connotations than would be expected. But alas you seem to be all-knowing in regards to Tyler’s thoughts, by claiming he merely “makes jokes about killing himself” in his songs. Disappointing. But thank you for your concern about the kids in this generation listening to Tyler, we’ll be aware that we are simply “listening to his songs as an example of how to think and act”. Just as well, I’ll be sure to resist “setting the world on fire” as Fun. instructed me to do. But in all seriousness, as “a society of listeners” it’s known he all have different tastes in our music, and Tyler’s seems to be an acquired taste. Instead of bitching, or I should say complaining, about an musician you particularly don’t like, you should respect him as a self-made artist who’s proved himself a success, even in this talentless industry.
You stupid fucking bitch. You don’t know shit about Tyler and you’re literally judging him off one song. People like you fucking disgust me. Coming at a nigga for doing something different & making music the way he wants to. Stay writing your stupid little articles that repeat big words over & over like if you know what they mean that will never get you anywhere & let a real artist make his fucking music.
I love tyler idc !!
People keep mentioning Tylers “deeper meaning”, well what exactly is his meaning? To upset people? If thats the case then take victory in this article because it certainly demonstrates how much bigotry and perverse misogyny can be upsetting to people. You claim its all a joke but why is it funny? Whats funny about rape? Whats funny about domestic violence? You should take a walk through a womens shelter, see women who are victims of the violence described in Tyler’s lyrics and decide how funny you think the lyrics are…
fag
You’re stupid, those aren’t even his lyrics. You don’t know what you’re talking about at all. OFWGKTA
fuck you hahahaha. Your just taking the lyrics and looking at them from the outside… its all a fucking mental game man. your probably some snobby bitch in your 40′s who doesnt remember that when your a teenager you just hate the world and shit and you dont know how to deal with girls , school , bullies , all that bull shit. if you dont know.. which i know you dont.. bastard and goblin are both meetings with tyler and his shrink… and the songs are all the shit that goes on in his mind.. its not literal its just figurative of what you feel. and now that wolf is out its even fucking better. your a dumb bitch for making this… btw. the lyrics you took from Bich Suck Dick.. they’re Jasper’s.. not Tyler’s ..
fuck .
Hi, thanks for sharing.
Does the young generation really need to listen to a stupid juvenile punk who doesn’t know anything about life? Who talks about raping and violence? Well I don’t think so…
Id pay NOT to hear his music
This is the best thing I’ve read in a long time, I completely agree with your thoughts on Tyler, I’m actually writing a persuasive essay on why his music should terminated. His words are distasteful and just infuriate me. Great piece, keep it up
Who cares? People are dying and legitimate horrible things around the world everyday. You want to rant about a kid who makes money off of clearly satirical and offensive music while other artists are doing the same selling and actually promoting their image. The only thing you are doing is wasting your time. The Group is made up of multiple people female and male with 2 of their members actually being Gay. People joke about being gay and as far as the rape comments if you don’t like it’s not serious and it no one is forcing you to listen to it… not even worth explaining. Emily Ace Ventura is a better detective, you just have a biased perspective.
You’re an ignorant shit
Tyler is just a big kid, he’s slowly maturing.
Stop forcing your shitty , biased opinion down our throats.
Just because you don’t like him, doesn’t mean I can’t like him either
Snob
This is ridiculous everyone’s allowed to have their own opinion like damn just because you don’t like his stuff doesn’t mean there are reasons “why we should hate Tyler the creator” excuse us for not being bias. Yeah his songs are dark who really cares, he IS harmless. Like it says in the article, we’ve all thought of this before what’s so bad about him saying it?
Good article! We will be linking to this great post on our site. Keep up the good writing.
This is just ONE of countless songs by this monster describing MURDER, TORTURE, and RAPE….he’s a sick, vile, monster:
He RAPES this woman, murders her and stuff her in his TRUNK.
Not very confusing to someone with a few brain cells!!!!
“Blow”
If this was a game
I already know that I would come out winner
And I’m not braggin’, I’mma be in her
But this bitch really think that I’m ’bout to buy her dinner
My steak good, I got a good cut like splinter
Juicy and hot such a black bitch temper
Now she wanna talk and chop it up like a blender
But I don’t give a fuck and keep her list’in like Schindler
She’s cute but her forehead’s big
Got stretch marks like she got four kids
Her legs can’t close like the four door hinge Bronco
That O.J. killed the white hos with
A wealthy white girl without the facelift
Lure her with expensive dinners and a nice bracelet
Leave the bitch breathless, what the bitch don’t know is that
I’m a muthafuckin’ sellout and a rapist
Baby, you’re an angel
How ’bout we turn this into a fable of some sort?
You already know you’re dead
Ironic cause your lipstick is red, of course
I stuff you in the trunk, drunk
Cause all I really wanna do is fuck and snort blow
If this was a game
I would be considered a muthafuckin’ legend
And I ain’t tryna gas you up like Chevron
But I’m high as fuck bitch, you really need to get on my leverage
Now we’re in the cabin, in the middle of uhh
Tryna find ways to really stuff you in my cabinet
Dreamy little bastard, I done ran outta luck so now
It’s time for a bloody foot you little rabbit
You’re very attractive, and notice that
My hat is always the color of cactus
And I hang with wolves cause I’m an evil Bastard
Pictures of you on my wall no glue, no tape but just cum plastered
Met you at my school, departed at my house
Ended at your panties, started at your blouse
Pushed you down stairs, I took a nap up on the couch
If you wanted a date, don’t come
Now you gotta make it easy for me don’t run
You call this shit kids, well I call these kids cum
And you call this shit rape but I think that rape’s fun
Wait now it’s about eight somethin
It’s late and you stuck in my base-one
Come downstairs with nothin’ but a shoe string
Yeah bitch this date’s done
Baby, you’re an angel
How ’bout we turn this into a fable of some sort?
You already know you’re dead
Ironic cause your lipstick is red, of course
I stuff you in the trunk, drunk
Cause all I really wanna do is fuck and snort blow
I like my girls how I like my drugs, white
Lord, you’re so pretty, lyin’ in my arms
I just got one request, stop breathin’
More sickness, vividly detailing the grisly rape, murder and cannibalism of *Sarah*
“Sarah”
I like my girls skinny with brains
I like my hoodies fucked with lane
I like my friends imaginary with no names
And I make music for the fuck of it, no fame
Aim, shoot, the gun of love, round
Tried to find ammo but it’s none around town
So I went Down South but I ended up North
Uptown sittin’ on Cloud 9′s white porch
And of course, my car’s off course
You’re so white, my blinkers don’t work
I’m tryna let the force, be with you, I get you
Music is my first, but I contemplate divorce
You make a nigga sing songs nice
You make a nigga’s night turn day
And you make the flowers sing say turn green yellow
It sucks that I didn’t get the chance to say hello
I wanna eat you out like jello
And mess with your body like the base and the cello
And tell your mom I said hello, you wanna go to prom? (Nigga hell no!)
Fuck (Shit) and another one, and on another one
Another love song about shit
And I’ll be rich if I get another diss
And maybe Cupid won’t miss
I like her L-I-K-E, the only difference is she won’t fuck with me
But she will fuck with that vegetable with the hairs full of X’s and O’s
I wanna tie her body up and throw her in my basement
Keep her there, so nobody can wonder where her face went
(Tyler, what you doin’?) Shut the fuck up
You gon’ fuckin’ love me bitch
But all I really want is a kiss on the cheek
In private, not public in the streets
And your cupcake I will eat and your toes
Cause I got a big fetish with the feet
I just want somebody I can see
You can be a gold digger, you ain’t gotta love me
I’m serious, I don’t ask for much
Your heart literally is what I do want for lunch
Now this shit is turnin’ to a habit
I’m the Burger King, I gotta have it my way
And truthfully girl you really make my day
I would probably kill myself if you told me you was gay
And I can’t even look the other way
Your aura is a magnet, my eyes a metal bag, it’s attractive
L-O-L laughin’, you’re a gold Oscar and I’m just actin’
And I want your sin in my hole, and have our kids play supportin’ role
Climbin’ up the pole, Jack and the Beanstalk, bitch it’s gold
And I was in loath, I would never get over you, ever, Sarah
Another love song about shit
And I’ll be rich if I get another diss
And maybe Cupid won’t miss
Half your body layin’ on my chest
The rest is in my stomach, that’s includin’ your breast
And I’mma just take another guess
Now you probably wishin’ that you woulda said yes
Am I crazy? Maybe, but fucked up is how I been lately
Shit, I don’t give a fuck, your family lookin’ for you, wish ‘em good luck
Bitch, you tried to play me like a dummy
Now you stuck up in my motherfuckin’ basement all bloody
And I’m fuckin’ your dead body, your coochie all cummy
Lookin’ in your dead eyes, what the fuck you want from me?
What did you want from me? What did you want from me?
DNaya C perfectly represents all you crazy high strung bitches.
“’im actually writing a persuasive essay on why his music should terminated. His words are distasteful and just infuriate me.”
You are soooo smart for writing a persuasive essay! good job! the only problem is that you want to “terminate” his music because you find it “distasteful” and “infuriating”. You should glance over the first amendment before you get too far into your essay… cause that shit you are proposing is … unconstitutional…
everyone else: just because you are offended by something does not mean it is bad and Tyler can talk about whatever he wants if people buy his CD’s
The “deeper meaning” your saying isn’t there is definitely there. Listen to his song nightmare,really listen to it look up the lyrics too. That song is so real and I relate to it so well that song describes my life. Tyler used to cut himself and was in a deep depression, he’s not joking when he talks about suicide. He’s thought about it and being someone who’s tried it it’s easier to joke about it then admit your feelings. He’s raw and that music isn’t for everybody. I’m a fan of screamoe music so I’m used to songs being raw but it seems to be more excepted in rock than rap I have no idea why asking Alexandria has a song about killing God but no one’s making an article about how terrible they are. They’re not terrible though I actually love them.
tyler ?
really your going to write this on him , maybe you don’t like him because you don’t understand his music , his music is not something you need to like , you just dont take your fucken time and lisen to his song and understand on what the fuck he is saying in his music yo .
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This is unbelievable. It’s MUSIC. You make of it what you want. You’re treating Tyler like he’s the only thing kids are exposed to and will listen to. Just because someone raps about unsavoury topics like rape or violence doesn’t mean that people who listen to it will automatically start carrying out deeds of that nature. Additionally, the people who do end up doing those things definitely don’t trace it back to a song they heard when they were a teenager.
Now onto your argument (rant), where you conveniently happen to mention the minority of songs which contain darker topics and extrapolate. Easy isn’t it? Generalising doesn’t do much except, i dunno, put a big hole in your argument and let any “substance” spill out uncontrollably. Just because some of Tyler’s songs have themes of “misogyny” doesn’t make him the devil’s right hand man. It MAKES HIM HUMAN. He’s not an angel, nobody is. No-one is exempt from having dark thoughts, we all have them, but they don’t make us evil. Tyler just decides to put his dark thoughts into a clever format that some can appreciate from a musical standpoint.
Tyler is channeling his creativity into something productive that many people are able to benefit from through the escape it provides. This stuff isn’t going to form someones soundtrack and hijack their every thought, it’s just nice sounding stuff that a lot of work goes into. In my view, Tyler epitomises many good things such as hard-work, camaraderie and not taking yourself too seriously, which can lead to arrogance *cough* kanye west *cough*. However, the main thing i get from him is this. Even if you seemingly don’t fit into this crazy jigsaw called life, it doesn’t really matter, because with enough determination & self-belief you can start your own puzzle and arrange the pieces whichever way you want with people that make you smile. If you fail to see that, then I feel sorry for you, truly.
Faggot.
All you Tyler the Creator fanboy baby whiners shut up and get out with your mindless “thats not what hes saying!” crock of sh*t.. Its blatant bs… We can read lyrics for ourselves you stupid uneducated fools. His lyrics are blatantly promoting disgusting and vile things. Go on talking about how hes some good “musician” ..in reality his music is soooo bad I would rather listen to a Jonas Brothers album for a month straight whilst getting water boarded simultaneously than be subjected to a stupid mindless twat like him and his no talent ass clown “art”.
Dear Author: First of all, I completely respect your opinion, although I don’t at all agree with it. Second of all, you just got a lot of stuff wrong in your story. For one thing, in the song “Bitch Suck Dick”, the person who says ”
Beat your bitch in her mouth just for talkin’ shit
You lurkin’ bitch? Well, I see that shit
Once again I gotta punch a bitch in her shit
I’m icy bitch, don’t look at my wrist
Because if you do, I might blind you bitch”
is NOT Tyler, but his friend Jasper, who clearly says in “Oldie” (which if you wanted to listen to, you would find is a great song) that he is “not even a rapper”. So those lyrics aren’t even a rapper’s. Also, that whole entire song is obviously A JOKE, along with songs such as “Fuck the Police” and “We Got Bitches”. Another point that you made is that he spit some gruesome lyrics about B.O.B and Bruno Mars. Well, him doing that is the equivalent of you not liking him: everyone has their least favorite and favorite artists, Tyler is just a little bit more upfront about it, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Another point is that some of Tyler’s music represent the mindset of some people very accurately. His ability to represent a teenager’s emotions so truly on tracks such as “Lone”, “Bastard” and “Inglorious” is actually a beautiful thing. Tyler also is a big supporter of jazz, which you can’t say about many rappers these days. He opens his fan’s eyes to artists such as Coco O, Erykah Badu and Pharrell. Tyler also promotes the arts and inspires teens to express their emotions through music or art. Tyler is also straight edge and doesn’t drink, smoke, or do any other drugs. Although he may have tried some drugs, he openly refers to staying away from drugs and alcohol as an acceptable and cool thing. He tells his usually young fans that you DON’T need to do drugs to be cool. How can you hate somebody who does that? He is basically the only one in Odd Future who doesn’t do drugs, but he is also one of the biggest role models in Odd Future, so the fact that he doesn’t submit to peer pressure from his peers to do drugs send an even better message to his listeners.
Tyler is an independent person who announces that he isn’t the best rapper (although I don’t agree with him there) and I respect him as a person and as an artist. Although I can’t control what you think, I hope that my views on Tyler made you think about Tyler, rappers, and music as a whole. The next time you have a moment, take a day to listen to an album or two by him. Look up some of his meaningful lyrics on Rap Genius. I’m sure that you’ll appreciate some of the messages that he is trying to get across about how hard and yet how fun life can be. He is saying to make the best of life while you still have the chance. Next time you hear his music and think about his lyrics and the emotion that he puts into his words, just take a second to stop and think.
–G