The 25 Best Tyler, the Creator Songs

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tyler the creator best songs odd future

Highsnobiety / Julien Tell

Last twelvemonth, Tyler, the Creator, real proper noun Tyler Gregory Okonma, aka Ace, aka Tron Cat, aka Sam, Dr TC and Wolf Haley, released IGOR, his sixth full-length anthology and it was nothing curt of a damn masterpiece.

Information technology'southward now more than a decade since Tyler emerged as the face of Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, the controversial Californian skater crew/rap collective that would provide a platform for the successes of Earl Sweatshirt, The Internet, Frank Body of water and more. The group's ringleader has since graduated from rapping about "fucking faggots" and being banned from inbound the Uk to writing a soundtrack for a children's Christmas film, helming a global style brand, running a music festival, producing a fucking scented candle and condign 1 of the biggest rappers in the world. Hither's how he got from then to now, via 25 of the very best Tyler, the Creator songs.

25. "See You lot Again"

He's a sweetheart really. "See You Again" is reportedly Tyler'south favorite song from 2017's Flower Boy, and perhaps the finest pop track he's e'er written. It's a dearest song about seeing your ideal heartthrob every time you close your eyes, which is a bit similar Kali Uchis' chorus — listen now and it will be wandering around your mind all day. We have Zayn Malik'south poor punctuality to thank for it besides: in another globe it could have been him singing these lines. And nobody wanted that.

24. "I Am the Grinch"

In many ways, Tyler writing songs for The Grinch makes a lot of sense. I hateful, in many ways it makes no sense, manifestly, merely aside from the fact that he'due south a polemic rapper soundtracking a children's flick, he is substantially a large kid, obsessed with colors, waffles and Rugrats. Also, only similar the hairy green tormentor of Whoville, Tyler seems scary and hateful from afar, merely is all soft and cuddly upward close. Fingers crossed Earl Sweat does the soundtrack for the adjacent Cat in the Hat reboot.

23. "911 / Mr. Lone"

There would be nowhere most the same hype around IGOR if it hadn't been for Flower Boy. To date it's Tyler'south magnum opus, a work of complex, considered brilliance. Typical of that complexity is the double-edged "911 / Mr. Lone", a breezy, carefree slowjam that could work every bit on-concur music were it not for the lyrical references to suicide and chronic loneliness throughout.

22. $ilkMoney — "NAGA" ft. Tyler, the Creator

Despite only releasing almost eight songs in the space of iv years, Divine Quango are still the hottest rap group to emerge since Odd Future. So Tyler's collaboration with the Quango's $ilkMoney makes perfect sense: he's on production here, teasing rumbling synth lines that recall 2011's Goblin. His verse own't bad either.

21. "Bastard"

The first rail on Tyler's beginning mixtape, "Bounder" announced a new rapper on the scene with an opening skit taking shots at whatever blogger who hadn't yet taken detect of him. Across nine verses (and no choruses) Tyler weaves between references to Heelys and Disney movies to his absentee father and strangling imaginary girlfriends. It's also the introduction of Dr TC, the fictional psychiatrist with whom Tyler discusses his bug throughout Bastard, Goblin and 2013'south Wolf.

20. Ace – "Fin"

Looking back on the very first Odd Hereafter Tape at present prompts many writers to describe a teenage Tyler using terms like "remarkably fully formed." That's fair enough: he produced the whole thing while rapping under an array of dissimilar aliases. On "Fin" he goes past Ace, reeling off a list of acknowledgements to all his biggest influences, including his nearest and dearest, style brands like Supreme and Billionaire Boys Club and albums like Sade's Love Palatial and Radiohead'due south Kid A, besides as some slightly more egregious choices similar Hitler, Stalin and "all the porn in the world."

19. EarlWolf – "Orangish Juice"

Using the sumptuous piano instrumental from Gucci Mane's "Lemonade," "Orange Juice" showed why Tyler and Earl were many early Odd Future fans' ii faves — and also why they weren't such a hitting with rap fans' moms. The two channel OJ Simpson (geddit? OJ?) with confined about nuns, erections and duck-taping mother geese, but Tyler takes the gong with that line nigh Jack and Jill.

18. "Rusty"

Speaking of mums: Tyler, Earl and Domo Genesis's performance of "Rusty" on Letterman in 2013 epitomized the Odd Future explosion. They were rude (cheque all the censored swearwords); they had their own look; they could rap meliorate than anyone else around; and the mainstream media had absolutely no thought what to make of them. Even more excruciating (and hilarious) than this is their advent on BBC'southward Newsnight.

17. "Garbage"

Unbeknownst to some, it's actually possible to play Grand Theft Auto without turning into a serial car thief in real life. Similarly, listening to Tyler, the Creator lyrics about murdering white girls is not necessarily an endorsement of the crime in question. Anyhow, something near "Garbage" makes information technology a fitting selection for the GTA V soundtrack.

16. "Seven"

It'southward easy to imagine indie jazz-hoppers BadBadNotGood getting on well with the Odd Future coiffure. Bated from a shared fondness for Supreme, bucket hats and MF DOOM, the two acts first emerged chock with a like youthful talent at odds with the remainder of gimmicky music. Tyler'south attention was drawn to the Canadian band after they uploaded a cover of "Orangish Juice" to YouTube; not long afterward they were collaborating, every bit on this version of Bastard cut "Vii." "I didn't hateful to offend anyone… alright, I'm lying," Tyler grins in one lyric.

xv. Odd Future – "White"

Frank Sea used to say he looked up to Tyler despite being three years older than him. It's easy to hear why: on tracks like "White," Tyler's flossy production oozes around Frank'due south voice like custard round a sticky toffee pudding, unlocking unfathomable new flavors in the vocalizer's voice. This rails, taken from 2012'south The OF Tape Vol. 2, was a glimpse into the future for both artists, nodding towards both Blossom Boy and the imminent Channel Orange. It's a highlight in both their discographies.

xiv. Earl Sweatshirt – "Sasquatch" ft. Tyler, the Creator

Allow'due south just say this now: Earl'southward album Doris, released in August 2013, is meliorate than Wolf, which came out four months earlier. BUT: its all-time moment is "Sasquatch," and that'southward largely cheers to Tyler, whose verse sees him daydream about driving to a Ane Direction gig to see how many fans he tin can kidnap. It also includes a James and the Behemothic Peach reference, a mention of Chris Brown and Rihanna ("Oh fuck I went at that place!") and the line "we running shit like the dingleberries on iv cheetahs."

13. "Awkward"

The all-time thing nearly Wolf, other than the dreamy Frank Body of water choruses, all 3 versions of the artwork and the interplaying psychodrama between the two sides of Tyler'south personality, is that most of the instrumentals audio similar they've been sampled from hotel lobbies in the 1980s. Walking the tightrope between easy-listening ambience and tales of getting defenseless masturbating simply about sums upward the Tyler feel. "Awkward" is a prime number example.

12. WANG$AP – "Potato Salad"

Hopefully, the more we refer to Tyler and A$AP Rocky as "WANG$AP," the more likely it is that they'll tape an album together. Such a tape, though still a long fashion off in a half-imagined future, would represent a beacon of hope for rap fans amid all that mumbling and rambling ("mumble-rapping?!") that's out there at the moment.

11. "Blow"

"Blow," released on Bastard when Tyler was 19, is told from the perspective of Ted Bundy, the serial killer plant guilty of murdering at least 30 people in the 1970s. Lines like "you lot call this shit rape merely I think that rape'southward fun" eventually led to Tyler being banned from touring in certain countries, including the U.k., with Theresa May — so home secretarial assistant — assertive that his songs might "provoke terrorist acts." Though Tyler has since tidied up his lyrics, his early work remains vital, testament to a young rapper who thrived on diving deep into social taboos.

ten. Pusha-T – "Problem On My Heed" ft. Tyler, the Creator

OK, Push goes hard on this track. The Neptunes' production is banging. And the chorus is fire. But Tyler destroys. Following one of his virtually iconic lines ("I wanna fuck the globe but not a fan of using condoms") he switches between flows mid-line similar only he tin can, spitting bars nearly wet willies, Free Willy and Volition Smith. Information technology'due south amid his best ever verses.

9. "Find Your Wings"

Cherry Flop, Blossom Boy's predecessor, is a weird album. From songs about fancying underage girls to recording at Hans Zimmer'southward studio, it's the sharpest left plough in Tyler's oeuvre. Its best moment is the soul train lullaby "Find Your Wings," with none other than Roy Ayers lending his sweetness phonation to the track. Considering the soul direction Tyler took adjacent, this now sounds like a portent of things to come up, not least in its fuzzy, '70s video.

8. "WHAT THE FUCK Right At present"

Convertible car, top down, speakers pumping, dollar signs on the wheels and a license plate that says 'PLAYUH.' Listening to "WHAT THE FUCK RIGHT NOW" feels like driving one of those.

7. "She" ft. Frank Ocean

Maybe the all-time Tyler-Frank combination to date. It starts like a archetype Frank love scene, the beloved crooner using verse ane to pigment a lovely picture of a sleeping room romance. But before the first chorus there's Tyler at the window in full stalker-mode, and by verse three he's dragging bodies into forests. Call it horrorcore hip-hop, exploitation rap or necrophiliac funk, in that location's nobody better at making united states of america grin, gasp and grimace in the same vocal.

half-dozen. "OKRA"

Described past Tyler every bit a 'throwaway' rails that he fired off while on tour last year, "OKRA" is all guttural bass and quickfire humbug rap, the sort that makes subwoofers tremble. It typifies Tyler'southward penchant for deep lodge tools, occupying the sorts of frequencies about frequently associated with South London dubstep circa 2004. Which, as we all know, is when Tyler start started kissing white boys…

five. "I Own't Got Fourth dimension!"

Tyler sounds and then much more than mature on Bloom Boy, outing himself equally gay and using cardinal changes and devil'southward tritones like a composer rather than a typical hip-hop producer – just kidding. Tyler'south practiced whether he's gay, straight, acting like a grownup or fooling around like the course clown. He's a 'composer' whether he'south making classical music or hip-hop, and complexity is not superior to simplicity. "I Ain't Got Time!" may characteristic that line near snogging white boys since the mid-noughties, but it's designed to provoke riots at house parties, not chin-stroking thinkpieces.

4. "Radicals"

Random disclaimer: "Hey, don't do annihilation that I say in this song, OK? Information technology's fucking fiction. If anything happens, don't fucking blame me, white America." So says Tyler at the start of "Radicals," an OG OF banger about nihilistic fuck-you-all-round. You got that, everyone? Don't get upset past the extreme content. Don't blame rap music for lodge's problems. Don't complain to the BBC. Most of the fourth dimension information technology's just a scrap of fun. Fuck Bill O'Reilly.

iii. Odd Future – "Oldie"

Odd Future were over by 2015, but their bear upon on hip-hop, style, and internet culture is greater than just well-nigh any other human action this decade. "Oldie," which remains the definitive OF posse cut, shows the group exactly as they were at the time: a group of teenagers trying to brand each other laugh. While Tyler is center-stage, rapping first and terminal, verses from Earl and Mike G are at least as skillful. Besides, hold tight for Frank hanging effectually in the video like he's been dragged to a birthday party by his younger blood brother.

2. "Garden Shed"

Is this the moment Tyler came out as gay, offering an unexpected twist in the tale of a rapper once labeled as violently homophobic? Or is it yet some other ploy from rap'southward well-nigh devious prankster, a smirking middle finger to the critics who once lampooned him? In truth, we don't know. But information technology'south everything you could take ever wanted from a Tyler track: its luscious chords feel well-nigh weightless, as though recorded in a studio with zero gravity, topped only past a poesy replete with word play, light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation-speed rhymes and a healthy dose of vintage, jaw-dropping, OFWGKTA shock factor.

ane. "Yonkers"

The thing about Tyler — bless him — is he frequently distances himself from his quondam music, talking about Goblin and the like equally though he's long since moved on. And that's great: we don't want him to dwell on the by, to terminate coming upward with crazy new shit. Only "Yonkers" sent shockwaves through the music manufacture when it dropped, boasting the toughest trounce and the best opening line of whatever rap song in a decade. And he eats a cockroach in the video, for fuck's sake. Enough said.