Written Before Listen
Tyler The Creator is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and producer who has one of the most interesting discographies in modern music. Personally one of my favorites due to his most recent works being a unique blend of hip hop, funk and Neo soul. His older work despite being inconsistent had a unique hardcore hip hop vibe that was pure originality too that it had to be respected in one way or another. With that being said, I’m really excited to get into this
Artistic Evolution
Tyler The Creator is no stranger to artistic evolution. Starting off as a young rapper with a cult like persona, Tyler was not the most serious rapper on the planet. A lot of his antics were seen as a gimmick or an act. Nonetheless, he was respected due to the fact that he was still a skilled lyricist and producer. It wasn’t until his 3rd album WOLF when Neo-Soul introduced its way to his unique style of hip hop. He kept on going with that style to the point where his 2019 album ‘IGOR’ is arguably more of an R&B album than a hip hop album. On Call Me You Get Lost, I wouldn’t say he goes back, but he hasn’t had this much hip hop influence since Cherry Bomb. Compared to Cherry Bomb though, Tyler is stronger and more mature as an artist, producer and lyricist. Luckily, with this venture, we see Tyler in a new eye and a new perspective in the matter of fact. IGOR saw him as one of the strongest artists of our generation, Call Me When You Get Lost on the other hand sees him as one of the strongest rappers of our generation.
Influences
Tyler has always had influences throughout his career. In his early days, he was compared to hardcore hip hop acts such as MF DOOM and Eminem. Later in his career, he would be compared to even bigger figures in hip hop such as Kanye West. Despite the comparisons and influences that were noted in his style, There is honestly one person that Tyler has always been compared to and he is ok with it too…Pharell Williams. It’s easy to hear it too from the production, singing style, chord progressions and even the fashion. Tyler still has the Pharell influence here as the production has the color and quirk that old school Pharell had. He even had a Pharell feature on here with the song “JUGGERNAUT”. I also heard a lot of DOOM and Madlib influence throughout some of the more sample based songs. For example i got instance DOOM vibes on “LUMBERJACK” and I got instant Madvillain vibes on “HOT WIND BLOWS” too. The thing about Tylers influences though, he uses them extremely well, even on his worst records. I think influences haven’t been this strong on a Tyler album since his debut but he uses his influences unbelievably well. With the exception of IGOR, I think he hasn’t used his influences in a better way.
Production
Tyler has always brought intricate instrumentation and layers throughout his production. On this album, he takes his usual production style in the most hip hop direction possible. The beats for “Lemonhead” and “Juggernaut” are like mixtures of a hardcore Pharell beat and a trap banger with its cheap unique percussion choices and heavy hitting 808s. “Wusyaname” shows Tyler doing his take on a minimal soul flip and to be real, he does it insanely well. “Lumberjack” and “Manifesto” shows Tyler going in a boom bap direction. To the exotic drum breaks and the dissonant samples on both tracks, Tyler goes back to the days of Wu-Tang and Black Moon. “Hot Wind Blows” and “Sir Bouledaire” are like his takes on an Alchemist type track as the samples are arranged in a similar direction that a Griselda beat or Freddie Gibbs beat would. Despite that, I think the best produced song on this album is the two parter, “SWEET/I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE”. The first part is classic Tyler with its sharp synth bass, JUNO arpeggios and classic synth lead and brass. The second beat is basically a summer/reggae vibe as it includes dub effects, vintage drum machines and continental organs. Overall, like usual, I am impressed by Tylers production.
DJ Drama
The evolution has continued. The production is still very Tyler and so are the sources of inspiration. There is one thing that makes this album completely different from ANY other album he has dropped thus far. DJ Drama is hosting the entire thing. He brings narration and aesthetic throughout the 52 minute length this album provides. Am I a fan? Kind of. I think the addition of him works and it wouldn’t really be the same without him, but at the same time, I think he could’ve appeared a little less than he did.
Cons
As I said, DJ Dramas contribution can be a little annoying at points. I’ll also say that the album doesn’t start off the best either as the first two tracks on the album are probably the weakest. Other than that, despite being his least conceptual album yet, it might be one of his most cohesive.
Verdict
Tyler has really been on a roll for the past 5 years. With his past three albums, he has solidified his placement not only in hip hop, but in music. CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST might not be the strongest when it comes to the music realm, but as a hip hop album, it has the full package. It has the bangers, the introspective tracks and the freestyle tracks. With this album though, we got the ambition and genre-bending that we saw Tyler dabble in his last couple of albums brought in. It’s surely Tyler’s approach to a hip hop classic.
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