"I Rock, I Roll, I Bloom, I Grow"

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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/631137335254069087/

For the past three years, I have contested that Travis Scott is modern hip-hop’s Kanye West. In my opinion Travis had followed in Kanye’s footsteps in terms of leading the sound of modern hip-hop. I believed, and to some extent I still do believe, that Travis Scott had reinvented, refined and perfected the sound of modern day hip-hop; which all artists were attempting to copy and mimic; similar to what Kanye West had done throughout the early 2000s. Although I still believe Travis is a present reincarnation of 2000s Kanye, I may have been wrong to assume that he was the only reincarnation.

Over the course of the last two years in hip-hop we have seen Tyler, the Creator elevate himself into another stratosphere. To the point where he now exists in the solar system of not just hip-hop’s, but music greats. Dating back to his odd future days Tyler has been able to cultivate a following which is maybe only bested in the modern day by Drake, Kendrick and Cole. Whether you were hooked from the moment you heard him utter “I’m a fucking walkin’ paradox” back in 2011. Whether you’re like me and jumped on the wave because “Cherry Bomb’s the greatest fucking album since the days of sound”; or whether Flower Boy has held you spellbound since July 21st, 2017. What’s apparent is that Tyler, the Creator is a present force in the world of music like no other. With the ability to capture everyone from white frat boys and sorority sisters, to the Neo-soul urban black crowd and everything in-between under his spell and with the undisputed love and respect of his peers from so many genres of music Tyler, like Kanye before him, has built up such a diverse bedrock of support. His crowd is so diverse and widespread that most other artists would find having to pander and tailor their craft to this crowd a burden. But what the Vans, turned Converse wearing star has shown is that staying authentic to oneself and one’s craft will allow you to triumph above all.

Further, we need to give the Flower Boy his flowers for showing the ability to do, what is an extremely difficult skill of redefining your sound on every album. Think about it could you have seen the man who once said, “I’ll stab Bruno Mars in his God damn esophagus”, being the same man to one day sing the words “can I get a kiss? And can you make it last forever?” Even the staunchest OG Tyler, the Creator fans will likely admit that one caught them by surprise.

And then we transition to this sonic experiment which is “IGOR”. At the time of writing this it is maybe too soon to put the words “IGOR” and masterpiece in the same sentence, but I truly believe we’ll be making that reference for years to come. With this Album, Tyler has become the First solo rapper ever to have a #1 Billboard 200 album for an entirely self-produced and self-arranged album. All of which goes to accentuate his incredible creativity, dedication to the craft and immense work ethic.

http://loyolaphoenix.com/2019/05/tyler-the-creator-defies-genre-with-igor/
Personally, as someone who, like many, once dismissed Tyler as weird and corny; I 100% and wholeheartedly applaud him for his continual evolution and the manner in which he is able to shift the culture and move the needle of hip-hop further and further, with little to no regard for opinions outside his own brain trust. And if I was placing a bet; I don’t even believe he’s reached his peak.

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