Tyler, The Creator Is Changing The Music Video Culture!

The first time I discovered Tyler The Creator was when I came across his song See You Again from his album Flower Boy 2017 on YouTube by chance and I was soon fascinated by his power to create an entire different world in his music videos that feels off or even totally mystical and fictional in a way that’s never been done before.

Tyler, The Creator finds freedom in music, mind blowing visuals, rapping openly and honestly in alignment with his values. Seemingly following inspirations from films, he exercises his freedom by using camera angles that takes viewers into a different high. No shots ever feel totally out of place or a last minute attempt to capture the essence of what a certain scene means. Of course, different elements come to play when shooting visuals. Tyler prefers to exercise a self-autonomy over his creations, whether he’s making music or creating visuals for a music video.

Taking inspiration from Wes Anderson who’s mostly famous for his films Fantastic Mr Fox and Moonrise Kingdom. Whether he uses miniature art or using unique colourful imagery, his visuals are well paced and fully sketched the texture of his own world. Surprisingly, his strokes are what most would define as surreal poetry. For instance, in Lemonhead and Juggernaut he uses layers and layers of complexities forcing a viewer to examine their surroundings and reality. This is what some people would describe as Afro-Surrealism. Amiri Baker described Henry Dumas Afro-surreal expressionism

He uses what most French film makers use; the Auteur Theory which means, “a filmmaker whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp. Creating meaning that only he can, using the tools of filmmaking, through the lens of his mind and personality.”

Besides the aesthetically pleasing visual elements of Tyler, The Creators video, his lyrical power doesn’t get lost in translation. His contemporary style stands out from so many music videos that I know. He adopts a blend of subtle cinematography and loud cinematography. Tyler has expressed that he is working on a film, in an interview with Apple Music. It is without doubt that there’s more to come from Tyler, The Creator and we’re here for it!