Album of the Week: IGOR — Tyler, The Creator
“This is not Bastard. This is not Goblin. This is Not Wolf. This is Not Cherry Bomb. This is Not Flower Boy. This is IGOR.”
Four years in the making, Tyler Okonoma’s latest project, IGOR, is unlike anything he has ever produced prior. IGOR was announced and released within a week, a deliberate choice from Tyler who has spoken out against drawn out promo. “I hate people who hype s**t for months in,” he said to Complex, “I think now people feel obligated to always let everyone know what the f**k they’re doing, and I hate that. Just shut the f**k up and put it out when it’s ready. People talk too much”. Given that Tyler seemed to be sticking to the Grammy-nominated Flower Boy aesthetic on singles like “Peach Fuzz” and The Grinch EP, many expected something stylistically reminiscent of the 2017 album. With Tyler, though, it’s always more realistic to expect an “EARFQUAKE” rather than a mere shake-up.
On early singles like ‘Bastard’, ‘Goblin’, ‘Wolf’ and ‘Flower Boy’, IGOR begins with ‘IGOR’S THEME’, introducing the eponymous personality and simultaneously asserting the productive aesthetic that guides the album. The track begins with a gothic, droning TV static, suddenly cut by off-beat acoustic drums, which then forces the static to descend in tone. From the off, Tyler establishes the foreboding leitmotif and unconventional drums, which alter with the album’s narrative arc. Instead of the Disney-esque score of ‘Where This Flower Blooms, Tyler’s production is discordant, troublesome and subversive.
The narrative, it seems, is the story of a boy falling in love with another boy, Igor, who is in a relationship. Tyler distinguishes between the two love interests through altering his vocal pitches, most notably on tracks such as ‘I THINK’ and ‘WHAT’S GOOD’. Whether aggressive or loving, this trope is inspired by the discrepancy on his last album, Flower Boy, between ego (on ‘Who Dat Boy’) and emotional fulfilment (such as on ‘November’). It is more than welcome on IGOR, providing Tyler with productive flexibility, from ballads to hard-hitters, which is suited well to the kaleidoscope of emotions on display.
The production quality on IGOR is phenomenal, as is to be expected from Tyler. Tyler dances effortlessly between emotional frustration on tracks like ‘NEW MAGIC WAND’, utilising timpani percussion and the static synth of ‘IGOR’S THEME’. ‘A BOY IS A GUN’ is a more chilled track, utilising cross-harmonic ad-libs and 70s-esque synthesiser, whereas ‘NEW MAGIC WAND’ implies threat of murder, “She’s gonna be dead, I just got a magic wand (Don’t leave)/ We can finally be together”. The former track reflects on the fallout from that threat “You so mother****in’ dangerous/ You so mother****in’ dangerous/you got me by my neck”. Tyler creates a conversational tone through this, which further empowers the narrative arc.
Tyler hardly raps on IGOR, which is surprisingly welcome, given that all of his preceding albums prior to Flower Boy were dominated by Tyler’s heavy, intensive flow. The jump from Flower Boy to IGOR feels congruent to Childish Gambino’s because the internet follow-up Awaken, My Love!. Tyler is now fully evolved, leaving behind the immature hyper-aggressions of Goblin and replacing them with emotive, vulnerable lyrics. Whilst aggression does feature on this latest LP, he has clearly grown musically as well as personally. On ‘GONE, GONE/ THANK YOU’ Tyler repeatedly howls “my love’s gone”, leaving the ‘Yonkers’, “threesome with a f***in’ triceratops”, days behind him.
Tyler still shines where he does rap, though. On ‘RUNNING OUT OF TIME’, Tyler attempts to convince his lover to come out as gay, “Take your mask off/ I need her out the picture”, and whilst his flow feels somewhat under-developed, several intertwined themes and motifs create a sense of continuity within the album. The the like above is mirrored in ‘NEW MAGIC WAND” where he says “I need to get her out the picture/ She’s really f***in’ up my frame”. His male partner is hiding behind his old relationship with a girl to protect himself, which is referenced throughout the album but most notably on these two songs.
The interlude ‘EXACTLY WHAT YOU RUN FROM YOU END UP CHASING’ sets the precedent for another theme — the dichotomy of love and hate, running and chasing. Tyler illustrates this in ‘A BOY IS A GUN’ and ‘PUPPET’, going from “Stay the f*** away from me” to “I wanna talk, I wanna call you and talk/ I wanna come to your front door and knock”. Igor falls out with his lover and their controlling behaviours, however, Tyler accepts these behaviours out of love. Igor begins running again on ‘I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE’, a break-up ballad featuring high pitched vocals and a descending synth organ; however, by ‘ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?’, Igor returns to his former lover, though aiming for a platonic relationship. It is in this acoustic, lamenting chorus of “Are we still friends? / Can we be friends?” that Igor’s narrative arc goes full circle, completing the album’s turbulent relationship.
Whilst the features on the album are sparse, they are used tactically. On the aforementioned ‘PUPPET’, hip hop mogul Kanye West is takes backing vocals; on ‘I THINK’, Grammy-winner Solange quietly sings a verse and accompanies Tyler on the chorus. This is Tyler’s album, and it’s quite clear that despite the big features, he had every intention of keeping it that way.
Playboi Carti’s feature on “EARFQUAKE” stands out as IGOR’s major post prominent handover to another artist. Tyler pitches his voice up, singing “You make my earth quake / Riding around, your love is shakin’ me up/ And it’s making my heart break” over needling synths and claps. In signature mumble rap style, Carti sings cursively — Tyler’s subtle way of endorsing the new school of rap.
It’s true, IGOR is not close to anything that Tyler has produced before. It is entirely possible that Tyler’s original fans will feel neglected by this sudden stylistic change. Ultimately, though, this is still Tyler; subversive and creative as ever, with the same productive virtuosity that has defined him since day one. As he puts it, “sometimes, you’ve gotta close a door to open a window”.
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