Tyler, the Creator - CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST ALBUM REVIEW
I wrote a college paper on the concept of IGOR, and I got an A-. I think I’m pretty qualified for this.
If you know me, you probably know that Tyler, the Creator is one of my favorite artists of all time. Even if his earlier work doesn’t resonate with me as much as I’d like it to, his talents go beyond what I think anyone expected from Goblin or even Wolf to an extent. Flower Boy and IGOR are some of my favorite albums of all time, and no matter what he was going to do next, I’m pretty sure that I was at least going to like it. Once the promotion started with these billboards and a phone number to call to hear an interlude from this album, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, I was immediately hooked. The first single that dropped, “LUMBERJACK,” was a very interesting lead-up for the album. It told me that this was gonna be a full-on rap album from him, which was something I’ve been waiting on, as much as I love IGOR. Also, I loved the DJ Drama inclusion on it, he gave the song so much energy. Along with that, there’s also a concept here that may or may not connect to IGOR. So, with that all in mind, how does CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST fit not only in Tyler’s discography but to music this year? Let’s find out.
It’s important to mention that in the two years between this album and IGOR, Tyler gained a pretty different fan base. IGOR was more of a neo-soul album than a rap album. Its story was about a love triangle and pokes at the idea of Tyler (or IGOR, in this case) being bisexual. It has a bunch of R&B elements, a lot of synth-funk, and it could very well be considered experimental, for lack of a better term. This album here, though, has a very different vibe when it comes to the sound, and it’s apparent right off the bat. The intro track, “SIR BAUDELAIRE,” has a new alter-ego, Tyler Baudelaire, rapping over a Conductor Williams beat, “Michael Irvin,” which was first used on Westside Gunn’s 2020 album, Flygod Is An Awesome God 2. DJ Drama appears here, and on a majority of the album, hyping him up like it’s a Gangsta Grillz mixtape, with that little soundbite appearing on some songs off this album too. When it comes to the production overall on this project, it’s pretty stellar. Unlike IGOR, there are actually some other producers on this. I mentioned Conductor Williams, but Jamie xx from The xx contributes to “RISE!” and Jay Versace handles the outro cut, “SAFARI.”
There are a few songs I’d love to mention specifically, but Tyler really doesn’t miss on this project at all. “WUSYANAME” has this gorgeous H-Town sample (didn’t have to look that one up lol), giving it a vintage soulful sound, and Tyler just raps his ass off this song. Ty Dolla $ign’s backing vocals are heavenly as always, but the most surprising element from this is a guest verse from NBA Youngboy. There have been many times where Tyler can get these weird features to just work somehow like Playboi Carti on “EARFQUAKE,” but I gotta admit, Youngboy actually sounded great on this jazz-rap beat. This just proves that sometimes rappers need better production to stand out, and perhaps I treated Youngboy a little too harshly. Another song I’d like to mention, which continues a theme throughout all of Tyler’s projects, is “SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE,” a massive 10 minute song with Brent Faiyaz and Fana Hues. While the first part is very IGOR-inspired, the second part just turns into an electronic/reggae/pop song. What the absolute fuck? Somehow, some way, it all just works. The last song I’ll mention is “JUGGERNAUT,” the song I feel that’s the most hard-hitting when it comes to a literal fucking banger. Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell give some career-high verses and I will be bumping this for the rest of the year, and probably beyond. As for the rest of the features, Daisy World is pretty great, 42 Dugg has a fun feature on “LEMONHEAD,” and Lil Wayne probably gave one of the best verses of his whole career on “HOT WIND BLOWS.”
Alright, stay with me here. I know it’s long, but the ride’s almost done. Yes, there’s a concept here, but it’s definitely not as concrete as IGOR’s. Since I just watched Kill Bill the other day, I’d say that this is a bit of a non-linear story, a la Tarantino. I’m not gonna get into the concept because it’s a little ambiguous and I wanted to leave it up to your interpretation. Yes, it’s one of those albums. Either way, it could be considered a sequel to IGOR if you really wanted it to, but this totally stands on its own too.
How does an artist follow up an album that is the culmination of their career so far, which happens to be their most popular album and one of the most praised projects of that year? Well, Tyler, the Creator doesn’t. If you haven’t realized it already, I absolutely fucking loved CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST. This has peak performances and writing from Tyler, and the production is off the charts great. There’s a reason why this is probably my longest review yet. I could go on for hours and pages about how infatuated I am with this. Tyler is a genuine, once-in-a-generation talent that cannot be missed. Something I’d love to point out is that with his collaborators, he knows exactly how to use them. If he made NBA Youngboy work, you gotta keep an eye on him. This is HANDS DOWN my favorite album and the best album of the year so far. Jesus Christ, Tyler.
10/10
Listen here
YouTube Music
CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST is a Columbia Records release.
If you know me, you probably know that Tyler, the Creator is one of my favorite artists of all time. Even if his earlier work doesn’t resonate with me as much as I’d like it to, his talents go beyond what I think anyone expected from Goblin or even Wolf to an extent. Flower Boy and IGOR are some of my favorite albums of all time, and no matter what he was going to do next, I’m pretty sure that I was at least going to like it. Once the promotion started with these billboards and a phone number to call to hear an interlude from this album, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, I was immediately hooked. The first single that dropped, “LUMBERJACK,” was a very interesting lead-up for the album. It told me that this was gonna be a full-on rap album from him, which was something I’ve been waiting on, as much as I love IGOR. Also, I loved the DJ Drama inclusion on it, he gave the song so much energy. Along with that, there’s also a concept here that may or may not connect to IGOR. So, with that all in mind, how does CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST fit not only in Tyler’s discography but to music this year? Let’s find out.
It’s important to mention that in the two years between this album and IGOR, Tyler gained a pretty different fan base. IGOR was more of a neo-soul album than a rap album. Its story was about a love triangle and pokes at the idea of Tyler (or IGOR, in this case) being bisexual. It has a bunch of R&B elements, a lot of synth-funk, and it could very well be considered experimental, for lack of a better term. This album here, though, has a very different vibe when it comes to the sound, and it’s apparent right off the bat. The intro track, “SIR BAUDELAIRE,” has a new alter-ego, Tyler Baudelaire, rapping over a Conductor Williams beat, “Michael Irvin,” which was first used on Westside Gunn’s 2020 album, Flygod Is An Awesome God 2. DJ Drama appears here, and on a majority of the album, hyping him up like it’s a Gangsta Grillz mixtape, with that little soundbite appearing on some songs off this album too. When it comes to the production overall on this project, it’s pretty stellar. Unlike IGOR, there are actually some other producers on this. I mentioned Conductor Williams, but Jamie xx from The xx contributes to “RISE!” and Jay Versace handles the outro cut, “SAFARI.”
There are a few songs I’d love to mention specifically, but Tyler really doesn’t miss on this project at all. “WUSYANAME” has this gorgeous H-Town sample (didn’t have to look that one up lol), giving it a vintage soulful sound, and Tyler just raps his ass off this song. Ty Dolla $ign’s backing vocals are heavenly as always, but the most surprising element from this is a guest verse from NBA Youngboy. There have been many times where Tyler can get these weird features to just work somehow like Playboi Carti on “EARFQUAKE,” but I gotta admit, Youngboy actually sounded great on this jazz-rap beat. This just proves that sometimes rappers need better production to stand out, and perhaps I treated Youngboy a little too harshly. Another song I’d like to mention, which continues a theme throughout all of Tyler’s projects, is “SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE,” a massive 10 minute song with Brent Faiyaz and Fana Hues. While the first part is very IGOR-inspired, the second part just turns into an electronic/reggae/pop song. What the absolute fuck? Somehow, some way, it all just works. The last song I’ll mention is “JUGGERNAUT,” the song I feel that’s the most hard-hitting when it comes to a literal fucking banger. Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell give some career-high verses and I will be bumping this for the rest of the year, and probably beyond. As for the rest of the features, Daisy World is pretty great, 42 Dugg has a fun feature on “LEMONHEAD,” and Lil Wayne probably gave one of the best verses of his whole career on “HOT WIND BLOWS.”
Alright, stay with me here. I know it’s long, but the ride’s almost done. Yes, there’s a concept here, but it’s definitely not as concrete as IGOR’s. Since I just watched Kill Bill the other day, I’d say that this is a bit of a non-linear story, a la Tarantino. I’m not gonna get into the concept because it’s a little ambiguous and I wanted to leave it up to your interpretation. Yes, it’s one of those albums. Either way, it could be considered a sequel to IGOR if you really wanted it to, but this totally stands on its own too.
How does an artist follow up an album that is the culmination of their career so far, which happens to be their most popular album and one of the most praised projects of that year? Well, Tyler, the Creator doesn’t. If you haven’t realized it already, I absolutely fucking loved CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST. This has peak performances and writing from Tyler, and the production is off the charts great. There’s a reason why this is probably my longest review yet. I could go on for hours and pages about how infatuated I am with this. Tyler is a genuine, once-in-a-generation talent that cannot be missed. Something I’d love to point out is that with his collaborators, he knows exactly how to use them. If he made NBA Youngboy work, you gotta keep an eye on him. This is HANDS DOWN my favorite album and the best album of the year so far. Jesus Christ, Tyler.
10/10
Listen here
YouTube Music
CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST is a Columbia Records release.
Comments
Post a Comment