Courtesy of Tyler, The Creator
The last three months for Tyler, The Creator have been a whirlwind. With the release of his fourth studio album, Flower Boy, in July Tyler broke away from his somewhat niche audience into a widespread obsession. In Flower Boy, Tyler maturely exhibits his remarkable talent and blossoms into the potential he has always had as an artist. On November 3rd Tyler, The Creator will be playing a sold-out show at Showbox Sodo, touring Flower Boy for the first time.
Tyler, The Creator has been prevalent for a number of years now, long before Flower Boy’s release. He is known for his deep-rooted connections to Odd Future, an artist and hip-hop collective from his hometown of Los Angeles. Odd Future started around 2009 as a fairly casual project between friends but gained popularity rapidly. Tyler’s 2009 self-produced mixtape Bastard caught the attention of many due to its bizarre sound and unapologetically aggressive content, blowing up Odd Future into a pop culture phenomenon. I’m sure most of us remember Odd Future becoming a “phase” for people, including all of the OF donut sweatshirts (that are pretty cringeworthy to think about now). Despite the embarrassing middle-school aspect, there is no doubt Odd Future has had a massive impact on hip-hop and pop culture. With projects like the show Loiter Squad on Comedy Central and a clothing line called Golf Wang, Odd Future’s eccentric style has become a movement beyond music.
Photo by Chad Batka
Throughout his career Tyler, The Creator has been anything but boring. His blunt, sarcastic, and nihilist attitude has gotten him into trouble and has created controversy. His obscene and sometimes uncomfortable lyrics have gotten him literally banned from playing both in the UK and Australia in the past. Lyrics like “kill people / burn shit / f**k school” don’t always blow over well. However, it seems Tyler has matured and understands some of his mistakes from the past. Instead of creating this harsh and vulgar content we’ve seen, Tyler creates something dreamy, nostalgic, and self-reflective with Flower Boy. The more refined and developed sound he is defining himself with now shows promise and versatility. As one of the first shows of the Flower Boy tour, I could not be more excited to see the energy and passion he brings into performing these songs.
Tyler, The Creator will be performing Friday, November 3rd at Showbox Sodo. Doors open at 8:00 PM and the event is all ages.
This event is SOLD OUT.
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