Tyler, The Creator - Igor: Album Review

You ever had that one album that everyone keeps saying is good, but you just don't get around to listening to it? This album almost ended up in that category for me. I'm not the world's biggest hip-hop fan, even though a lot of my listens to different artists involved in the genre has lead me with some great music. For some reason, I felt no reason to listen to this album. Even though much of Tyler's stuff is apparently really good, it came out before I got over my my "Rock is the only good genre" phase, and it never grabbed my attention. However, this record grabbed my attention when I heard it was a concept album about going through a breakup, which could suit a hip-hop album well. If you get the right artist, they can go into detail and bring the emotions to life beautifully. So I decided to give it a listen and see if I liked it. Little did I know that I would be listening to it 4 times in 24 hours. I might listen to an album twice in that time frame, but I am addicted to this album.

What first really grabbed me about this album is how experimental it is. I haven't heard any of Tyler, The Creator's any projects before this, but this record combins samples of jazz and soul music and incorporates those with the rap and the usual hip-hop elements. This has been done before, and effectively at that, but here it's different. It's used is a bizarre mix that could be seen as messy or flat out poorly mixed, but it worked for me. I'm typically annoyed by this type of slightly muddled production, but it works extremely well here. It matches the muddled mind of someone going through a tragic breakup. While I've never been through one myself, I've seen people I know go through it, and it's not pretty. This production pairs with that beautifully. The samples incorporated are really good and add a bit of an expansive yet personal feel to the project, without feeling forced. 

The lyric writing is also stellar and does not disappoint. It delves into denial and initial heartbreak on Earfquake and I Think extremely well, its take on anger on A Boy Is A Gun and What's Good is genuinely threatening and intense, especially within the context of the album, and the eventual conclusion of the final two tracks is thematically as well as musically satisfying. It's not always the most complex of lyric writing, but I love how every track works its way in to the next. Sometimes there's a transition from one emotion to another on one song that doesn't seem to fit, but they subtly insert that emotion into the track with the vastly different emotion, and it feels completely natural.

It's also extremely unique in its presentation. This style of hip-hop sampling and general production is something I've heard before, but it's never been done like this. Tyler handled all of it on here, and it's impressive. Some of the production is more centered on typical hip-hop beats like What's Good, which adds to the general anger of the track and instantly helped make it one of my favorite cuts on the record. However, since this album is drenched in a soul/jazz atmosphere, that song is a bit of an outlier. Stuff like the vocal passages on A Boy Is A Gun and I Think are where this album shines and helps make it a beautifully made, passionate, and unique album.

However, this record feels chaotic and unstable, as it should feel. It's honest, real, and, most importantly, good music. Heck, I'd call this my favorite album of the year so far. I've just been obsessed with this album, and every time I listen to it, I find something new to love, whether that be in the lyric writing or in the magnificent production. I feel like this will be remembered as a rap classic 10 years from now. While this isn't for everyone (It has lots of language and the production may turn people off), this certainly connected with me as well as many others throughout the music community. Something truly extraordinary will have to come around to top this as 2019's best album, and many will try, but many will fail. 

Grade: A+