How an Outsider Changed the Game for Fashion and Hip-Hop
The Impact of Tyler, the Creator on Fashion, music, and Individuality.
By Henry Martin
January 2021
Tyler Okonma, or more commonly known as Tyler, the Creator, has done it all. From rapping to designing clothes, running a mainstream streetwear company, collaborating with Kanye West, and most recently winning the Grammy for best rap album in 2020, He has become a worldwide inspiration. Tyler has been praised by many artists such as Billie Eilish and Childish Gambino, and he currently has one of the strongest fan bases in the world. Tyler is a symbol of individuality and has continuously stayed true to himself throughout his career. Let’s break down how Tyler has impacted the fashion world and music scene.
Tyler was born in Ladera Heights, California, and has lived there ever since. He spent most of his childhood learning piano, skateboarding, creating rap songs, and hanging out with his friends who he would later go on to start a rap collective. He is very open about his childhood and his absent father and not being able to fit in being a black skateboarder. He once said in an interview that “he was too white for the black kids and too black for the white kids.” He felt out of place because he didn’t want to play sports like the rest of his peers; he wanted to make music. He had many influences growing up such as Pharell Williams, Kanye West, MF DOOM, and Andre 3000, many of which he would go on to collaborate with.
Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All more commonly referred to as Odd Future was a rap collective formed by Tyler in 2007 featuring some of Tyler’s childhood friends such as Earl Sweatshirt, Frank Ocean, Taco, Jasper, and many others. Odd Future changed the game with their offbeat humor and offensive lyrics giving them a ton of media publicity. They were one of the first groups to fuse streetwear with their music with brands like Supreme. But their sound is where they strived which helped them to earn the respect of critics and fans with their pretty melodies mixed in with hardcore drums and basslines. The group released 4 tapes along with their breakout 10-minute track ‘Oldie’ which featured verses from most of their members. I first heard Oldie when I was 11 years old and it blew my mind. Many of the members would later go on to start promising solo careers including Tyler.
Tyler started to branch off from wearing brands like Supreme and other skate companies and would begin dressing more like himself with his bright colors and unique palettes. Tyler would go on to make shoes with Vans and eventually Converse where he released the infamous ‘Golf le Fleur’ which I actually bought a pair of when they first came out and went on to buy a second pair not that long ago. Tyler would also go on to start his own brand called “Golf Wang” which is just a play on words from his previous collection “Wolf Gang”. Tyler had full creative control over Golf which really allowed him to express himself and his creativity, and has since designed hundreds of pieces and has had multiple sold-out drops with various pieces selling out in seconds with huge lines outside of his store on Fairfax. His style would later evolve with his music into something more elegant and obscure but we will get into that later.
In 2009 Tyler would win the award for best new artist following his breakout track ‘Yonkers’ off of his first solo project ‘bastard.’ The song blew up providing Tyler with a huge new fanbase. The song features a lot of the same type of explicit lyrics that helped Odd Future blow up, giving a lot of the same shock factor which helped market himself to young people everywhere. He also eats a cockroach in the music video I might add.
In 2012 Tyler would star in an adult swim show revolving around him and a few of his friends from Odd Future and their chaotic lifestyle, sketches, and pranks. The show did pretty well surrounding the popularity of Odd Future at the time and the success of Tyler’s new album. The biggest impact of the show was that it helped bring in a new Audience to Tyler who possibly was not big on the music before. The show did a lot for Tyler, as it allowed him to show that he remains true to himself and that even though he was the star of a show he never strayed away from who he was and the things he liked to do, even as he got older and more famous.
As Tyler got older he would release more music under the name Tyler, the Creator. Albums such as Goblin and wolf, both would become fan favorites while simultaneously showcasing his shocking and offensive lyrics, showing off what Tyler was now known for, but then he did something completely unexpected, with the release of his next album “Cherry Bomb.” This album surprised a lot of fans with Tyler straying away from his past self. The album featured some of his hardest beats to date while he rapped about being happy and McLarens rather than depression and suicide. The album would turn off lots of old fans with the new direction but would ultimately mark a new generation of Tyler’s music. He has said Cherry Bomb is his favorite album that he’s ever made. His next album Flower Boy was something out of the left field. This album featured piano melodies and sad, catchy lyrics. This was the first record Tyler would open up about being gay on which shocked everyone as his past albums had featured homophobic lyrics and slurs. When asked in an interview about some of the past lyrics his response was “they’re just words to piss off old white people.” Tyler gained mainstream recognition with Flower Boy and gained lots of new fans.
On May 17th, 2019 Tyler would drop what would turn out to be his most successful album yet ‘Igor’. The album, self-titled after he alter ego, would serve as much more than just that, but also as a vehicle for Tyler to touch on topics such as heartbreak loneliness, all while exploring new sounds. Igor is Tyler’s most experimental record to date; he only raps on a few tracks on this album, and instead, he sings on the others with his voice pitch-shifted up which is a new technique he briefly teased on a few tracks on Flower Boy. This album is personal; it’s a new Tyler, not the “burn shit kill people” Tyler. This project is raw, emotional, and powerful and touches on a lot of sensitive themes. The thing that sets this record aside from his others is the incredible lofi production which critics praised Igor for. Igor is not only a great album, it’s one of Tyler’s greatest visuals to date. Tyler has always been known for his insane high energy stage performance, however, Igor brought that to a whole new level. For the Igor tour, Tyler wore a neon yellow suit, vintage sunglasses, and his infamous blonde wig. If you want to see some intense stage performances I highly suggest you stop reading this essay and watch Tyler perform ‘Earfquake’ at the Grammys if you haven’t seen it yet. This performance features Tyler along with around 50 other dudes all dressed up as him dancing and is probably the craziest grammy performance of all time.
Through the years we have been able to watch Tyler mature and grow as a musician, artist, fashion icon, and person, while always staying true to himself and doing what he wants to do no matter if his old fans don’t like it. He thrives with complete creative freedom over his music, music videos, and clothing. Tyler makes sure everything is exactly the way he wants it. Even at the height of his fame, he has never stopped doing the things he likes to do with the same group of people he has been friends with since he was just a kid. Tyler has always been an outsider, and he always will be and he recognizes that. He is someone who used their weirdness to their advantage. Tyler is the success story of a kid who was just being himself, and because of that, he will continue to have successful projects and creations no matter what he does. Tyler is a creator and will always be no matter what his next creation is.