HIS mama named him Tyler and his brothers call him T, but on this record, we are introduced to Tyler Baudelaire. And about this record, well, I’ll keep it a buck fifty with you (cause a 100 ain’t enough). 

The interesting thing about Tyler, The Creator to me is that he’s a recently openly gay/bisexual guy who works in an industry that’s endowed with a culture that isn’t normally as receptive and welcoming to people who don’t identify as heterosexual. And to top it off, starting out with a full dose of teenage angst, he wasn’t as nice to that community either in his music that is, but behind closed doors he had the likes of Frank Ocean and Syd, both of who are non-heteros, in his Odd Future collective. And so, the recent turn of events does look like a full arc to the circle.

Tyler Expresses his Feelings in the album

The thing with Tyler is that he doesn’t care though. Despite what anyone might think, he’s still very much in the rap game and putting out projects that have never been better. He has shown to be determined to live and do things however the way he likes. Whether that’s him buying another car because he doesn’t know how to celebrate or letting his guard down and showing us a humane look at a love triangle gone wrong where he’s a torn lover narrating a story of how he fell for his friend’s girl over energy attractions he couldn’t work against in the 8-minute WILSHIRE, one of the few songs on the project that’s missing the DJ Drama hollering. This is arguably one of my favorite tracks on the record as listening to it allows you to experience a vulnerability in Tyler Baudelaire that just makes for a darn candid account of the happenings that took place. Beyond that, it serves as a reflection of combat to toxic masculinity, as he’s allowing himself to be vulnerable by telling this story from which we learn of how his knees buckled and he cried for days, over the girl that got away, who was never his to start with. We see a guy, who’s not about the philandering ways, a guy who has his heart on his sleeve, a far cry from the cloth that today’s boys and men is cut from. We also get to experience a genuine love between two people built on nothing but pure connection and attraction, a far cry from most romantic relationships of this age. And that to me, is a refreshing sound, as it allows me to experience these things at least vicariously because, in real life, such connections and such people don’t come around that often. Most importantly, in WILSHIRE we experience a facet of Tyler that feels like an extension of IGOR Tyler, as we see him once again unveiled, with his emotions out in the open and his heart on his sleeve.

Heartbreak

For a whole eight minutes, we find ourselves enveloped and tuned into this narrative straight from the Heartbreak Hotel, as Tyler bares all about this short-lived affair, its morals he really has though, but the combustion and fusion of their energies, souls, and spirits made it impossible for them not to indulge in the natural flow of events that occur in what we know as the ‘vibing’ stage of every rendezvous.

Lyrics

Tyler has consistently shown us versatility, as he can put out a ballad sounding rap track like Are we still friends from the Grammy award-winning 2019 album IGOR, and still go hard and traditional on songs like Flower boy’s I ain’t got time, LUMBERJACK, JUGGERNAUT, and LEMONHEAD on 2021’s Call Me When You Get Lost. CMWYGL feels like Tyler compensating and making up for the time he was away from the hard-sounding, bar-stacked, and heavily based hip hop as he also had DJ Drama narrate on the album, in homage to his debut album and mixtape series Gangsta Grillz.

The CMWYGL project is dressed and lavished with peculiar wordsmith-ship and some crazy mad bars that are somewhat relatable even if it’s out of your reach, a hard feat to achieve, but well, its T baby.

Left my heart twerking…a’ight nigga my heart is broken, remember I was rich so I bought me some new emotions and a new boat cause I’d rather cry in an ocean

Got so much respect for myself I wash my hands before I piss MASSA
Eyes open if I pray ‘cause I can’t trust God either
On this record, we’re confronted by Tyler’s wealth and lavish lifestyle as he delivers braggadocios bars, subject to his cars, boats and all them things rappers brag about (except for bitches and bottles and nail polish instead). This is mostly thanks to his GOLF WANG clothing label that he owns a buck fifty (damn, I really hope you got that) and that’s reportedly doing well.
I could buy a boat, depends if Capri got space,
I don’t really need one/ Catch me at my
other other other crib/I purchase more wheels
when I feel like I’m third wheeling

My point is, he has every reason to want to celebrate and show his wealth off (its opulence baby), because his shit is going great y’all, and creatively he’s probably at his peak as his career has never been better, and he can keep it that way even if he’s showing up for concerts in a suit and a wig, or he’s getting sky blue manicures or doing bizarre shit like wearing white face in his music videos. And you can’t even be mad at him, because he’s not someone who came from money and is a product of privilege.

Mom was in the shelter when “Yonkers” dropped I don’t say it
When I got her out that’s the moment I knew I made it,
I don’t come from money they deny it since I don’t mirror the stereotypical products of
my environment.

So in true hip-hop fashion, why not flaunt that in a carefully crafted and produced ode to mixtape era album? Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Tyler Baudelaire! And don’t give him no side eyes, ‘cause Tyler momma crazy…her words. And don’t be fooled, just because we’re getting opulent and luxury vibes all through this record doesn’t mean he’s not saying some real shit on it too. On MASSA, a track which in a way serves as a musical version of a bildungsroman text, Tyler voices out frustrations on a range of topics from living in the shadows as a closeted gay public figure, to issues of taxes (that have been erred by J.Cole before).

We ain’t gotta pay attention to the stuff that he battles
Everyone I ever loved had to be loved in the shadows
Tug-of-war with X and Y felt like a custody battle

Eight figures of taxes taken that shit is stupid
A flower gets its petal they pluck it and never use it
It’s still potholes in the schools where does it go
It’s still loopholes I use nobody knows

You niggas hateful, you eat at me, you got a plate full
You can’t relate to these things I say to these instrumentals
Whether its wealth talk or shit that’s painful
I paint full pictures of my perspective on these drum breaks
Just for you to tell me it’s not good from your lunch break.

Tyler also makes sure to deliver bars that will make you rewind, just to make sure you heard him right the first time and at the same time keeping his rhyme meter all the way on F on tracks like MANIFESTO

I was cancelled before canceled was with twitter fingers
Protesting outside my shows I gave them the middle finger
I was a teener tweeting Selena crazy shit didn’t want to offend her
Apologize when I seen her, back when I was tryna fuck Bieber, just in
I say with my chest out, you say with your chest in

And in the same breath, Tyler looks to debunk and break down stereotypes that have perpetuated and incited a lot of buzz and conversation in the African-American community surrounding the issue of the measure of blackness

I might not have dreadlocks, I may have these gold teeth
But I’m a nigga like you, and you’re a nigga like me
So let’s be niggas together, and let’s be niggas with plans

As the saying goes, the devil is in the detail, and so the intricacies of this record is what makes it bomb for me, for instance on the track CORSO, after a whole song of saying the word, he ends the track on this note I’on even like using the word bitch it just sounded cool, are we getting to know this guy? Or just Baudelaire? Nah, it’s T baby. Not to mention on SAFARI where we’re surprised by a Lil Wayne feature, and the live instrumentation of violins and trumpets threaded into the sonic production of the project. And not forgetting the crazy interludes embedded into the project like BLESSED, where for the first time you hear a rapper flaunting his nail polish tendencies, along with his other crib (how many cribs this nigga got though), the success of GOLF WANG as he just opened another store, falling in love, and in true CORSO fashion, after listing off all the great things he has going on that make him feel blessed he mentions the only is that my hair won’t grow, it’s been like two years and this shit like two inches. And at the very end of the interlude, we hear him voice sentiments similar to Kendrick Lamar’s FEAR as he expresses his fear of getting broke, and so he doesn’t take anything for granted.

Look, if you hadn’t listened to the project and you’re still reading this then it’s a sign, a sign for you to give it a listen a time or two. And then of course keep it on replay because it’s bumping.

Nas (The King’s Disease II)

On the other end of the Braggadocios Avenue in Rap spectrum Land is a project by one of Hip Hop’s beloved and greatest veteran emcees of all time. He goes by the name Nasir Jones, and in 2021, he delivered and brought us the King’s Disease II. A project one listens to when they want a candid account of a rapper’s life post the heyday era. A project one listens to because it’s another chapter added, and you want to know what your boy’s onto now and what he has to say, they do say the finest of artists are not decayed by the passage of time, but rather mature like fine wine. And after listening in on this album, I’d say touché to that. The project is a timeless piece, with features from other greats special mention Ms. Lauryn Hill who resurrected to murder her verse, and massacre all opps, practically defecating on the microphone by dropping lethal verses of wisdom, candor, and genius lyricism and flow. On the third track of the project ‘Nobody’, Nas brought to us L.Boogie, and damn it was she furious for the mic, ripping it wide open, making us wonder how many mics she’s been ripping on a daily. The track is backed by live instrumentation of the saxophone, and a jazzy production that’s tightly knit almost taking you back to Nas and Damian Marley’s 2005 Road to Zion in regard to the realness in ambiance, delves and focuses on the issue of solitude and anonymity. This is as Nas echoes sentiments of wanting and fiending for a place he could just go to and have no one know who is, a place he can be nobody. Nobody, but himself, I’d like to presume. One city, one country, one state. Someplace to be nobody. Someplace you wouldn’t know probably.

If Chappelle moved to Ghana to find his peace then I’m rolling….starts his verse, to a track that even he concurs has an esoteric concept and meaning-making us feel and share a certain growth and demeanor of things that can only be inculcated by the maturity of fine wine, and that can only be heard in the cadence of Nas’ voice. Esoteric lyricism, one of the perks of listening to a mature rapper, because not only does the music allow you to vicariously experience their growth as they age from the lyrical content and message conveyed, but it also allows you to see some years ahead of you, as you peek into a reality that can only be conveyed to you by way of words. On the track, one can almost follow Nas as he alternates between deep bars conspicuously conveying a message and stream-of-consciousness bars that give the track a free-flowing rhythm and flow easily making one feel like they’re in conversation with the rapper.

Message

It’s hard to move like a civilian, I write the truth ‘cause I live it not like you musical niggas Nas allows us to see him dealing with the existential crisis that comes with fame. It’s a story we’ve seen before, and it’s one we’ve also heard before. Nothing new under the sun they say. But like everything that occurs on this earth as we rotate around the moon, there’s always a peculiarity that makes it different. On this track, we see Nas referencing to Chappelle, another star and comedic genius who broke out of Hollywood and the limelight for the sake of his sanity and own well-being by turning down 50 million dollars and choosing to walk away. So what makes Nas’ same old story so peculiar? Well for one, it’s being told from the perspective of an East-coaster who grew up in the projects sipping OJ, a moment in time when nobody wanted a photo of his, a moment in time he wishes to experience once more as he seeks one country, one city, one state to be nobody. A perspective of someone who was automatically written off because of where he’s from, but made it regardless, and can now live lavishly in his forties as a respectable and integral member of society. A perspective of someone who was in the presence of strong and powerful femcees such as Roxanne at an early age. A perspective of an East coaster, who gets calls from other greats like Dre warning him to be safe in the city of Angels despite the Palm Trees, in spite of the tumultuous beef history of the East Coast versus West Coast. The perspective of a guy whose favorite part of the night is when you text him you got home safe. The perspective of a guy who despite having conquered, and lived through his youth to make it out alive and doing rather well for himself, wants a place where he doesn’t have to be Nas anymore, and perhaps just be Nasir Jones, or to quote him, to be nobody. In my opinion, this makes for an interesting perspective I’d like to listen to and pay attention to, hence the number of times I’ve hit replay on this track, because to me, as much as it might sound deep, it’s also wild for me to imagine. Think about it this way, can you possibly imagine Tyler the Creator, considering the place he’s at right now, and in light of his recent body of work, Call Me When You Get Lost, erring the same sentiments as Nas is when he’s older? Probably not right? But that’s that thing similar to what Cole said on The Offseason, I probably heard it before and slept on it you know, shit doesn’t always connect when you press play.

I’m contemplatin at the home base
How I’m used to breakfast in the ghetto sipping OJ
That’s a picture right there, a moment in time

Just might need to build my own city where
y’all need a real nigga passport to enter

The Lauryn Hill Effect

The cherry on top of this track is the feature from sis Ms. Lauryn Hill. Girl really brought it on this track y’all. Ms Lauryn Hill delivers a powerful verse in which she attacks all opps by giving them verses of wisdom as she tops bar after bar with an enlightened truth of life, from her perspective. It’s like Lost Ones Lauryn Hill on steroids. She’s quick to remind us just why we f*cked with her in the first place, because she presents the possibility of a world where a female can speak her mind, ridicule and chide the world and society for its wrongdoing, and deliver a lesson despite the wrath she might feel underneath. “Now let me give it to you balanced and with clarity, I don’t need to turn myself into a parody, I don’t do the shit you do for popularity/and if you’re wrong and you’re too proud to hear correction walk into the hole you dug fuck a projection/ There’s so much crisis in the world cause you reap what you sow when you keep what you know is meant for someone else, the ditch you dig for them you might just end up in yourself”

Her deliverance is so lethal yet so therapeutic, it’s almost like she slits you on the face so swiftly and band-aids with the quickness, and now you’re walking around looking like 2000s Nelly, and yet it’s just Hill. Real starship.

Most importantly, in this man’s world, Ms. Hill manages to stand just as tall after Nas delivers his two verses and manages to already have pulled off the track perfectly prior her turn comes on, just as she did with the Fugees. First things first, Lauryn wastes no time and addresses all opps, finally we hear her speak directly on the battles she encountered during the time she was away. Headlines spoke on her allegedly filing for bankruptcy and that sort of thing. So not only is she being inclusive of her past in experience in the verse but as well as her present by telling us where she’s at “all my time has been focused on my freedom now, why would I join em when I know that I can beat em now/ I’m in a secret place,I keep a sacred space”, and also by schooling in futuristic tones

“If I’m a messenger, you block me then you block the message, so aggressive the world you made is what you’re left with, pride and ego over love and truth is fucking reckless. Y’all niggas got a death wish the stupid leaves me breathless.”

One thing to note is there’s no escaping the braggadocios tones in Nas’ project, although quite different from the way Tyler does it given that as a listener you can’t also deny that Nas’ mature and rich verses flaunting his wealth and luxuries like on Brunch on Sundays and Nobody amongst others leave a sophisticated tingle in your spine.

“my dawg bought a plane, said “Let’s go to Paris”, that’s where baguettes are from, French bread that’s long and narrow, I like the other definition, rectangular carats”

Bottomless bellinis, afternoon sun
Girls twerking on the tables they just having fun leave them girls alone
You the owner, What you on?
Buckets of Dom P, how many you want?
My nigga, he brought his son, got his dad’s face
We order crabcakes, table with mad plates
R&B playlist, I’m in blast space
She told me about her last date, I had to laugh in her face yo

Valet park the Wraith, here’s a hundred fifty
Fitted match the linen, linen match the tennis
Net worth match the image
You fucking with the latest and greatest of out time
They know if I’m winnin, we winnin, we all shine
Make sure my people got a plate at the table before mine

That’s a black business,
I handle my black business
Stay out of black woman business unless you invested in it
Told her check her Zelle account, there’s a blessing in it
That’s brunch on Sundays, she belong on a runway
White Celine visor to block the sunrays
Oysters work as an aphrodisiac
Soulful Sundays run Anita back
Gave her sweet love she said she needed that

He also makes sure to boastfully teach and call out opps

“I write the truth ‘cause I live it, not like you musical niggas, we did it big and they bigots, they’d rather shoot than write tickets/ Before the internet energy and social decline destroyed the vibe, foolin us with the headlines”

There’s also a storytelling element speckled and intricately woven into the project’s lining, with songs like Composure, featuring Hit-boy, where Nas tells the tale of how his parents met.

“I’m standing on the green like the British Open and stacking ice on top of ice
but I’m not building snowmen/spirit of excellence in my genetics, complexities come with my complexion” Hit-boy

Personally, I could go on, and take another chunk of your time reading this. Because I really could, maybe in a podcast though. Be sure to stay tuned in. In the meantime, I’ll leave without getting into who killed it on EPMD 2, because then we might just start that podcast now.
Peace And Love, It’s opulence baby.

PS: Both albums are contending for the Best Rap Album award at the recently announced The Recording Academy’s 2022 Grammy’s. Needless to say, this creates stiff competition with Kanye West’s Donda; J.Cole’s The Off-Season; and Drake’s Certified Lover Boy. Worth note however is, both Tyler and Nas are not alien to winning the Grammy awards as they have done it before. In 2019 Tyler won the Grammy Awards with his album IGOR, and Nas scooped in 2020 with King’s Disease I.