Hip-Hop History
Tyler, The Creator
Tyler, The Creator
Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), professionally known as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the founding members of the music collective Odd Future.
Okonma self-released his debut mixtape Bastard in 2009 and rapidly gained attention among the online music press for his horrorcore-influenced sound and violent, transgressive lyrical content. His debut studio album Goblin (2011), brought him mainstream exposure aided by the popularity of the single “Yonkers” and its accompanying music video; during this period Odd Future gained rapid popularity and Okonma faced controversy over his lyrics. Beginning with his second album Wolf (2013), Okonma began moving away from his stylistic horrorcore towards a more alternative hip hop sound. His 2015 album Cherry Bomb featured a greater focus on melody and jazz-fused sounds which has continued throughout his later discography. Okonma’s later albums, Flower Boy (2017), Igor (2019) and Call Me If You Get Lost (2021), were all released to widespread critical acclaim, with the latter two debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 and each winning Best Rap Album at the 2020 and 2022 Grammy Awards, respectively.