As part of our 35th-anniversary, we’re naming the most influential artists of the past 35 years. Today, we’re at #29. From Los Angeles, California, here is Tyler, the Creator.
Introducing himself as a shock rapper with exceptional production skills on his 2009 mixtape, Bastard, a young Tyler, the Creator took over the underground by helping build up the careers of Odd Future group mates — including Frank Ocean, Earl Sweatshirt and the Internet — as the collective’s mainstay.
But once Tyler pushed into the groovy production of later records Cherry Bomb and Flower Boy, the rapper-producer showed he didn’t need to say crazy shit to sell records. He capitalized on melodies instead of fake threats to Bruno Mars’ life, putting it all on the line with 2019’s IGOR and letting out his inner Teddy Pendergrass for a record of R&B cuts that challenged the convention of boxing artists into genres altogether.
In short, the Flower Boy blossomed — and became a cultural icon in the process.
