Flower Boy is the 5th album from infamous former Odd Future figurehead, Tyler, The Creator. However, unlike most other times I'd talk about Tyler, I'm pleased to say that I only have to address a small bit of internet drama before talking about the music... And honestly, it's probably the least significant piece of info that has ever preceded a Tyler LP, that being that Tyler has come out as a gay man. Now, to me, this got a two second response that went something like "Oh... cool, hope the album's good." But it seems like every single major music publication have been loosing their collective minds over this revelation, with most of them pointing back to the lyrical content of albums like Bastard and Goblin, which both feature plenty of utterances of the word "faggot" and especially Bastard featured a lot of misogynistic and homophobic lyrics on top of that. However, aside from the fact that the number of said offensive slurs has been drastically misreported, these publications seem to forget the original motivation behind using such offensive language... to offend as many people as possible.
In fact, that was one of the things that turned me off to Tyler and Odd Future in the first place, the fact that they did things just to be offensive and make people angry, but as I've gotten older, I realize the importance of such behavior. In the hands a smart individual, such tactics open up the door to more wild ideas and a more accepting attitude overall, since offensive words and concepts cease to be taboo or have any power; the same can be said for the use of the N-word in pretty much all of rap music these days. In short, these words, to Tyler, mean nothing and he only used them to get a rise out of people. So, when I read articles that claim Tyler is simply saying he's gay to troll and the main argument behind it is the fact that he's used homophobic slurs in the past, I have to question whether the writers of these articles were even familiar with Tyler's music and the ideology behind it, cause all it takes is a quick google or Youtube search to find videos of Tyler spelling out his reasoning pretty well. Now I'm not saying that people shouldn't be offended or not hold Tyler accountable for the things he says on a record, but maybe we should all take a little time to think before we accuse a gay man of queer baiting just because he has said things in the past, especially since it is really hard for a lot of people to come out in the first place.
With all that aside, I'm pleased to say that Tyler has delivered his best album yet, hands down. In fact, Scum Fuck Flower Boy (full title) is such an improvement over everything that Tyler has done, it sort of makes me wish that he had come out sooner, because all it took for his music to improve exponentially was his ability to rap about personal things that he's actually feeling, instead of putting on a show. But, while it is great to hear Tyler talking about being in love on tracks like "See You Again" with zero irony or some kind of creepy stalker concept, not all is hunky dory in Tyler's world, as Flower Boy also houses some of the most sincere and sad songs Tyler has ever penned.
For example, three years ago, I would have laughed in your face if you told me Tyler would write a song like "Garden Shed" a cathartic and beautiful coming out song, or an ode to loneliness as touching as "911/Lonely". It seems like after the limp noodle that was Cherry Bomb, Tyler was finally ready to sit down and do some serious writing and the results are one of 2017's best, through and through.
If I had to complain about anything I'd say that the official final instrumental is a little anticlimactic, and while the track "Glitter" is great, it's just not the lyrical climax that I felt the album needed; especially, after the series of emotionally potent tracks that preceded it. Also, it would have been nice to see a sort of bookend to compliment the fantastic opener, "Foreword". Still, I think this album is downright amazing and I think everyone, even the people who have never listened to a Tyler or Odd Future album should really give it a shot.
9.0/10
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