Skeptics have tried to equate Tyler’s writing on Flower Boy with the litany of alter egos and characters that peppered his earlier LPs, but his struggle with isolation and self-acceptance feels deeply realized. He plays the hopeless romantic on the goopy “See You Again” and brags about “kissing white boys since 2004” on “I Ain’t Got Time!” On the astounding “Garden Shed,” he steps out of the closet with an extended verse that’s confessional, nervous and hopeful all at once. Tyler’s newfound restraint is remarkable, but it’s overshadowed by the fact that many of Flower Boy‘s tracks acknowledge his attraction to men.
And the album relies on a rich, distinctly Californian palette: reds, pinks, sprays of seafoam. He leans into the melodic instincts and jazzy textures that have characterized his best work. On Flower Boy, he sings and raps about his anxiety and fear with disarming sincerity. Vulnerability has always been a fundamental part of Tyler’s music, but it’s typically been couched in anger and disillusionment. I’m right here in real life.’ But they would rather enjoy that moment two weeks from now rather than enjoy it right now, today.Flower Boy, his fourth studio album, is a welcome surprise: a focused, sentimental statement of purpose. People be at shows like this, and I’m like, ‘I’m f-ing 5 feet in front of you. I’m down to have a conversation, like f- it, let’s put the phone down, let’s talk. “What annoys me is people will come up and film me or say, ‘Can I get a photo?’ and I’m like no, so they like, ‘F- you then’ and leave. I was just like, ‘F- it, I’ll write it and just make it cool.'” I thought he would be so cool doing that, but he never returned the call. “I love ’90s R&B because it was hard drums, pretty chords, and people trying to outrun themselves hitting those gospel runs, and it just always got to me. I was literally wearing Hawaiian shirts in January and it was cold.”ĥ. That house we had on water, it was just an amazing time. We would go to the park or go bike riding or go to shows, and then I would go to the studio and I would work on my album. I went and bought the VR stupid PlayStation thing, we had the new Mario Switch. We would spend time playing the game, me and Jasper. I was starting to get involved with Converse. We had rented a house out, every morning we would wake up and write for The Jellies. “November of 2016 was probably the greatest time of my life. not only did he bar out, but I’ve never heard Wayne over Price Is Right music. so on topic and so good.”
I was on tour for Cherry Bomb in Omaha, Nebraska, and I got a text from him like, ‘Check your email.’ I check it and me and Travis are sitting there like what the f. I told him to just rap about flowers, garden, trees or whatever. I want to hear Wayne over these notes, in this pocket, and I want to see what he would do in his high-pitched voice over this lowered tone, in this weird Brian Bennett lounge library music. It was just a quick instrumental I made and I go, ‘I’m getting Wayne on this.’ I only wanted 16 bars, maybe 8, but Wayne has to go over this.
And I’m sitting there like, ‘What the f- am I gonna do?’ I literally wrote that verse in like 10 seconds because of these questions and these legit feelings of boredom that I was having.” My room was warm as hell because I like the heater on and it was nothing to eat but dry cereal. Jasper was in the other room, bored out of his mind, but I didn’t see him all day. on a Saturday, laying on my back, looking so bored. I figured out how the chords looped and just had it playing for hours in my room. I wrote the song over the chords of ‘God Bless the Child’ by Stevie Wonder. “ Stevie Wonder is the godfather of my existence. I wanted that intro to be like, ‘Aw shit.'” So this time around, I was like, ‘Let me give myself a fake accent and let me start pronouncing shit.’ I wanted to do that because I hated my voice so I was like let me make it interesting. “I’ve always hated my voice, so my stuff from, like, 2008, I would pitch it up in 2009-10, I would pitch it down. “My goal on this album was to shut the f- up and let the features be the leaders,” he said.Ĭheck out the six things we learned about Tyler, the Creator during the interview: In the interview, the artist breaks down the album in depth, sharing specifics on each song, what inspired the album and facing rejections from artist such as ScHoolboy Q and Justin Bieber.