Tyler, The Creator took to Instagram to share a personal tribute to his musical idol Pharrell on the ten year anniversary of his solo album, In My Mind.
The rapper launched into a detailed tribute about searching for the album on different German websites before he finally heard the whole thing at 15. "IMM ranges in different styles and sounds and I believe that's why I gravitated to it so much," Tyler wrote next to the photo of his vinyl copy of the album. He went on to praise his favorite tracks on the album, admitting that he still to this day does not think he can top the genius of the project's cut, "That Girl."
Interestingly enough, the album was a commercial flop for Pharrell and he later told W Magazine, "[When] the record failed, I decided that being a solo artist was just not my path. And I was okay with that." Even Tyler remembers the critics slamming the project and Jimmy Iovine thinking the album was a "complete fucking failure [that] didn't work."
Still, the musical uproar on the album had an incredible impact on Tyler. "I was optimistic, always daydreaming and setting goals so I felt you were directly speaking to me," he says of the album's impact."I’m now a young entrepreneur all because I believed you when I said I could be… I never had brothers, uncles or my father around so thank you for being the male figure I gravitated to. Allowing me to embrace being different and trusting my ideas."
Read Tyler's heartfelt message to Pharrell below.
