As far as YouTube deep dives go, a search for Tyler, The Creator is about as good as it gets. Whether he's making prank phone calls about bagels, getting philosophical in interviews, or dancing in the middle of busy Los Angeles streets, it seems like something memorable happens every time he steps in front of a camera. And that's not even counting all of the great music videos that Tyler has directed himself. Set aside your responsibilities for the next couple hours and dive into some of our favorites below.
Tyler does an interview with Norwegian teenagers who snuck into a music festival
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Tyler has been giving amazing interviews since day one, but this conversation with a couple random kids from Norway stands out as one of his best. When Tyler realizes that the teenagers behind the camera drove eight hours with the goal of interviewing him (and jumping a fence to make it happen), he sits down for a conversation. It ends up being one of the most real and sincere interviews he's ever done, giving a unique look at Tyler from a different perspective than his high-profile interviews. If you enjoy this, part two is a must-watch as well.
Tyler and Frank Ocean roast each other in 2011
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It isn't often that we get to see the notoriously reclusive Frank Ocean lower his guard enough to crack jokes and show his sense of humor, but he gave a peek at his surprisingly quick wit at the tail end of an interview with the LA Leakers back in 2011. Breaking out into an impromptu roast-off with Tyler, Frank might have actually had the best lines, firing off one-liners like: "You fucked 98 Degrees while Britney Spears watched" and "You let Tyler Perry cast you in his next movie." No challenge.
Tyler's best moments behind a piano
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Since releasing Flower Boy, Tyler has received a lot more respect as a musician than he did earlier in his career, but he's been quietly showing off his skills behind the keys for years. This compilation clip shows off some of his finest moments, including an amazing jam session with Steve Lacy and Anna of the North on the set of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. If you're into this, make sure to check out his very first jam session with BADBADNOTGOOD back in 2011, as well.
Tyler loses his mind to Waka Flocka Flame and slaps a mannequin
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For years, Tyler has been saying one of his favorite things in life is driving around Los Angeles, listening to music as loud as possible. Based on this clip of him losing his mind to Waka Flocka Flame's "Ballin' Out," it's easy to see why. We're still waiting to hear what that mannequin said to set him off, though.
Tyler makes an elaborate prank phone call about a bagel
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There was a period in the early years of Tyler's career when he kept getting cornered for awkward interviews in cramped backstage areas while on tour. Fortunately, a journalist in Toronto ended the streak and came up with the perfect premise for a Tyler, The Creator interview: a prank phone call. Off the top of his head, Tyler comes up with a crazy scenario about a friend who gets hit by a bus while trying to get a bagel. Somehow, the woman on the other end of the line fully buys into everything Tyler says, even when he goes on a hilarious tangent about the "lil pants" and "lil hat" his friend was wearing.
Tyler gives a behind-the-scenes look at the recording of "Smuckers" with Kanye West and Lil Wayne
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One of the crowning achievements of Tyler, The Creator's career so far was when he somehow figured out how to get standout verses from both Kanye West and Lil Wayne on the same song for his Cherry Bomb highlight "Smuckers." In an excerpt from his Cherry Bomb documentary, showing the creation process of the song, West and Wayne explain just how important Tyler has been in the recent stages of their career. West even goes so far as to say, "I don't think there would have been a Yeezus if it wasn't for you. I don't think there would be this verse right here if it wasn't for you, or the shit that Wayne just did."
Tyler gets deep with Larry King
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Tyler, The Creator's half-hour conversation with Larry King might be the most revealing interview he's ever done. At moments, Tyler comes across more serious than we've ever seen him as he tackles topics like growing up without a father and building a legacy for himself. Then, years before coming out as gay, Tyler answers King's question about whether there will ever be a gay rapper by saying, "Maybe one day. But why does that shit matter? Like, if he wants to fuck dudes or whatever, why does that matter? Why do we care? Like, that's so fucking crazy, right?"
Tyler gets out of his McLaren in the middle of the street and starts dancing
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I love this video. There's no context at all, but the short phone-recorded clip captures a glimpse of Tyler stopping his McLaren and dance wildly in the middle of the street. One of the lucky onlookers next to the cameraman has no idea who Tyler is, mistaking his name for "Tyra, The Creator," which somehow the whole thing even better. This lives up to every hope I've ever had for what Tyler does in his free time when he thinks no one's watching.
Tyler's first stop motion film
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On the first episode of his VICELAND television series, Nuts + Bolts, Tyler visited an animation studio and created his own stop motion film. Working with the studio for four weeks to pull off a 60-second film starring Jasper, the finished product makes the idea of a feature-length claymation film from Tyler really exciting (whenever he finds the time). His imagination is perfect for stuff like this. Earlier in the episode, Tyler explained, "I draw almost every day. I love cartoons. Cartoons just do whatever. You could blow a house up and a dog could come out speaking English like, 'Goddamnit, they blew my house up.' And get in a car and drive. That's awesome."
Tyler awkwardly holds someone's toddler
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Somewhere, there's a photo of a little girl getting her photo taken with one of the biggest rappers in the world in a department store. But, much better than the photo itself is this clip of Tyler messing with her right after the picture was taken. Honestly, it's a little hard to tell if she's amused or terrified at the time, but you get the feeling this clip will be one of her favorite possessions as she gets older.
Tyler freestyles about sandwiches
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At some point, Tyler made a promise to himself that he would never do a serious freestyle on the radio. Years later, he broke the rule, but there was a run where he delivered some of the funniest freestyles we've ever seen. His best moment may have come when he rapped about sandwiches over Kanye West and Jay Z's "H.A.M." beat in the Hot 97 studios alongside Earl Sweatshirt and Domo Genesis. Let's be honest, though. Tyler's flow fifteen seconds into the clip is kinda hard.
Tyler vs Nardwuar but the whole interview is breathing
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I don't know what to say about this one. I just hope he found his inhaler after this.
Tyler interviews Seth Rogen
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When Tyler first launched his GOLF Media app back in 2015, he filled it with a bunch of amazing content that allowed him to test his creative limits. One of the coolest things to ever come out of the app was when he sat down and interviewed Seth Rogen. Clocking in at over 30 minutes long, the two have a relaxed conversation about everything from the controversy surrounding Rogen's film The Interview to meth. Then, at the end of the conversation, they leave everyone hanging with the exciting possibility of eventually making a movie together.
Tyler adopts a child
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Sometimes it's difficult to remember the days when Tyler was a menacing young rapper eating cockroaches and performing in a green ski mask with an upside down cross drawn on it. That's especially true when you come across videos like this adorable 17-second clip of Tyler goofing around with a little girl in a park. No matter what you think of his music, it's really hard to root against this guy after seeing interactions like this.
The first video Tyler ever uploaded to YouTube
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Before "Yonkers" blew up, Tyler uploaded 24 videos to a personal YouTube account called bloxhead. The channel featured gems like "Black Guy Eats Parsnips With McCain" and "Soy Sauce Cuh," giving us a look at Tyler's personality as a high schooler (which honestly hasn't changed all that much). Amazingly, the channel is still intact, so we can revisit his very first upload whenever we want: an appropriately titled clip called "Normal Day" which features Tyler hanging out with Jasper all day. Again, not much has changed.
For more on Tyler, continue for five things we learned from his Cherry Bomb documentary.
