Tyler, The Creator made sure his first appearance on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert was extra special. Making the first nighttime performance in the show's history, his team came in a day early to set up colorful lights for the set. And he played versions of Flower Boy songs "Boredom," "See You Again," and "Glitter" with a band for the first time.
"That was cool," Tyler said at the end of the performance. "I've only worked with like one band and I fuckin' hated it. And I've always hated rap music with bands, because I want to hear 808s and shit and not an Incubis fuckin' kick drum. So I was always skeptical—especially with some of the drum sounds I use—how to use a band to my full potential. With the chords and the musical aspects of my music, you may think it would work, but sometimes it doesn't get the whole thought across. So I've always been hesitant to even approach it."
"I found these guys and they're really, really talented," Tyler added, looking at the band assembled around him. "We just meshed together and it actually just sounded really cool. Them being open to my ideas and stuff just made me say fuck it, and 'Let's just do it.'" Finally, to the crowd at NPR, he said, "The fact that you saw me finally have the courage to be trash with a band just means a lot."
You can watch the performance above and continue for five things we learned from Tyler's Cherry Bomb documentary.
