The Biggest Takeaways From a First Listen of Tyler, the Creator's 'IGOR'

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Five years ago, Tyler sat down with Larry King and told him, "I hate rapping, only because it puts you in this box." Since then, each of Tyler's releases have veered further away from traditional rap, but he's still positioned in the eyes of many as a rapper. So before IGOR dropped, he reminded everyone: "Don't go into this expecting a rap album. Don't go into this expecting any album." He was right. On IGOR, Tyler sings more than he ever has before, and he carefully picks his spots as a rapper. Sure, the album still includes rap verses (especially midway through when he reminds everyone he can still rap his ass off when he wants to on "What's Good") but you'll be disappointed if you press play expecting a straight-up hip-hop album.

Musically, IGOR is a pretty album, but the lyrical themes aren't quite as bright and happy. This is Tyler's breakup album. Throughout the project's 12 songs, he focuses most of his attention on failed relationships, before closing things with three romantically anguished songs: "Gone, Gone / Thank You," "I Don't Love You Anymore," and "Are We Still Friends." Then, in IGOR's final seconds, he finally lets it all out and with a long scream. This isn't a completely depressing breakup album, though. Even the saddest songs ("Gone, Gone") sound like something you could play on a sunny day as you take a drive to the beach. This is a breakup album for the summertime.

Tyler is at the point in his career where he can easily get guest features from some of the biggest names in music, and that's exactly what he does on IGOR. There are assists from Kanye West, Playboi Carti, Pharrell Williams, Lil Uzi Vert, and more. But Tyler uses them all very subtly. Uzi's background vocals are barely noticeable on "Igor's Theme," and Kanye's voice is distorted nearly beyond recognition on "Puppet." Tyler layered vocal effects over his famous friends and subtly snuck them into the fold on IGOR, avoiding the temptation to include recognizable guest stars at the cost of distracting from the album's core identity.

Somehow, without releasing any official music of his own, Playboi Carti is low-key having his best year yet in 2019. First, he made a surprise appearance on Solange's "Almeda," where he introduced his iconic baby voice to a wider audience. Then, a leak ("My stummy hurt") went viral. Now, he's back on "Earfquake," where he lost his mind over Tyler's pretty pianos for one of the year's most enjoyable 25 second stretches. Who knows what he's even saying on half this verse, but somehow that doesn't matter. There's something about his flow that's intoxicating and makes you want to keep replaying it over and over. No one sounds like Playboi Carti, and no one's making smarter career decisions than he is right now. We might have to move his name up a few dozen places on our Most Anticipated Albums list.

It's early, but after first listen, I imagine IGOR will be a grower for some people. At times, Tyler gets experimental, playing with the mix to favor heavy distorted drums over vocals (and when vocals are given room to breathe in the mix, they're usually pitch-shifted and layered with effects). I'm sure someone on a forum thread is comparing IGOR to Yeezus right now. And while that's an unfair comparison to make, there are parallels in the way some listeners will undoubtedly be thrown off initially by Tyler's unorthodox sonic decisions.

Over the course of Tyler's five solo studio albums, a trend has developed: each project is shorter than the last. Goblin is an hour and 22 minutes, Wolf is an hour and 10 minutes, Cherry Bomb is 54 minutes, and Flower Boy is 44 minutes. That continues on IGOR, which clocks in at 39 minutes.

Tyler also carried on another trend from the rest of his discography: The tenth track on each of his albums is a blend of multiple songs. Following in the tradition of "VCR / Wheels," "Fish / Boppin' Bitch," "PartyIsntOver / Campfire / Bimmer," "Fucking Young / Perfect," and "911 / Mr. Lonely," comes IGOR's "Gone Gone / Thank You." We love a consistent king.

As everyone digests IGOR over the next few days, it's likely that the word "reinvention" will be be thrown around to describe Tyler's progression from his early material. Sure, some fans who fell in love with "Yonkers" and "Kill People, Burn Shit, Fuck School" nearly a decade ago might be surprised to see Tyler make an album like IGOR, but he's been heading in this direction since the beginning. Even on Goblin, he was playing with N.E.R.D.-influenced chord progressions and melodies. The only difference is that in 2019 Tyler has developed the skillset to pull off these ideas more effectively. Now, he's diving into his R&B-leaning ambitions more completely than he has in the past.

"It kind of all led up to this," Tyler explained to Zane Lowe this week. "A lot of people are like, 'The early stuff is so much different from the new stuff,' but I think it's just balance. How can I put this? If it was like a breakfast platter with bacon and pancakes and eggs, and at first the plate I was giving people had a lot of eggs. But this time it doesn't have much and it's more pancakes and bacon. I think there's a throughline from Bastard up until IGOR."

IGOR arrived right in the middle of our meetings to decide the Best Albums of 2019 (So Far) mid-year list here at Complex. We haven't finalized the rankings yet, but here's a spoiler: After first listen, it's clear this will be near the very top. IGOR is a bold album that follows through on much of the promise Tyler has been flashing for the better part of the decade. The ideas have always been there for Tyler, but the technical skills and experience are matching up better than they did earlier in his career. It's still early, and it will take some time for us to gather our full thoughts on the project, but it's already apparent that IGOR is among the year's best albums so far.