In an excerpt from Pharrell's upcoming book Carbon, Pressure & Time: A Book of Jewels, Tyler, the Creator sat down for an interview and spoke about the influence Jay-Z's Rocawear had on him.
In an excerpt from the chat with his mentor and frequent collaborator, as published by GQ, Tyler revealed that Hov influenced his approach with his fashion label Golf Wang. "I was talking to somebody the other day about Jay. I was looking at him in a whole different way than when I was younger," he shared. "I probably don’t mirror him like most people would think, at base-level, but what he did with Rocawear and these things, I was studying it as a kid. While I got Golf Wang going ten years later, it’s worth this and that, if I decided to sell it. I’m great."
Even though the brand had an impact on how he approached things, Tyler admitted that he didn't actually wear Rocawear himself. "I did not like that shit, but I studied what they did, and now, because of that, I learned that from him," he added. "I learned a lot of that from you, and I just hope whoever comes after me, get they own shovel and build they own little path. So, yeah."
Jay co-founded Rocawear with Damon Dash in 1999, and sold it to Iconix Brand Group in 2007 while retaining his stake in the company.
Also in the chat, Tyler was asked by Pharrell how his new music is sounding. "I gotta crazy one comin' very soon. Very soon," he replied. However, Tyler has since clarified that he was talking about the expanded edition of 2021's Call Me If You Get Lost, which dropped in March and included several songs originally intended for the record. "From Feb, Estate Sale out now," he wrote after a post quoted the excerpt.
Tyler hasn't released a new full-length album since 2021's Call Me If You Get Lost, even if he did whet fan's appetites with the Estate Sale version of the album earlier this year. It's safe to assume that Tyler, who is headlining the return of his Camp Flog Gnaw festival in November, has been working on new material, but it sounds as though it won't be coming "very soon."
Elsewhere in the chat, Pharrell casually mentioned that he was recording new N.E.R.D music in Paris. They also spoke about their love of unique jewelry pieces, including Pharrell's gold skate pendant, which Tyler said inspired him to wear a Tech Deck around his neck.
Tyler recently unveiled the stacked line-up for this year's Camp Flog Gnaw festival, which is the first since 2019. Alongside Tyler himself, the scheduled performers include SZA, Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem as The Hillbillies, Lil Yachty, Ice Spice, Dominic Fike, Earl Sweatshirt, Kevin Abstract, PinkPantheress, and Clipse.
He also reunited with the rest of Odd Future last week to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of Earl's debut studio album, Doris. While the influential group never officially broke up, they haven't made a group project since The OF Tape Vol. 2 in 2012. The only notable absence was Frank Ocean, who has always been the most elusive of the group, anyway.
