Ever since the video for "Yonkers" dropped back in 2011, Tyler, The Creator has bucked convention with a unique mix of unhinged creativity, bold willingness to take risks, and a constant pace of evolution. When that video first hit, it was Tyler's introduction to the mainstream and an exciting look at a brand new artist with the potential to make an impact.
But we had no idea just how big that impact would be. Today, 27-year-old Tyler is a leader in hip-hop and culture. He's inspired a new wave of artists who value the DIY approach, the limitless opportunities beyond music, and the ability to stay true to yourself even when you've got millions of fans. He's opened a new lane for outsiders with major ambition, and he's created the blueprint for artists who aren't willing to compromise their own vision and integrity.
When Tyler first came out, he and his Odd Future crew were something of a mystery. Today, you probably feel like you know him even if you've never been to one of his shows, but he's still not one for oversharing, and there's a lot of things you might not know. Here are some of those things.
1. He's friendly with Elon Musk and will (reluctantly) visit Mars if he gets a chance.
In a 2017 interview with Shane Powers, Tyler casually mentioned that he sometimes hangs out with Elon Musk and talks about cars. "He's really cool," Tyler said. "He just loves the design aesthetic of McLaren and how sleek and cool it was." Despite his relationship with the SpaceX founder, Tyler was hesitant about ever wanting to visit Mars, though. He explained, "There's nothing on Mars. There's no air. There's no food. I don't know if I can listen to music yet." Shane pushed and Tyler eventually admitted he would go after they figured things out in the early trips: "I'll go on trip nine or twelve."
3. He likes Frank Ocean's 'Blonde' more than 'Channel Orange.'
In an interview with Apple's Zane Lowe, Tyler talked about his connection with Frank Ocean and explains that the two never planned a collaboration, that it always just happened spontaneously in the studio. He also told Zane that he prefers Blonde over Channel Orange.
“Blonde is so sick. I always tell him I like that shit way better than Channel Orange, and I don’t like comparing. But the looseness of structure and the chords and shit on Blonde speaks to me more than Channel Orange. But I think Channel Orange has a little bit more pop structures, which gets to people a little more.”
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5. He was making vlogs on YouTube before YouTube vlogging was a thing.
Tyler was really early to the YouTube game. In 2008, Jake Paul was only 11 years old and the concept of YouTube vlogging hadn't taken off yet, but Tyler was already documenting his daily life by uploading shaky videos of Jasper fucking around in music stores, riding around on scooters with his friends, and skating through puddles. His bloxhead YouTube channel is full of old gems. You can see his very first video, "Normal Day," below.
7. In 2010, his favorite rapper was Pusha T.
Tyler has always been vocal about his love for Pharrell and Clipse, but in 2010 he took to his recently launched Twitter page to hit up Pusha T directly and tell him that he's the best—and that he made a beat for him. Not even a year later, Tyler and Pusha would connect on "Trouble On My Mind."
Also, back then he wasn't a big J. Cole fan.
10. His mom is half Canadian.
Nardwuar the Human Serviette's research yielded that Tyler's mom is actually half Canadian. Obviously, the Canadian tradition of mild manners skipped a generation. When Nardwuar brought it up to a surprised Tyler in 2011 at SXSW, Tyler replied, "Yeah, what the fuck? How you know this shit? Yeah, my mom's mixed. Oh shit."
12. He's anti-drugs, but says he'll probably try mushrooms one day.
Tyler doesn't drink or do drugs. He admits that in 2009, he ate a weed brownie and had "the worst time of his life" and "wanted to die" so he hasn't tried marijuana since. He did recently say he'd be open to trying mushrooms one day, though.
During a 2017 interview on The Shane Show, host Shane Powers asked him, "Have you experimented with the shrooms or any of that?" He responded, "Nah, not yet. I'll probably do shrooms one day, but as of now, I'm good." Shane said he was afraid of him trying it, but Tyler responded, "I'm not." He explained that his base personality is happy and curious, and he believes mushrooms would open that side of him up even more. Listen below at the 38:30 mark.
14. He met (and trolled) Bow Wow back in 2008.
"I wanted a kiss but his body guard was about to fuck me up," Tyler said in a 2008 post along with this hilarious image:
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16. He likes to go on SoundCloud dives in search of undiscovered artists.
17. Justin Bieber couldn't co-sign him on Twitter.
Back when Tyler was still buzzing in the blogosphere, co-signs were currency. A retweet from a high profile artist or tastemaker could make an artist's career. But when Justin Bieber and Tyler started to hang out, there was a hitch: Bieber couldn't retweet any of Tyler's tweets or photos because of Tyler's NSFW handle at the time, @fucktyler. Since then, he's switched it to @tylerthecreator. In 2013, Bieber finally acknowledged Tyler on Twitter for the first time.
19. He doesn't even like golf.
20. He was a fan of Good Charlotte and Kenny G in high school.
21. He hates having his glass of water refilled.
Tyler really can't stand being micromanaged when he goes to restaurants. He told a bunch of English fans that he hates having his glass refilled when he's only halfway done with it.
23. He used to lurk forums.
Tyler used to post on the Hypebeast forums under the screenname 'bloxheads.' Here's what he had to say about Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy:
you dont have to like it, but you have to respect it. everyone is so stuck inside of that first album box, that it blinds them when they release new music. for instance, i fucking hate Recovery. Eminem is my favorite rapper. but i respect the project because of where he is in his life. and seriously, i dont want to hear a slim shady LP 10 years later. Progression is a really important part in a career. anyone who has success has moved foward. for instance, 50 talks about the same shit. wait, let me rephrase that, 50 wants to make shit like get rih or die trying again, forcing some shit, where mentally thats not where he's at, and his fans are like WTF? thats why mussiclly no one fucks with him like that anymore. if you want that college drop out shit, go listen to that. kanye isnt there anymore. people say he;s changed. no fucking shit. im 19 right now, i can gurantee i will not be talking about the same shit at 27 that i was talkign about at 19. its called Growing. xswag
24. November 2016 was the best time of his life.
The twelfth track on Flower Boy is a song called "November" about finding the things that make you happiest in life. The lyrics were inspired by his own happiest moment, which came during November 2016. Very on brand for Tyler, the month was full of creating and hanging out with friends.
"November of 2016 was the greatest time of my life," he said in a self-released interview. "We rented a house out and every morning we would wake up for The Jellies. I was starting to get involved with Converse. After that was done, me and Jasper would spend time playing games. I went and bought the stupid VR Playstation thing and we had the new Mario Switch. When we were done working, Wyatt would come out and we would go to the park or go bike riding or go to shows. And then I would go to the studio and work on the album."
Continue for five things we learned from Tyler's Cherry Bomb documentary.
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28. His mom is half Canadian.
Nardwuar the Human Serviette's research yielded that Tyler's mom—famous for high-fiving her son and catching the holy ghost at the VMAs in 2011—is actually half Canadian. Obviously, the Canadian tradition of mild manners skipped a generation.
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31. He met (and trolled) Bow Wow back in 2008.
32. Tyler has written sketches for Loiter Squad that have been legally questionable.
In an interview with HuffPost Live, Tyler, Earl, Jasper and co. divulged that while Adult Swim have been incredibly lax about reining in Loiter Squad's outlandish content, there have been sketches so distasteful that they did not air in order to avoid lawsuits. Tyler was hesitant to give any details, saying that he was "trying to figure out how to do them" anyway.
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34. The cockroach in the "Yonkers" video was named Nissan.
RIP little guy.
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36. The only members of OF he competes with are Earl and Hodgy.
The OF camp has members in tons of fields, from photography to skateboarding to music, but Tyler's not sweating his fellow members' output—with two exceptions. He tries to keep up with Earl and Hodgy, rapping-wise.
"I try to keep up with Earl," says Tyler. "He’s a really, really, really good rapper. Hodgy though, niggas sleep on Hodgy. His verse on 'Jamba' is so fucking good. He has my favorite verse on the whole album. When Hodgy’s in his zone he’s the fucking best. I love that dude."
(Source)
39. He no longer designs the Odd Future merch.
Tyler may have been 15 when he first drew that iconic doughnut, but he has since ceded creative control over Odd Future's apparel and aesthetic to a Portland-based graphic designer named Chris Burnett.
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Image via It's Nice That[/caption]
