Tyler, the Creator and ASAP Nast's Ongoing Style Feud, Explained

Tyler, the Creator dropping Call Me If You Get Lost was semi-unexpected. About a week before its actual release date he posted short videos and vignettes to his IG and YouTube giving everyone a feel for what he had in store. But we’re not sure if anyone expected that the playful, happy-go-lucky rapper’s album drop would be associated with any type of “beef.” Until Tyler got on IG Live and said the following: “To n****s who saying I took they style, you will never amount to me, okay? Just know that. They know who I’m talking about. Just listen to that ‘Rise!’ verse.”

The internet quickly deciphered that he was referring to ASAP Nast, a member of ASAP Mob who raps and dresses really well. Nast mixes references from his Harlem background with more traditional menswear pieces like cardigans, sweater vests, suits and trench coats. Is it revolutionary? No. Is it influential? Probably. Tyler’s style has evolved over the years from skate-influenced to more refined, preppy, and bright, but whether or not Nast had anything to do with that is unclear. Here, we explain the history of this conflict. 

When: May 2020

The beef between Tyler and Nast started back in May of 2020 when Nast accused Tyler of jacking his style. “I see y’all stealing the drip, it’s all good. You know, just pay me some homage. Tyler just make sure next time next year, I got some Golf Wang tickets,” Nast said in a post on his Instagram story. “I don’t want to call you next year to get tickets. ‘Cause you’re going to be on stage dancing around looking like me anyway.” Nast specifically pointed out two looks that Tyler supposedly copied. One was a fit that Nast wore to a Converse One Star event in London in 2018, which was centered on a leopard-print Comme des Garçons Homme Plus sweater vest from its Spring/Summer 2018 collection. Two years later, Tyler wore a Golf sweater vest with a leopard print to the 2020 Brit Awards, which led Nast to make his initial accusations. Later, ASAP Nast posted a photo of himself wearing a light brown bucket hat with a pinstripe button shirt and compared it to a fit that Tyler recently wore, which was arguably almost identical. —Lei Takanashi

When: June 25, 2021

The style feud between Tyler and Nast seemed to lie dormant following Nast’s initial comments back in 2020. That is until last Friday when Tyler released his sixth studio album Call Me If You Get Lost. Tyler addressed the strife between him and Nast on the 12^th track, “Rise!” While Nast was never called out by name, lyrics like “You ain’t the only n***a that be in Paris” and “Why you filled with terror whenever you in my presence?/Is it ‘cause we look just alike and n****s said it?” were obvious nods to the situation. The latter bar is a reference to many people (Nast included) who have pointed out that Tyler’s current preppy wardrobe of sweater vests and loafers was inspired by the ASAP Mob member. 

Tyler doubled down on his comments, and confirmed the “Rise!” verse was taking some directed shots when he took to IG Live following the album’s release. Still not specifically mentioning Nast, he says, “To n****s who saying I took they style, you will never amount to me, okay? Just know that. They know who I’m talking about. Just listen to that ‘Rise!’ verse.” —Mike DeStefano

When: June 26, 2021

On the day following the release of Call Me If You Get Lost, Tyler was still celebrating on social media. He decided to field some questions from his loyal fanbase. One of them asks him who he was referring to on IG Live the night prior when he said, “you’ll never amount to me.” Once again, Tyler refrained from name dropping. Instead, he opted for a comical description that further confirmed Nast was the name in question for anyone who still may have had any doubts. 

He described him as, “a fella who I think has great style but keeps getting in his own way because of ego so he blames others when they get hand claps for something he’s passionate about. which is sweaters that all old french men wear and animal prints haha.” —Mike DeStefano

When: June 27, 2021

After an almost four month hiatus from the app, ASAP Nast also took to Twitter to air out his grievances with Tyler “copying” him. He started out with a call to action: “@ me so i know it’s real or get off my dick.” And then went on to say that Tyler’s style changed after he hung out with him and made accusations that he stole musician Shlohmo’s look for his Igor project (Shlohmo wore a neon yellow bob wig with bangs and Tyler wore a blonde mushroom-shaped wig). A Twitter user asked: “WHAT DO YOU WANT TO HAPPEN,” to which Nast responded: “Start paying homage to the people you rip off. Stop acting original when you not! Simple.” He ended the mini spree of tweets by pointing out some past Tyler lyrics from the song “Telephone Calls” off of Cozy Tapes Vol. 1: Friends in which he denounces designer fashion rapping, “Fuck the Gucci, fuck the Raf, and fuck the swag/And all that other shit they wearing.” Tyler has yet to address Nast directly. —Aria Hughes