The Brilliance Of Tyler, The Creators' rap album of the year, "IGOR"

a summary of the album as well as an in-depth analysis on the storyline.

THE IGOR TRACKLIST

IGOR'S THEME

EARFQUAKE

I THINK

EXACTLY WHAT YOU RUN FROM YOU END UP CHASING RUNNING OUT OF TIME

NEW MAGIC WAND A BOY IS A GUN PUPPET WHATS GOOD GONE, GONE/THANK YOU I DONT LOVE YOU ANYMORE ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?

Album Summary:

In Tyler, the creators IGOR, he exposes the true experience of falling in love with his 5th studio album lasting 39 minutes long. By utilizing the 12 tracks on the album, Tyler tells his audience about the true tragedy of falling in love, especially with someone who is taken. There are conspiracy's as to who IGOR is about and many fans suggest that Tyler's love interest is previous Golf Wang model Wyatt Navarro. Regardless of who the album is about, we know this is a very personal album to Tyler and arguably his most emotional album. Looking at IGOR is basically the same as looking at the stages of grief, the album starts off with more upbeat songs such as earfquake and I THINK, and then transitions into songs filled with confusion, anger, and eventually acceptance. However there is a twist that many people ignore when listening to IGOR, the cycle of grief, love, and heartbreak never ends. From "IGORS theme" to "ARE WE STILL FRIENDS," and then back to "IGORS theme" all over again, Tyler explains how the cycle of love, loss, and anger repeat over and over again until you "come to your senses." The album objectively is about a guy that Tyler is in love with/dating. However the catch is that the guy (most likely Wyatt) is also dating a girl (most likely Reign). Throughout the album Tyler describes his frustrations with the love triangle that he has managed to get himself into, and he even struggles with coming up with ideas to get out of it. It is obvious that Tyler's attachment to Wyatt drives him crazy and he even suggests that he would go as far as to murder Wyatt's girlfriend so he can have him to himself. Throughout the ups and downs of the album, it is vital for the listener to realize that the "goods and bads" don't matter when its a constant cycle which teaches the most important lesson of them all: accepting that its over because pain wont end until you allow it to. Listening to IGOR is a journey that I recommend to everyone. It is beautifully crafted and is an excellent example of storytelling through music. I encourage you to go for a drive at night, roll all the windows down, and blast IGOR, by Tyler, the creator.

The Story (broken down)

PSA: the storyline will be broken up into sections (falling in love, denial, bargaining, anger, and the failure of acceptance). I will be using specific lyrics to prove specific points (especially the correlation with the stages of grief)

Storyline intro: IGORS THEME

The album introduces itself as a story based album with the very first track of the album, IGORS THEME. This song is mostly overlooked, however I would argue it is one of the most important songs on the album as far as storyline goes. In my opinion this song itself is more of a summary/foreshadowing of what the album will contain. Lyrical evidence backing this theory up is not only is the word "theme" literally in the title, but Tyler uses lyrics such as "I got my eyes open" and the repeated lyrics "he's coming" and "runnin runnin runnin." These lyrics set up the story of Tyler's journey through his love interest and how he eventually "has his eyes opened." The lyrics are used to describe Wyatt and Tyler's relationship. Whenever one of the two would try and confront their feelings they would end up running away from the topic to stay in the safe zone. This narrative is followed in his track "Exactly what you run from you end up chasing."

Falling in love: EARFQUAKE, I THINK, EXACTLY WHAT YOU RUN FROM YOU END UP CHASING

The story starts with EARFQUAKE to set the precedent for what kind of love this relationship will be; obsessive, one-sided, and destructive. The melody and vocals on EARFQUAKE explain perfectly how hard and fast Tyler is falling in love. Tyler genuinely thinks this relationship is attainable as he starts the song with "for real this time." The song itself is beyond sad if you look at the lyrics. Tyler pleads for his love interest to not leave before their relationship even starts. The obsession Tyler has with his love interest is so extreme that he makes his "earthquake" and "when it all comes crashing down he NEEDS you." Although EARFQUAKE is labeled as "basic" by some annoying Tyler fans, it is essential when establishing Tyler and Wyatt's relationship.

“I THINK” is the first time love is said on the album. I would say out of every song on the album this is the happiest one. Regardless of the upbeat tone and romantic lyrics, Tyler still shows his insecurity in his crush with lyrics "What the fuck is your motive," and "I'm your puppet." However, in this song Tyler does seem to genuinely come to the conclusion that he loves someone and struggles with telling him.

EXACTLY WHAT YOU RUN FROM YOU END UP CHASING is not a song but a voice memo that directly circles back to IGORS THEME of running. Tyler says that “exactly what you run from you end up chasing” (meaning his crush). The two parties both have been running from each other yet desire to stay together bringing everything full circle. Unfortunately this is the last song on the album that I would label in the Love category. It is more of a transition than anything into the next category.

Bargaining: RUNNING OUT OF TIME, NEW MAGIC WAND

In RUNNING OUT OF TIME, Tyler believes that he is "running out of time" to make his crush love him. He admits that he's "ran out of spells,” and He even admits to "living in pretend" with his fantasies.

Although NEW MAGIC WAND is a song that could absolutely fit in the anger category, this song plays a vital role in the bargaining category. Although it is obvious Tyler is angry, he is bargaining with several aspects of this song. Tyler even goes as far as saying that he would murder his lover’s girlfriend so that he could have him to himself. With lyrics like "roll the dice" and "now pick a side and if you don't i'll pick you both," Tyler seems to go insane with his bargains almost making them unfair with an ultimatum. He also focuses on his true frustration within his love triangle with lyrics like "I wanna share last names, I wanna be your number one not the other one." Most listeners see NEW MAGIC WAND as one of the more hype and fun songs on the album (which it is), however NEW MAGIC WAND tells the hostile story of Tyler's heart.

Denial: A BOY IS A GUN*, PUPPET

A BOY IS A GUN* is a personal favorite of mine but also objectively one of the saddest and most moving songs on the album. Anyone who labels this song as any other category is stupid and has not listened to the lyrics ever. He uses lyrics like "when the time's right" after describing how the man he loves literally is the gun that is killing him. He says "don't shoot me down" while actively allowing him to. "Don't leave stay right here" is one of the most telling lyrics of Tyler's denial because even though Tyler realizes that his crush is "so mother fucking dangerous," he still wants him by his side (even if he will be the death of him). Later in the song Tyler says he wants his crush to "stay the fuck away from him" yet also says he wants to "keep him by his side to keep him safe." The contradiction of his own feelings shows that Tyler himself does not even know how to feel or act, he feels out of control almost like a…..

PUPPET comes directly after A BOY IS A GUN*. After Tyler rants about how dangerous his love for his crush is, he instantly goes into his song PUPPET that is about his crush controlling him. His denial of the situation and refusal to work on himself leaves Tyler in a puddle of insecurity. Starting the song off with "I wanna talk, I wanna come to your front door and knock," shows Tyler's denial of the situation perfectly. After describing his crush as the gun that will kill him, he launches into a narrative about how he wishes he could see him again. He even goes as far to say that he "wants him more than air." He believes that he no longer has free will when saying "is it my free will or yours" and that everything he does is controlled by his puppet master (his crush).

Anger: WHATS GOOD

Although most of the songs on IGOR are angry, WHATS GOOD has the most anger in its beat and articulation than any other song on the album. Tyler's tone on this track is very harsh and loud (I have to turn my speakers down every time this one comes on or else they will bust). WHATS GOOD is a bit of an outlier as it does not really have an obvious addition to the storyline. I argue that WHATS GOODS place in the storyline is just to show the sheer anger Tyler has built up inside of him. Something that not all people know though is that this song is a tribute to the car crash that almost took Tyler's life. Lyrics, "That car crash couldn't take me, green haired angels all around me," reflect back on his car crash and the moment his life flashed before his eyes. However Tyler does allude back to IGORS THEME in this song when bringing back the lyrics “I got my eyes opened."

Failure of acceptance: GONE, GONE / THANK YOU, I DONT LOVE YOU ANYMORE, ARE WE STILL FRIENDS

GONE, GONE / THANK YOU is actually two songs in one! Tyler fans know that Tyler is notorious for his song combinations as they are often seen in his other albums. Gone, Gone features lyrics indicating that Tyler is "accepting" that his love is gone and that it was flawed from the first place. However I argue that Tyler once again is just contradicting himself. He says over and over again in the song that "his love is gone," however continues the next song THANK YOU with thanking the man who was killing him. This leads me to believe that Tyler not quite ready to let go. In THANK YOU Tyler says "thank you for the love, thank you for the joy, but i don't ever wanna fall in love again." These lyrics are not only devastating but also is the first time in the album that he says he officially loves his crush. In all the other songs he dodges around it by saying he thinks he might be in love. These two songs are used to almost trick the listener and even Tyler himself into thinking that he has gotten over it.... however the final song seals the deal that this album is not a story of a happy ending, but a sad story that never ends.

I DONT LOVE YOU ANYMORE is yet again a song where Tyler contradicts himself and his own feelings. He starts the song off by saying "I don't love you anymore" and then launches into a narrative saying "But now, movin' on, but how? Uh, somethin' put my feelings in the lost and found Now I'm stuck forever, and ever, and ever." These lyrics are evidence that this cycle of pain and suffering will last forever, and ever, and ever.

Just to seal the deal on the theory that this album is not a conclusive story but a cycle, ARE WE STILL FRIENDS? is the final track on the album. This song is the most heart wrenching song on the album because it is the most destructive part of the story. Tyler spends 11 songs spewing out the hurt and pain that his relationship has caused him just for him to excuse everything he went through with one song. Tyler decides in this song that he simply cannot live without his lover in his life, even if that means just being friends. Lyrics like "Don't say goodbye, smell you later," and "I don't wanna end this season on a bad episode" indicates that this is only the first "season" of their relationship and that there are many episodes to come.

My Final Thoughts:

First I would like to say this is all a theory. I could be completely wrong about everything I just said, but I am confident that I am not. Tyler is known for making all of his albums have elaborate storylines and IGOR is the saddest. If you would like to contact me with more theories about IGOR or any other albums feel free to reach out in the contact tab. Thank you so much for reading, I worked very hard on this explanation and hope everyone enjoyed it! Shout out to my friend Kathryn for helping me edit it :)