“Call me if you get lost” Tyler, The Creator Never Stops Reinventing Himself

MUSIC · JULY 14, 2021

If asked to describe Tyler, The Creator in one word, the task would be nearly impossible. Even a few words or phrases would fail to accurately describe his personality and music style. The same can be said for Call Me If You Get Lost, his seventh studio album which debuted earlier this summer on June 25th. It’s true: Tyler’s journey, both creatively and personally, has been completely all over the place. From the fierce and resentful lyricism of Goblin to the delicate, picturesque vibe of Flower Boy, Call Me If you Get Lost fills the spaces in between, acting as a reflection of Tyler’s life since his rise to fame.

The album as a whole presents a very reflective, almost mature Tyler. Each song touches on a different theme: wealth, love, heartbreak, travel, family, race, sexuality, and countless more. Like many of his preceding albums, he also assumes a new character role named “Tyler Baudelaire”, in which both himself and the album’s narrator, DJ Drama, refer to him by on tracks like CORSO: “But you, you can call him Tyler Baudelaire”. Much of the character’s incorporation was used as teasers for the album’s release. Since then, Tyler’s Instagram has become filled with short promotional videos displaying Baudelaire in a way that embodies the album’s aesthetic and overall plot.

While all sixteen tracks reflect on the life journey of this new character, the project also acts as a love letter to the genre itself. Only five of the sixteen songs reach over the three-minute mark, returning Tyler to the aesthetic of a 2000’s mixtape and granting him the freedom to feature never before heard sounds, each completely different from one another. Many of the tracks are also sampled from Call Me’s host DJ Drama, paying homage to his Gangsta Grillz mixtape that includes some of the most influential rap records of the century. Overall, Drama’s inclusion on the album incorporates witty, comedic relief that parallels the hilarious personality Tyler is so well known for.

Call Me’s tone is generally very melodious, integrating sounds from genres such as bossa nova and 70’s reggae. Still, tracks such as LUMBERJACK, LEMONHEAD, and JUGGERNAUT bring back the harsh and rugged tones from Tyler’s early style. Sound samples from IGOR can also be heard through the project, as well as references to Tyler’s former rap group Odd Future. On the album’s seventh track, MASSA, Tyler addresses his transition from such cynical lyricism writing “My taste started changing from what it was when they first met me. But first impression is everything, ain’t wanna let me go”. It’s curious whether or not he resents the projects of his early days, but regardless, he makes it clear that the Tyler we see now is a much different artist.

In recent months, Tyler, The Creator has slowly inched his way towards attaining a net worth of one billion, making him the third rapper to ever do so behind Kanye and Jay-Z. And like any typical rap album, Call Me certainly doesn’t fail to flaunt the rapper’s wealth. There are near-constant references to Rolls Royces, luxury fashion, and even his success in the industry itself. Interestingly, Tyler juxtaposes these riches with his understanding that money doesn’t provide true happiness, writing on CORSO, “Bout’ to spend millions just to fill voids up, Remember I was so rich bought me some new emotions.”

Alluding to some deeper themes early on, the later tracks become even more personal, displaying a very vulnerable Tyler that we don’t always see. There’s RUNITUP, which proclaims his ever-present confidence in being himself, despite living as an outcast during his childhood. Diving deeper, MASSA and MOMMA TALK reflect on the hardships Tyler’s mother faced, as well as his utter appreciation for the love she gives her children. But the trial he dedicates most of the album’s time to is the fractured romance affair between himself and a friend’s lover. WILSHIRE presents eight and a half minutes of utterly raw and exposed heartbreak — from the point of first laying eyes on her, to the eventual breakup. One minute his conscience is clouded, and the next he is hyper-aware, reaching the conclusion he can’t continue the affair. The track leaves us a broken Tyler, writing, “No I didn’t sleep well, woke up and my knees fell, they buckled to the ground”.

Despite the hardships that Call Me touches on, there’s still one thing that never fails to bring Tyler Baudelarie back to himself: travel. The project’s entire ambiance conveys an aesthetic of traveling, hence the passport card album cover and near-constant references to different foreign locations. In MASSA he writes, “The greatest thing that ever happened to me was being’ damn near twenty and leavin’ Los Angeles for the first time. I got out my bubble, my eyes, just wide, my passport is the most valuable”. While the album’s title may read as Call Me If You Get Lost, it seems as though Mr. Baudelaire can’t wait to get lost himself.

Overall, Tyler, The Creator’s seventh studio album is a self-aware, mature boasting of every obstacle he’s overcome in the past decade. With several hit collaborations featuring Uzi and Pharrell on JUGGERNAUT, 42 Dugg on LEMONHEAD, and even Lil Wayne on HOT WIND BLOWS, we easily get a sense of the power Tyler has harnessed throughout his career. Not to mention his growth in technical skills, as Call Me features some of the best production the industry has ever seen. But choosing to mix these hard-hitting records along with some of the most personal storytelling we’ve ever seen? Sounds nearly impossible, but if one person can pull all of their musical ability onto a single project, it’s definitely Tyler.

Reaching Billboard №1 just a week after its release, Call Me If You Get Lost is easily Tyler’s best yet. And just when it seems he can’t go any higher, Tyler and his fans both know that he’ll never stay in one place for very long. In Call Me, Tyler clarifies that he’s still growing as a person and hopes his true fans won’t question him for making other mistakes or learning to grow. Because as Tyler grows, his music grows; and it’s exciting to see just how he will reinvent himself on his next project.

Contributor: Sarah Kloboves