So I’ve listened to all of Tyler’s consensus best material and imo he’s one of the most overrated rappers out rn. This thread is made because I genuinely want to understand what makes him a great artist to those that enjoy him

He’s literally one of the only artist I’ve ever seen that has been largely carried by their relationships within the industry and how they’re perceived by their peers as well as having a very dedicated fanbase yet no amazing records or universal hits to really show for it. Like logically he’s the natural successor of the lineage of Ye, Pharrell, etc. but it’s not translating the way it should be, like at all. To make matters worse it’s not like his sound needs to grow on you either it’s pretty standard alt-rap

His production is good despite it being imitative but he is just not a good composer and has an issue with being over-ambitious with a clear reluctancy to cutting out the excess fat. Almost every song on Chromakopia is a chore to get through and fits better in context of the album than as individual singles because of how over the top they are. Like Sticky is such a lay up of a hit but it’s just too busy of a f***ing song to listen to on a regular basis

Also, I don’t think him self-producing most of his albums is as a good of a thing as he gets credited for. You can’t make MBDTF or TPAB by self-producing everything. At some point the sound becomes trite and outsourcing to better or other creative minds is a good thing and a fresher take on your artistry

He has a great rapping voice and is a pretty solid rapper but when he tries to switch it up and sing he’s been reliant on the crutch of pitching up his vocals since Flower Boy instead of just taking singing lessons at this point. It’s jarring as f*** to hear that every time he tries to hit notes, I’d rather he use different vocal effects to make it sound less grating

Realistically most users on this site should be a fan of his or at least feel positively about his music but he occupies this awkward space of being too weird for the casuals and not good enough to satisfy the high-brows. He doesn’t have a plethora of hit songs or classic rap albums that are universally appraised or songs that stick on the charts that justify the praise either. Kanye is basically his predecessor and even though he’s generally seen as an artist whose fans are mostly on the “artsy/nerdy” side, he has hits and projects that transcend his demographic. I can bet that most old heads know a Travis Scott song or two and casuals love his albums so there’s no reason why Tyler’s music shouldn’t have a similar affect to some degree

I do think he has the makings of a great artist but he’s put on an extremely high pedestal that I don’t think he’s deserving of

EDIT: Quite a number of folks ITT are misconstruing what I meant by “carried” by other artists, so I’ll add my response here:

He didn’t make it this far by piggybacking off of his relationships, he did it off his own merit. Despite this, his relationships to respected artists has embellished his career without a doubt. Be it OF producing Earl, Frank, The Internet, Steve Lacy + more or his proximity to Pharrell, Rocky, Mac Miller, Solange, etc. all of these connects have benefited his career through osmosis because it feels like he SHOULD be amongst the biggest in the game even if the music hasn’t quite reached the level of those that are from a cultural standpoint. I mean, his friends are universally loved so why wouldn’t he be?

Not only that but his devout fanbase is probably a melting pot of his own fans, remnants of OF’s fanbase and fans of these other artists that adore him

true

Idk I think his last 3/4 albums have been really strong

I always appreciate Tyler for being artsy but I just can't enjoy his music for the most part

Yeah

Tried to reply to your post in the other thread but you deleted so I'm just copying/pasting

You make interesting points except for "yet no amazing records or hits to really show for it"

Just strongly disagree with this lmao

Off top I can give you:
See You Again
IFHY
Earfquake
Bimmer
New Magic Wand
I Think
Boredom
F***ing Young
911/Mr. Lonely
A Boy is a Gun
Wusyaname
Sweet/I Thought You Wanted to Dance
Potato Salad

As some of his hit songs, some of which came out years ago and are still very popular. "Amazing" is subjective, and I don't really care much for Igor, but I feel most people will say that is probably his biggest album that the general public really likes alot.

I think they’ve been good but not great and that’s part of my issue. Like there’s a lot of rappers that have dropped good albums back to back and don’t get remotely similar amounts of praise that he gets

I think flower boy was a terrible pivot, but his last 2 albums i really enjoy

The music just sounds good

”he’s the natural successor of the lineage of Ye, Pharrell, etc. but it’s not translating the way it should be, like at all. To make matters worse it’s not like his sound needs to grow on you either it’s pretty standard alt-rap”

Flower Boy literally changed and shifted alt-rap when it dropped, how is it standard

How?

Like just listen/watch

Yeah s*** sounds like you supposed to like it but it’s not hitting

This only works for music people do like

Show me a song that sounds like you're supposed to like it which is not popular

last album was terrible but i enjoyed the dj drama tape

That's nice that you feel that way but he's one of the most influential artists of his generation. Whether you like his music or not, he's one of the few artists who is true to himself and doesn't hop on the newest wave. I respect him for his artistic integrity even if I don't love all of his albums.

He f***ing stinks. It’s black music for Yakubians.

Criminally slept on. Should've been bigger. TDE fumbled.

tyler is the modern day quincy jones of rap

i will explain no further

Hard to judge because this one of my favourite songs and Zay gets love in this house

All I'm getting at is songs that sound like they're meant to be liked which are unpopular are just called underrated lol

bra that whole era and aesthetic had niggas doing that pretty boy introspective s*** alà BROCKHAMPTON, Steve Lacy, hell even lesser known artists like Choker’s Peak albeit he definitely takes more influence from Frank Ocean more than anybody else, they cribbed his whole aesthetic from that era so much

that album was like the white yuppie entry point into alternative rap

Flower Boy is anything but standard alt rap lol

album is a flawless mixture of soul, jazz, rap, like the album is insane

anything after that is fair game ig

he got 3 good albums
cherry bomb wolf and call me if you get lost

Tyler is basically what Zay could be if Cilvia had meteoric success

We'd be saying Burning stinks and it's too jazzy or whatever

flower boy sucks