Family Background and Early Life.

Tyler the Creator

Name of Student

Institutional Affiliation

Family Background and Early Life.

Tyler Gregory Okonma is famously known as Tyler the Creator is a rapper who has grown from grass to grace. He was born on March 6th in 1991. His mother is of white Canadian and Afro-American descent, and the father has his roots in Africa, Nigeria. The father abandoned his mother. Hence they separated ways, and he has not seen his father. He had one sibling, Lynda, whom they grew up together. He attended 12 schools during his education; in fact, he attended a new school each year. These schools were located in Sacramento and the city of Los Angeles. His music interest began at an early age (7years). He would replace old album covers to his whimsical albums that had the title track, duration, and list of songs. At the age of fourteen, he was interested in music and learned to play piano by himself. Despite not receiving any training, he was a gifted skateboard player, which he learned by watching the game "Pro skater 4”. At school, he was a bit of an introvert until senior school when his friends learned of his musical skills, and then he became famous.

Tyler is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and video director. He is also the co-founder of “Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All” alongside Hodgy, Left Brain, and Casey Veggies. To become all these, Tyler had to begin from somewhere. At an early age, he used to write songs that he would sing while at home and later to his friends. He also would engage in learning to use musical instruments by himself. Tyler also used to create imaginary albums that then motivated his musical career. Before he rose to be a world-renowned hip hop star, Tyler lived in a humble neighborhood. During his free time, he would spend some of his time with friends and indoors to write songs and play musical instruments. Tyler was also motivated by his family background; he felt the urge to change his family situation; his mother’s income was not enough to cater for the family needs. As the famous saying records, where there is a willingness, there is away. His name Tyler the Creator was from the Myspace page that he used to post his creative content.

Musical Career.

Tyler, the Creator, begun his musical career in 2007, although he did not immediately release his first track. He began composing and preparing for the release of his first track. In 2008, his group "Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All" released their first song, but Tyler was up to making his album. Almost the end of 2009, he released his first album "Bastard," which became a hit. In the year 2010, his effort was recognized by the Pitchfork Media list; the collection was listed number thirty-two in the top hundred. Pitchfork Media did him a favor; this became his stepping stone to scaling great heights. It was this period that he managed to get the attention of what became of his fans. The listeners took an interest in his songs; little was it known that they would become his fans. The hip hop listeners also were treated by something new, a Tyler brand hip hop that got the attention of the listeners. To be fair to Tyler, his production was artistic, probably he arranged his creativity in one album, and hence he got so many accolades in his first musical creation.

In the year 2011, he signed for R.E.D. Distribution and Sony Entertainment and his group "Odd Future Records." In 2011 he released a music video for the Yonkers, a video that caught the attention of numerous online media outlets. He went further to produce the third version, which appeared on iTunes. During the music awards in 2011, he won the best new artist of the year for Yonkers, which was organized by MTV Video Music Awards. The contents of the project with the Yonkers worked against him when they were linked to the horrorcore scene, something he denied.

Tyler, the Creator, together with his crew, gained fame in early 2011, which made them perform collaborations with the heavyweights of Hip hop, such as Rick Ross, Jimmy Lovine, and Steve Rifkind. In that same year, Tyler, with his crew, released their debut album, Goblin, with the Red Distribution and Sony Entertainment. Tyler, together with the co-founders of Odd future, made their debut on television on February 16th, 2011. They called their late-night show as Sand-witches. This show was co-hosted with Jimmy Fallon. Later in 2011, they founded their T.V. show Loiter Squad that would take fifteen minutes on T.V. The show was composed of music, pranks, sketches, and street segments. The show premiered on Adult Swim on March 25th. 2012 for three seasons and celebrities such as Lil Wayne, Seth Rogen, and Johnny Knoxville made appearances on the show.

To promote his new album, Wolf Tyler performed guest verses for other artists. Most of which had shown interest in working with him before. This made him more popular since he worked with artists who were famous and built a legacy of their own in the hip hop industry. Throughout March and April, Tyler toured North America, Asia, and Europe performing concerts of his new solo Domo23. He also performed Treehome95 in the show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Wolf album was released on April 2nd, 2013, he solely produced the tracks except for the last track Lone with was provided in collaboration with Domo23. The album was generally met with positive reviews and was shortlisted number three in the Billboard 200. Ninety thousand copies of the album were sold in the first week of its release. After the release of this album, his fan base increased tremendously. Cherry Bomb, his other album, was released in 2015, April 13th through Odd Future Records. It was released on the online platform.

The album was supported by a worldwide tour that ended in Tokyo, Japan. However, the Australian concert for Cherry Bomb was canceled due to the portrayal of women in the album. The organizers of the show were angered by the representation of women. This, however, did not in any way hinder the positive accolades that he received. Tyler was also banned from staging foot in the United Kingdom, due to the lyrics of the album Bastard. He had planned concerts in Leeds and Reading to promote his new album Cherry Bomb. Something that Tyler referred to as racist, and the Englishmen were against their children idolizing a black man.

On August 3rd, 2017, his show, Nuts + Bolts, premiered; the show featured what he liked and how he made those things. Flower Boy album was released on July 21st, 2017. It received many views. Consequently, it was nominated for best rap album for the 60th annual Grammy Awards. Tyler continued to release more singles, which received positive accolades. July 23rd, 2018, he announced a collaboration with Rocky that resulted in the music video Potato Salad. Igor is his last album presently, not knowing what he has planned in the future. The album was released on May 17th, 2019. The album received worldwide accolades; in fact, the album won him the 62nd Grammy Award. The album was also number one in the United States Billboard 200 according to Long (2014).

Tyler certainly took a long journey to fame. It was the perseverance and hardworking attitude that he mastered, which helped him to climb to the peak. He faced challenges, but they did not stop him. Currently, he is recognized as a top brand in hip hop. This is evident from the latest Grammy Awards; he managed to win despite other heavyweights being nominated. In the music industry, artists reach a peak when they can win awards and influence the younger generation, something that he has done.

Professional and Personal Life.

Tyler has been regarded as the de facto leader of Odd Future. He is an influential figure in the group. Tyler has produced songs for the group, solo, and even solos for his group members. Through his musical journey, he has gradually changed the team of his songs from horrorcore to love, nostalgia, and sexuality. Tyler has been quoted saying that the N.E.R.D. and Pharrell Williams have been inspiring to him. They were the motivation for the formation of the Odd Future group and joining hip hop. Tyler has also influenced other artists in the music career. Artists such as, Billie Eillish and Kevin Abstract have quoted Tyler as the person who has affected them. In his music career, he has produced five albums and many more singles. He has also produced T.V. shows.

People believe that Tyler is an atheist; this has been drawn from his content in the albums Goblin and Bastard. Some of his sentiments also portray him as an atheist. Regarding his sexuality, in his songs, the materials thereof tie him to be having a same-sex relationship. Even in his interviews, he has had sentiments that link him to a same-sex relationship. At one point, one of his crew members (Jaden Smith) said he was his boyfriend, something Tyler swiftly denied. Tyler has, however, not confirmed to be gay, its only aspersions. In 2016, he denied dating Kendell Jenner even after they were spotted being cozy. Jenner also supported the idea that they were not dating.

References

Long, D. (2014). Listen to the story: Banksy, tyler the creator, and the growing nihilistic mindset. Journal of Hip Hop Studies, 1(1), 81-120.