By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer
After listening to an album from Tyler, the Creator, Eminem sounds like a saint. Evolving from promotion of the DJs, rapping became known as an outlet for MCs, commonly spelled as ‘emcees’ to speak their mind. Tyler, the Creator takes this to an entirely different level, holding no qualms about who he disses, as he acts on impulse. This style has made Tyler, the Creator one of the most-popular rappers in the game, as he celebrated the ‘Best New Artist’ award at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. Since 2009, Tyler, the Creator and his group, Odd Future, have been releasing music on the internet, but they did not gain much attention until 2010, when they landed a distribution deal with independent label, XL, based out of the United Kingdom.
With a label behind him, Tyler, the Creator introduced his eccentric style to the world through popular hip hop websites and appearances on MTV. His “Yonkers” music video became a fixture during MTV’s “AMTV” early morning lineup. Through “Yonkers,” Tyler, the Creator established himself as a new presence in the rap game. “Yonkers” contains disses aimed at Bruno Mars, Haley Williams, B.o.B., and even Jesus Christ, as Tyler, the Creator is an atheist. Because of his comments on “Yonkers,” B.o.B. responded to Tyler, the Creator, renaming his Odd Future ‘no future, before dropping his beef with the alternative rapper.
Due to his eccentric style, fans either love or hate Tyler, the Creator, as he does not stop. Tyler, the Creator and Game collaborated on The R.E.D. Album on the single, “Martians vs. Goblins,” which also featured Lil Wayne. Fresh off his rant about Bruno Mars at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Tyler, the Creator used the track to diss Tyler Perry, Bruno Mars, Bishop Eddie Long, Chris Brown, who engaged in a Twitter beef with Odd Future member, Frank Ocean, NBA superstar, LeBron James, and even Game. Knowing his eccentric style, Game immediately replies to the diss, with his own ad-lib in the song, saying “fuck you Tyler,” the @ for Tyler, the Creator’s Twitter.
Some have been able to laugh off Tyler, the Creator’s disses, meanwhile others have been angered by them. On his most-recent release, “Rella,” with his Odd Future crew, Tyler, the Creator name-dropped legendary femcee, MC Lyte. For years, MC Lyte has been a rumored lesbian and Tyler, the Creator poked fun at those rumors with his line, “let’s get it poppin’ like MC Lyte around a bunch of dykes.” While she said she was not upset about the diss, MC Lyte admitted she did take offense to his reckless comments. Once he learned of MC Lyte’s response, Tyler, the Creator played it off, saying this is what he does and his comments do not make her a lesbian, continuing to make jokes about the veteran rapstress.
Many of Tyler, the Creator’s comments comes from him being a big fan of hip hop after becoming a big star. When he was asked about his feud with Bruno Mars, Tyler, the Creator admitted he did not know him personally, but simply hated his music. In order for him to stop dissing Bruno Mars, the popular singer would either have to “make better music” or stop making music. Bruno Mars has been aware of the disses from Tyler, but has played them off. 2 Chainz was the latest victim of Tyler, the Creator’s disses, after he gave his opinion on Nicki Minaj’s “Beez in The Trap.” Tyler, the Creator said the song would sound much better if 2 Chainz’ verse was muted and Nicki Minaj was allowed to rap in his place.
The comments were typical Tyler, the Creator, so those close to him again laughed at his statement. While 2 Chainz has been making a name for himself, he had yet to encounter Tyler, the Creator, but was very familiar with his music. In response to Tyler, the Creator’s diss, 2 Chainz jokingly agreed and said he should instead be on the song, so he can ride his bike the way he did in the music video for his single, “She.” After engaging Tyler, the Creator, many felt as if 2 Chainz had serious beef with Tyler, but he said he was simply returning a slick comment to Tyler, the Creator the same way he did to him. With both, there were undertones of joking in the conversation, but many do not understand this is Tyler, the Creator’s true personality.
In a game full of imitators, fans are happy to have someone original, which is perhaps why Tyler, the Creator has been so popular. Since Eminem’s Recovery, hip hop has had a void when it comes to a comical critic of pop culture. Without copying Eminem in the slightest, Tyler, the Creator has filled this void and has taken things to a much higher level, establishing himself as hip hop’s new king of controversy.
