His stigma of being the bold, brash, and offensive contrarian easily links to my own adolescent ignorance.

I say this because I honestly started to think of Tyler as a rapper for my past-self, referencing him in conversations as one of those “oh yeah I loved him when I was younger” artists. Is it really 2017? Flower Boy sounds like it should’ve been made 2 years ago in place of the experimental and sporadic mess that was Cherry Bomb. It’s crazy what time can do to your perceptions of things and although I still enjoy Tyler’s music, I look back at his “I’m-too-edgy-for-you” raps in a much different manner when contrasted to my past admiration for the nefarious and controversial sentiments. That was all it really took to hook me and by the time high school rolled around I was a full-fledged OFWGKTA devotee, unwavering in my support for all of their crazy antics and ungovernable energy. Where has the time gone? I remember when I first listened to Tyler, the Creator as a naive, impressionable 8th grader, fascinated while appalled by the raw darkness that oozed out of his hit song ‘Yonkers’.

Tyler the creator flower boy