Album Review: Tyler, The Creator-Wolf

It's been quite the whirlwind for Tyler, The Creator the past couple years. The 22-year old went from hip-hop unknown to VMA-winner with his own TV show on Adult Swim after the release of his 2011 record Goblin. His third full-length effort, Wolf, sees Odd Future's ringleader going in a more mature direction without losing a grip on the savage material he explored on his first two records.

Wolf sees Tyler, The Creator growing up in a sense. He wanted to take some risks and shed his image as the guy who only raps about murder, rape and other violent/immature things and he definitely succeeds in changing things up a bit. I really dug the honesty in which he raps about his poor relationship with his father on "Answer" and his struggles with newfound fame/bandwagon fans on "Colossus". They provide a nice contrast to the more abrasive material that dominated most of Bastard and Goblin. As much as I like his hardcore edge, he needed to break out of being strictly the dude who raps about chopping bitches up and putting them in the garbage disposal. The serious songs on this record also see Tyler using more laid-back, jazz-inspired beats which I found work better than his more hardcore beats. I've always liked Tyler more as a rapper than a producer, but he's starting to find his niche with the more calm, soulful beats found on certain songs on this record.

Of course it wouldn't be a Tyler, The Creator record without humor and hardcore hip-hop. The first half is mostly the more serious stuff except for the banger "Jamba" with a excellent guest spot from Hodgy Beats and the hilarious trap rap parody "Domo23" which sees Tyler calling out the posers amongst his fans. The second half is primarily focused on the more hardcore material and this is where the album shines. "Rusty" sees Tyler spitting venom for over two minutes on one of the most best verses of his career with impressive guest stints from his Odd Future cohorts Domo Genesis and Earl Sweatshirt while "Tamale" is quick, clever and amusing with a ton of great wordplay. Tyler does some good work on Wolf that's out of his wheelhouse, but he is clearly at his peak when dropping intense verses that are heavy on wit and rage.

Wolf is another solid effort from Tyler, The Creator. He successfully implements a more conscious, reserved style without losing his trademark hardcore bite. While there are a few misfires ("Awkward", "Trashwang" and the ambitious, but just too weird for my taste "Treehome95",) Wolf doesn't suffer from the same inconsistency issues that Goblin did. Tyler, The Creator is still the same pissed-off, funny, smart rapper he's been since Bastard came out, he just has grown up a little bit and thrown in some more serious, personal subject matter to balance out his signature maniacal material. Wolf will probably weed out the bandwagon fans Tyler and the rest of Odd Future has gained over the past couple years while making something more refined yet still true to his hardcore roots for his real, dedicated fans to appreciate.

3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Rusty ft. Domo Genesis and Earl Sweatshirt
2.Colossus 
3.Tamale