Album Review: Tyler, the Creator-Flower Boy

For all of his faults as an artist, Tyler, the Creator can never be accused of being boring. His loose, experimental approach to music and over-the-top vulgar lyrical content has made the 26-year old rapper/singer/producer one of the most intriguing and polarizing musical acts of the 2010's.  His fourth LP, Flower Boy, sees Tyler finally starting to grow up without losing his in the process .

After getting through the first few tracks of Flower Boy, it becomes very clear that this isn't the same Tyler, the Creator that rose to prominence making abrasive, horrorcore-tinged hits like "Yonkers" and "Orange Juice". Hell if it wasn't for a pair of goofy, tongue-in-cheek bangers ("Who Dat Boy" and "I Ain't Got Time!) in the middle of the album, there would be nothing here that was even remotely reminiscent of the OFWGKTA/Bastard/Goblin-era.  

Flower Boy is Tyler's way of stripping away the murder, rape and dick joke guise he relied on during the early years of his career and tackling his real insecurities head-on. Over the course of the its 14 tracks, he addresses the subjects of unrequited love ("November"), racial profiling ("Pothole") and feeling constantly alone despite his success as a musician ("Boredom") with potent sincerity and his trademark fearlessness. The long-underutilized introspective side of Tyler's music was begging for a showcase like this since he first introduced it on 2013's Wolf  and this heavy dose of soul-bearing honesty has allowed him to complete his long-needed evolution as an artist.

Tyler's sweeping personal renaissance project also carried over to the production side of the equation. The transition from the signature cheap-sounding, minimalist production that drove his first three LP's to Flower Boy's lush, densely textured beats was a shocking and brilliantly-executed overhaul that helped his music branch out into even more unforeseen directions. His utilization of a variety of influences from all over the musical map (soul, R&B, funk, jazz) establishes a distinct tone that consistently complements the album's melancholic subject matter without ever becoming stale or repetitive. As refreshing as it was to see Tyler grow as a performer and lyricist, the strides Tyler has made as a producer was the most impressive aspect of this record to me.
      
Despite the notable leap in maturity, Flower Boy still manages to be dragged down by the same nagging consistency issues that have plagued Tyler's records throughout his career. Even with the presence of the consistently excellent production and deeply personal lyrical themes that he's never had in the past, Tyler has an incredibly difficult time stringing together sets of great songs on this record. The aimless filler tracks ("Glitter", "See You Again", "Droppin Seeds", "Garden Shed") that are sprinkled throughout Flower Boy prevent it from ever settling into a nice groove and subsequently kill any shot this record had at achieving true excellence. Establishing momentum with extended periods of strong tracks is a fundamental (and often underrated) part of crafting an effective album and Flower Boy's inability to do so makes it a lot less memorable of a release than it should've been.

Even with the greatly-improved production value and unprecedented level of cohesion for a Tyler, the Creator, there's too much dead air present for Flower Boy to be a truly great record. Tyler is a unique voice who has proven time and time again since the Bastard days that he is capable of making fantastic material, but until he is able to parlay these semi-frequent bursts of brilliance into a project that's excellent from start to finish, I'm going to continue to view him as an artist that keeps settling for field goals in the redzone when he should be scoring touchdowns.    

3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks:
1.Pothole (feat. Jaden Smith)
2.Boredom (feat. Rex Orange County and Anna of thr Noth)
3.Who Dat Boy (feat. A$AP Rocky)