A Review of Tyler, The Creator's "IGOR"
Tyler, The Creator looks to build off his 2017 Grammy-nominated album “Flower Boy” with the release of his 2019 album titled “IGOR.” One thing that stands out to me about the release of this album is Tyler’s insistence on the listener going into this album with no expectations and an open mind which he wrote in a letter before the release of “IGOR.” This idea is carried out throughout the track list where there aren’t any listed features throughout its twelve tracks. The twelve songs add up to around 40 minutes of music, however, which leads me to suspect some features throughout it. The plea for open-mindedness for this album is enticing so without further ado, let’s get to the review!
Categories
The songs on this album divided into two lanes that are prevalent throughout the album
Hip-Rock
“IGOR’S THEME” (1), “RUNNING OUT OF TIME”(1), “NEW MAGIC WAND” (1), “WHAT’S GOOD”(1)
Bass driven songs with a dark vibe throughout them.
Soulful Beauty
“EARFQUAKE” (1), “I THINK” (1), “A BOY IS A GUN” (1.5), “PUPPET” (1.5), “GONE, GONE/THANK YOU” (1.5), “I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE” (1), “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS” (1)
Piano driven songs with harmonizing in the background and lots of singing.
Interlude
“EXACTLY WHAT YOU RUN FROM YOU END UP CHASING”
Guest Appearances
Lil Uzi Vert, Solange, Playboi Carti, Charlie Wilson, Jerrod Carmichael, Santigold, Kanye West, slowthai, CeeLo Green, Al Green, Pharrell Williams
Must Listen Songs
The concept of Must Listen songs are the songs that would give the best overview of the album as a whole. Songs that stand out for reasons to be described in the pending descriptions of the songs.
With this album, there isn’t one stand out song that could be labeled as “the best.” Each track serves its purpose when the album is listened to in full and in order because of how one track builds off the previous and onto the next.
Final Review
Overall, Tyler, The Creator’s “IGOR” is a genre-bending masterpiece that jumps from emotion to emotion, at times being soft and peachy to being dark and aggressive. The Jerrod Carmichael interludes provide the album’s message in a clearer way, specifically on Carmichael’s appearance on “PUPPET” where the song ends with him saying “but at some point, you come to your senses.” This encapsulates the album’s story of being infatuated with a crush to losing your attraction to that crush. The sequencing for the album was done perfectly, each track builds off the last while then continuing to build for the next track. I also liked how Tyler played with his voice throughout the whole album, changing his cadence to fit the vibe of each song. We see Tyler go from an aggressive, distorted cadence in the fourth verse of “NEW MAGIC WAND” to a soft, serenading cadence on “GONE, GONE/THANK YOU.” This is impressive because this shows his versatility throughout the album, also keeping each song fresh for the listener. Tyler’s versatility in producing beats is also on display throughout the whole album which Tyler produces every beat on. His ability to make dark bass driven beat and a high pitched funky beat while making them able to coexist next to each other is impressive. Overall, “IGOR” is one of the best albums thus far into the year because of its storytelling, production, delivery, and cohesiveness.
Scoring
Raw Score: The number of good songs on an album versus the overall amount. Songs must have a +1 or above to be counted.
Quality Score: The total amount of points accumulated over the total amount of songs.
Playback value: The resonance an album is perceived to have if played again in full. Scale out of 5.
Raw Score: 11/11
Quality Score: 13.5/11
Playback Value: 5/5
MUST LISTEN IN FULL!
Go out and listen to Tyler, The Creator’s “IGOR” wherever you listen to your music. Also, don’t forget to check out OLDMLK’s Instagram page (@OLDMLK) and Twitter (@OLDMLKDOTCOM) for updates on OLDMLK.COM: The Most Essential Hip Hop Blog, The OLDMLK.Com Playlist, The OLDMLK Radar and more!
