Tyler, The Creator

Tyler, The Creator stands out among rappers and producers for his distinctive gravelly voice and a combative temperament reminiscent of an auto-body shop proprietor. Emerging in the late 2000s as a key founder of Odd Future, the irreverent teenage alternative rap collective gradually crossed into broader visibility while spawning numerous offshoot endeavors. Tyler contributed heavily to many of those releases, among them Earl Sweatshirt's Earl, Odd Future's Top Ten The OF Tape, Vol. 2, and Frank Ocean's Grammy-winning Channel Orange. His own solo catalog has playfully careened between deliberate crudeness and refined elegance, at times erasing the boundary separating those poles. Goblin (2011), Wolf (2013), Cherry Bomb (2015), and Flower Boy (2017) each entered the Billboard 200 inside the Top Five. The broad acceptance of the vividly textured Flower Boy, which reached number two and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album, paved the way for IGOR (2019) and CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST (2021) to achieve number-one status and Grammy recognition. The latter project broadened Tyler's sonic palette while underscoring his commitment to hip-hop through blunt lyricism.

Tyler Okonma grew up across Los Angeles County, dividing his time between Ladera Heights and nearby Hawthorne. Early recognition arrived when the Los Angeles Times profiled the sixteen-year-old skateboarding devotee who also pursued music and fashion. Around the same period he began creating tracks with the other central figures in Odd Future, issuing the solo mixtape Bastard in 2009. By late the following year the crew's surreal and profane output—most vividly represented by Earl Sweatshirt's mixtape Earl, which Tyler largely produced—had cultivated a dedicated audience. During that stretch a video he directed for the Odd Future song "French" gained traction, surpassing one million views by December and spotlighting an array of subsequent crew mixtapes.

After signing a one-album contract with XL Recordings as a solo act, Tyler unveiled Goblin as his official debut. The May 2011 release marked the first Odd Future-related project to reach traditional distribution channels and opened at number five on the Billboard 200. He simultaneously maintained production work for the collective and its associates, notably contributing to The OF Tape, Vol. 2 and Frank Ocean's 2012 album Channel Orange, which received the Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album. Wolf, Tyler's second album, arrived on the Odd Future label in April 2013, debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 with an expansive roster of guests—Erykah Badu, Pharrell, Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier, and Quadron's Coco O.—that mirrored his wide-ranging taste.

Cherry Bomb, his third studio album and another Odd Future label release, surfaced on streaming platforms ahead of its scheduled April 2015 launch yet still secured his third straight Top Ten placement, aided by uncredited appearances from Kanye West and Lil Wayne. Tyler's production credits and featured spots kept multiplying through partnerships with Ocean, fellow Odd Future members the Internet and Domo Genesis, and A$AP Mob. Flower Boy, his well-received fourth solo effort, reached stores via Columbia in July 2017, landing at number two on the Billboard 200 and later receiving a nomination for Best Rap Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.

In 2018 Tyler issued a handful of standalone singles plus the EP-length Music Inspired by Illumination & Dr. Seuss' the Grinch, which carried his characteristic energy. IGOR, the proper successor to Flower Boy and a deeply introspective work, arrived in May 2019, topping the Billboard 200 and earning Tyler the Grammy for Best Rap Album. 2020 collaborations with Westside Gunn, Freddie Gibbs, and Lil Yachty preceded his sixth solo album. CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, presented by Gangsta Grillz host DJ Drama, delivered some of Tyler's most direct beats and rhymes while venturing into synth pop and reggae textures. Released in June 2021, it returned him to the summit of the Billboard 200, yielded the Hot 100 single "WusYaName" featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Ty Dolla $ign, and secured him another Grammy for Best Rap Album. CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST: The Estate Sale, an expanded edition containing eight new tracks, surfaced in 2023. Breaking his customary two-year cycle, Tyler issued the critically praised Chromakopia in 2024, an album exploring aging and fatherhood that included unannounced contributions from Lil Wayne, Doechii, and ScHoolboy Q.