Overview
Tyler, the Creator is a rapper from Ladera Heights who after a massive new-age horror-core discography began to gain unbelievable hype despite creating obscenely politically incorrect music. His previous Goblin album was released at a time when conscious rap was a considerably new innovation and the ground he covered in indie hip hop had been nearly uncharted territory. With that said, "Wolf" had a lot to live up to. Unfortunately, due to legality issues and changes in trends, this album feels like a poor attempt at re-kindling former glory. Odd Future's previously disturbing image has been replaced by a hip hop version of "Jackass". This album has very little cohesive message. Tyler's had problems, Tyler's made money, Tyler's loosing fans... Wolf's saving attribute is a very natural, live instrumentation sound. Other than that, it's more of the same with much less of the overall experience Odd Future was made famous for. Another interesting note about this album is that Tyler spends a large portion of it trying to abandon a lot of his previously established image for the sake of preserving his personal life and reputation. What happened to Golf Wang?
Defining Track
Even the single, "Domo 23" seems a little off. It's not that it's bad, it's just completely misleading to the rest of the album. There is very little appeal to this song besides the rhythmic flow pattern, and once again he tries to repair his image by explaining that he isn't homophobic. Other than that, the song has the staple Odd Future rebellion but it's sloppier than Tyler's previous releases and seems to be targeted to a very young demographic.
Final Thoughts
The album seems like a cry for help and an appeal to emotion from a fan-base that supported him merely because he aligned with trends in indie music. The lack of dependence on mindless disrespect is a step forward in someways, but the release feels hollow because so much of Tyler's image has been built around it. This is by no means a bad album, but it's the first attempt he's made to succeed based on artistry rather than shock value, and he's still got to work out the kinks. Tyler's fallen into the common trap of abandoning an image before creating a new one.
