Tyler, the Creator is arguably the inventor of the indie rap scene. "Call Me If You Get Lost" is by far his most universal album. There's less swearing, there's no abstract singing or random noises included for the sake of being different. He embraces his ethnicity. And on top of everything else he introduces some interesting new rap flows. His yellow identification picture is symbolic of his new self-actualization. His concept albums where he incorporated multiple personalities or horror aesthetic were abandoned for a suburban rapper archetype (which was a little bland) and now he's creating a high-class preppy successful rapper archetype. I have mixed feelings about his cultural embrace. The fact that he waited this long to accept being black seems a little like a reluctant status drop than an empowering ownership of his culture but black culture needs to listen to this to make their culture appeal to mainstream America like he does. This is by far one of the best albums of this year.
