On his fifth full-length project, Tyler Okonma has made himself more available than he’s ever allowed before. Better known as Tyler, The Creator, the 26-year-old has never sounded as vulnerable as he does on Flower Boy—or more in command of his talents, both as a rapper and a composer.
At its core, Flower Boy looks inward. Underneath the hardened, immature exterior lies an impressionable psyche that pines to be understood.
Backed by a supporting cast of R&B superstars and bright newcomers, it’s a record of long, lazy summers; sitting back and staring at the clouds.
Flower Boy has arrived in the age of wokeness and Tyler has swapped antics for introspection, though still with the same button-pushing that hooked a whole generation of kids.
Tyler, the Creator blossoms as a rapper, producer, and lyricist on Flower Boy, his most beautiful and well-crafted album to date.
Since his Bastard mixtape dropped back in 2009, every two years, Tyler has progressively become a better writer, rapper and producer with each album. Flower Boy follows suit as Tyler delivers his most complete and sonicly appeasing album to date.
The apex of his musical output thus far, Flower Boy is Tyler’s chronicle of a conflicted artist still grappling with what it means to be an adult.
Flower Boy introduces us to a new Tyler that seems interested in cultivating lyrical and sonic beauty instead of testing his listeners’ tolerance for profanity.
Regardless of whether Tyler has fully matured as a person (spoiler: he thankfully hasn't), the growth exhibited with Flower Boy shouldn't go unnoticed. It's high time the naysayers stopped to smell the roses.
On Flower Boy, Tyler, The Creator makes his strongest case yet that the music’s all that matters.
As for the actual music involved in the release of Scum Fuck Flower Boy, it’s fine. It’s more of the same. It seems to be needing something more.
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