It has been an uphill battle for the Odd Future’s great leader. He was once one of the rising stars of the underground rap scene only to be wiped out by a series of setbacks. Tyler came back with a bang, demonstrating his passion for beautiful orchestration on the excellent Flower Boy released in the summer of 2017. The Flowerboy revealed a diversified pallet of charged soul and R&B that was conscientious and terribly sensitive, already beginning to move away from the constraints of rap. Tyler favored detail over bursts of witty remarks like on Cherry Bomb. It was a divergent move that the Angelino had already taken with the erratic Goblin. While it follows Flower Boy musically in terms of melody (EARFQUAKE, A BOY IS A GUN), IGOR is unique and proves that if Tyler had stumbled upon obstacles in the past, it’s because his genius was badly contained rather than managed.
While Flower Boy maintained the beautiful vestiges of the Goblin era, IGOR is a more radical departure. Do not be fooled, IGOR is not a rap album. No, IGOR blurs the lines between rap, electro, soul and R&B with a fantastic layering of synthesizers and tasteful samples (Head West, Bibi Mascel, Run DMC, Ponderosa Twins Plus One…). There is still significant influence from Pharrell Williams (I THINK) who can be found on the production of ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?. When it comes to lyrics, Tyler discusses a range of lost lovers further raising the question of his sexual ambiguity. IGOR features many of Tyler usual collaborators: Kali Uchis, King Krule, Frank Ocean, A$AP Rocky and Playboi Carti. An absolute classic. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz