By Jordan Thompson
Staff Writer
There was a lot to learn about Tyler, The Creator from his new album Wolf. But aside from the interesting music method Tyler introduced and the revelations about his true character despite his reputation, Wolf is also the missing puzzle piece of a well-thought-out story, and perhaps Odd Future’s biggest statement.
Does Wolf, when listened to in a certain order along with Tyler’s two previous albums, tell a story?
Within the WOLF trilogy—Tyler, the Creator has created a directorial story-telling masterpiece, and all the alter egos of Tyler’s make sense.
Looking past the cultural references, the trilogy goes, in terms of narrative chronology, as follows. WOLF, BASTARD and GOBLIN-the Album covers of Wolf especially represent an older Tyler, reminiscing about a younger self along with the old memories.
It’s a unique addition to a series of albums. Not only does it become grippingly deeper and entangled, but it also sets Odd Future apart from most rappers as storytellers and characters themselves. It also reveals that Tyler, The Creator, has been plotting for years.
Ryan Bassil said on noisey.vice.com that Tyler’s series is “The Fight Club of music. The Donnie Darko of hip-hop. The Requiem for a Dream love story. It’s confusing, but also amazing. Just like Eminem, it’s clear that there’s more to the portrait than the paint on the canvas. Tyler’s music isn’t simply surface “screw everything” water; instead, down in the depths, a stronger undercurrent flows through a story.”
Or, maybe Tyler is just messing with us. Either way, curious readers should listen to the albums and dig around YouTube for some of his videos.