Tyler, the Creator Returns with New Single and Teases New Album
After releasing his most recent studio LP Igor in 2019 and winning the Grammy for Best Rap Album in 2020, Tyler, the Creator channeled his time and energy into his other talents. Besides being featured on a couple of tracks with Channel Tres and Brent Faiyaz and composing a commercial song for Coca-Cola, he stayed out of the music industry, and any other music he made was kept private. About two weeks ago, fans in cities like Los Angeles and New York City began noticing multiple billboards and posters saying “Call Me If You Get Lost” with the phone number 1(855) 444-8888 underneath. When you call this number, a short skit of Tyler and his mother talking to each other plays. Soon after, a website with the same phrase was created.
He then started posting on Instagram and Twitter with captions that seemed to be song titles, such as “14. Blue Magic” and “5. cleva”. Tyler then posted a short clip that looked like something out of a Wes Anderson film with an instrumental song playing in the background. The caption was “10. SWEET”. This led fans to believe a new album was definitely coming soon, which he confirmed shortly after.
This new album, titled Call Me If You Get Lost, will be released Friday, June 25 through Columbia Records. He also shared the cover artwork, which is a “permanent license of travel” photo ID of Tyler. Some have pointed out a similarity between this cover and Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version cover, which could suggest this album will have classic hip-hop and rap influences.
On June 16th, Tyler dropped “Lumberjack”, the first single off the album with a music video under his alias Wolf Haley. This video also seems to have that Wes Anderson ’70s aesthetic that Tyler clearly loves, which creates a contrast with the fast-paced rap. Many fans in the comments said they enjoyed seeing him blend elements of his older style with his current ones. This album is expected to be his most rap-heavy project in years, but it will also be filled with jazzy instrumentals and romantic melodies.
Tyler has been praised for his writing, producing and arranging his own music in the past. He became the first solo rapper to have a number one album on the Billboard 200 chart for an entirely self-produced and arranged album with his last studio album IGOR. The cover art for this new album states at the bottom in fine print “The holder of this license wrote, composed, and arranged all songs within the attached record, unless stated otherwise.” This is a very rare and impressive feat in the current music industry. Tyler has always been one to be heavily involved in the creative production of his work.
In the middle of the “Lumberjack” music video, there is a character in a black-and-white suit introduced. Tyler also goes under the name “Tyler Baudelaire” on the cover art. This suggests that, like his other albums, he will create a storyline throughout the tracks and in any accompanying visuals released. Changing his last name to Baudelaire for this character could be either because of French poet Charles Baudelaire or a reference to the last name of the children from “A Series of Unfortunate Events”. The motivations for this will probably be revealed once we become more familiar with this album’s story.
After two years without a studio album, Tyler’s fans are ready to see his creative and personal growth in his new project. With the idea of this album being a mix of the best aspects of Tyler’s old and new eras, Call Me If You Get Lost can be expected to be his most successful one yet.
