“And the Grammy goes to … LA stand up! IGOR, Tyler, the Creator!”
Tyler Okonma, creator of albums “Flower Boy” and “IGOR,” stands up, in absolute shock. He is immediately surrounded by an outpouring of cheers, claps, and tears as he walks up to receive his Grammy at the Los Angeles Staples Center. Though a monumental milestone to be celebrated, he recognized the deeper meaning and implications of his Grammy award for the Best Rap Album.
Tyler, the Creator has been on a journey of reinventing himself. Starting from his beginnings as a rapper to his current style of music that is much more complex, he has been praised by the media for redefining what it means to be a black rapper in the 21st century. The rap community has historically been overwhelmed with messages of hypermasculinity by creating songs that pertain to dominating women, avoiding vulnerability, and exuding strength, most times through violence. Specifically, these messages impact young black men because the lack of inclusive representation that portrays only one image of blackness can limit identities. These stereotypes are built on a history of patriarchal society and discrimination that puts black culture on a pedestal, but undermine the actions of the actual black figures that are trying to grow an identity that goes beyond just their skin color. In an effort to push back against these norms, contemporary black rappers have begun to create music that shows the breadth of identities that rappers possess; They can be simultaneously powerful and vulnerable, both masculine and feminine. Tyler, the Creator is one artist who is helping to end this stigma. The movement to rid the rap community of its toxic masculinity is very necessary. However, something he said after the Grammys has shed light on the ways that he struggles with his identity as a rapper.
Following the Grammys, Tyler was asked how he felt about the award he received, given the controversy surrounding the voting process used by the Grammys. In response he said:
“It sucks that whenever … guys that look like me do anything that is genre-bending or that’s anything, they always put it in a rap or “urban” category … and I don’t like that “urban” word, it’s just a politically correct way to say the n-word to me. Half of me feels like the rap nomination was a back-handed compliment.”
While Tyler’s contributions towards redefining stigmas in the rap community are honorable, I think it is more important to look at why he has been placed in this position in the first place. Society’s labeling of Tyler, the Creator as exclusively a rapper can be discriminatory at times given the way his current music has deviated away from traditional rap. However, he is continuously regarded as a rapper because of the stereotypical image of black artists as only rappers. This stereotyping limits Tyler in his creative endeavors. As his albums become more diverse in their sounds and messages, it is clear how he just wants to be able to create music that goes beyond labels. In his more recent albums, he speaks on the discrimination he faces because of his blackness. His song “Where This Flower Blooms” mentions how “CNN doubted cause [his] skin is dark,” among other lyrics suggesting that his skin color determines his level of success. Tyler explains that guys who “look like” him in the music industry are immediately stereotyped regardless of the music they produce.
His past two albums, “Flower Boy” and “IGOR” have completely branched away from his prior rap sound on albums like “Goblin” and “Wolf”. The more recent albums reveal the coexistence of femininity and masculinity within his identity. He breaks the mold and shows his supporters that images of black men can embody softness and femininity, while still retaining their full identity. Despite the clear contrast in the music Tyler produces now, he still remains labeled as an “urban” rapper. Tyler’s position as a black artist in the rap community has unintentionally placed part of this burden on him to break down the very stereotypes that restrict his creative expression. It should not have to be Tyler’s, or any rapper’s, job to break down these stereotypes. Tyler’s speech at the Grammy’s gives a look into his desire to be able to create music without the rap label. Institutions, such as those who pick nominations for these awards could improve the situation by not automatically placing Tyler’s music in the rap category just because he is a black artist.
Beyond that, at its core, perhaps one of the reasons Tyler faces all this pushback for breaking boundaries in the rap world is because he is deemed as unfit within the label of a “pop singer,” a label that traditionally evokes images of white or light-skinned artists. As much as we want to thank Tyler for his efforts to change the rap community, we need to recognize the reality behind why he is somewhat forced to do this. He faces added criticism and skepticism for the music he produces and the clothing he wears because of his label as a black rapper and the traditional traits society associates with male blackness. He deserves to be able to change his sound and be recognized for that regardless of what we perceive to be normal or not. Tyler deserves the space to grow and recreate his music style and be validated for those efforts by giving him nominations that represent his craft.
It says it right in his stage name, Tyler is a CREATOR, not just a rapper. He has done projects outside of music, like his clothing line, Golf le Fleur, he has done fashion shows, a collaboration with Converse, and so on. He continuously shows that his identity goes far beyond music, it extends to creative outlets in many different ways. I think we owe it to him to stop trying to label him as a leader and changemaker within the rap world because that only perpetuates his placement in that “urban” rap category. We should categorize musicians based on the music they produce, not the labels we think they should fit into.
