SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:
Since the late 2010s, Tyler the Creator has become one of the more unusual hip-hop stars, growing out of the shock tactics of his juvenile music collective Odd Future and into his auteur status. This week, the rapper-producer topped the Billboard 200 chart with a surprise album he only announced three days before its release. "Don't Tap The Glass" is a bit of a left turn, a hyperkinetic summertime LP with an urgent appeal to move the masses.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUCKA FREE")
TYLER THE CREATOR: (Singing) I'm that guy, trying to get my paper, baby. I'm that guy forever.
MCCAMMON: Here to tell us why Tyler wants to spark a dance revolution is NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael. Hey, Rodney.
RODNEY CARMICHAEL, BYLINE: Hey, what's going on, Sarah?
MCCAMMON: So Rodney, Tyler's career has had many different phases over the years. What has led him to this latest chapter?
CARMICHAEL: Well, Tyler started in the blog era, releasing self-produced albums for download before breaking through to the mainstream. And, you know, he's since become known for these carefully crafted albums, mixing jazz, soul and R&B music and winning two Grammys for rap album of the year in the process. But he's always had this gift for shattering taboo. He's a button pusher, a habitual line stepper, and nothing brings him more joy than making people squirm or blush or finger wag.
Now, early on in his career, he did it by being this loud, vulgar, obnoxious, punk provocateur. Then later came his soft-boy era, where he really started to toy with rap's really rigid norms around sexuality and gender. And he's definitely thrown in a quarter-life crisis or two. But on this latest album, he just wants to dance.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STOP PLAYING WITH ME")
TYLER THE CREATOR: (Singing) When I get to snapping like doo-wop, really got the juice like Tupac. Shorty got a strong jaw, might chew rock. Got me coming out the blue like nude cop. I been rocking...
MCCAMMON: OK, so it sounds like this is a bit of a shift for Tyler. I mean, why this focus on dance?
CARMICHAEL: Well, from Tyler's point of view, a lot of the contemporary resistance against dancing is connected to this constant state of surveillance that we live under. The same day he released the album, he posted online about asking some of his friends why they don't like to dance in public. And they said it was because of their fear of being filmed, basically, the threat of cellphones. And he says it made him wonder how much of our human spirit got killed because of this fear of being a meme just for the sake of having a good time.
But in a broader sense, he's also taking the front lines of a battle that's been waged in rap for decades. I mean, hip-hop is responsible for some of the greatest dance trends of the 21st century. But that's not come without a lot of internal conflict. I mean, generally, rap culture is built on street cred, and dancing has long been stigmatized by those too cool, too hard and too woke to be seen moving their bodies or having fun. And in the spirit of continuing to challenge the norms of Black masculinity, Tyler's pushing back, and he's trying to compel others to embrace freedom of movement, too.
MCCAMMON: Yeah, so what else is he trying to say with this album?
CARMICHAEL: Well, interestingly enough, Tyler's denied that any sort of forethought or intention went into making the album. If anything, coming off the heels of his last LP, "Chromakopia," where he dealt with these heavy, mature themes, the last thing he wanted to do on this one was overthinking. He set out to make something fast, fun and urgent.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUGAR ON MY TONGUE")
TYLER THE CREATOR: (Singing) Like sugar on my tongue. Can I steal that from you? Like sugar on my tongue, can I steal that...
CARMICHAEL: He started recording the album while he was on tour, just this past May, and he rushed to release it before even giving himself time to have any second thoughts.
MCCAMMON: OK, so no overthinking, no second thoughts - but Tyler does suggest the album comes with, I guess, some rules of engagement. I mean, how does he want his fans to experience it?
CARMICHAEL: Well, No. 1 is no sitting still. Tyler wants people to be moving when they listen to this album to understand the spirit of it - dancing, driving, running, doing something physical. And you can definitely hear the eras of dance that Tyler was influenced by in the samples he picked, from Miami booty bass to the electro funk of Mantronix to Crime Mob's crunk anthem "Knuck If You Buck." The album might be called "Don't Tap The Glass," but it is clear that Tyler's out to shatter all the myths around masculinity and movement.
MCCAMMON: So I guess the takeaway is, dance like nobody's filming, right?
CARMICHAEL: (Laughter) Indeed, yeah.
MCCAMMON: Fair enough. That's NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael. Thanks so much, Rodney.
CARMICHAEL: Thanks, Sarah.
(SOUNDBITE OF TYLER THE CREATOR SONG, "I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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