Where the hell do you even go after releasing two of the biggest and most critically acclaimed albums of your career? Do you make a less than stellar album, but since you already put out two of the best albums of the 2010s, the fans and critics will say, "You know, you gave us this and that, so we'll accept this project for now". Or do you take a long breather, marvel in your success and return like four or five years later ready and rejived in the studio?
Tyler, The Creator's answer... Was neither.
Much like every album thus far in his career, Tyler took another two years to make an album, now at this point 10 years into his album making career with his seventh album Call Me if You Get Lost.
And in this album, Tyler returns to his feisty rapper persona seen in his first three album, but also reflects on his life and achievements up to this point. So I think it's fair to say this is pretty much the sequel to his third album, Wolf (He even refers to him as Wolf Haley for the first time in a while), as much of the appeal I get off that album is very much in this one... Only a lot more.
Tyler in 8 years has finely crafted his flow, his hooks and especially his pen game. I noticed that Tyler was only getting better as he got older, but I feel like this is the point Tyler has reached the point of being in the discussion of greatest rappers of all time. And I think it's wonderful hearing his entire discography, weak points and all to get to this point as a long time fan.
But what about the songs themselves? Do they hold a candle to the likes of Flower Boy or Igor?
The album starts perfectly with SIR BAUDELAIRE as Tyler takes up this persona Tyler Baudelaire, referencing French poet Charles Baudelaire, and you can see the similarities between the two if you look into Baudelaire himself, who had made explicit poetry in the past that even got banned. Similar to the early work of Tyler, The Creator himself.
The track itself however is a showcase of Tyler's amazing lyrical imagery playing up his extravagants getting into the minor theme of this album.
Then into CORSO, an absolute banger with the bass boosted to headbang to, as Tyler kills it on the track, but also leads into another big element of this album of longing for a love with a girl, which I assume is going to be a major theme going into Tyler's albums in the future, as this is the fourth album in a row with this theme of romance.
I should mention through out the album, you hear snippets of DJ Drama sort of serving as like a radio DJ hyping up this album. I didn't really care for him at first, but he did eventually groww on me. He certainly can hype you up, especially on the bangers.
Speaking of bangers, we then go into LEMONHEAD, a banger about opulence which gets a nice verse from 42 Dugg, who kills it on the track. I guess this does get into one of the major criticism of the album, and that is Tyler is basically flaunting is wealth all over an album released during a pandemic, that took many lives and made those who made it out alive, a little worse.
I do get that, but at the same time, wealth is a common theme in hip hop, and it coming from a talented musician who started from the bottom and didn't lose any of his talent in the process, I think it's okay. Also I think it's more of the theme of this concept album of wealthy extravagants. Less flaunting it, more like using it to paint a picture. And hey, getting rich has made him more expressive so I'm not complaining.
Next is WUSYANAME, featuring a sped up sample of H-Town's 1994 track "Back Seat (Wit No Sheets"), that is a VERY 90s R&B track, and was disappointed to find out this wasn't completely a Tyler original, but still he uses it greatly to sell us a romance track. Again, Tyler's pen game is so expressive and incredible.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again however... Well I'll be honest, I never got into the whole auto-crooner sound, so his verse was never really gonna do anything for me, but looking into the lyrics I think he definitely brings the effort to be on an album like this, so no complaints from me.
Then back into great bangers with LUMBERJACK and then HOT WIND BLOWS, another good track using a great sample and featuring Lil Wayne for the third time on a Tyler album. And going from a forgettable feature, to a better feature and finally into a feature I can say kicks ass. Wow, Lil Wayne is great on a track where he just has to be opulent, who would have known? /s
Then the album changes tone on MASSA, where Tyler reflects on his life up to this point referencing how Wolf (3rd Album) was the beginning of a new him, saying it was like "puberty" which is of course an awkward moment in anyone's life, which also leads into him explaining how Cherry Bomb (4th Album) turned out to be a mixed reception. :eading him to make Flower Boy (5th Album) and how much success was brought to him, but as the song goes on, it leads to a expression of paranoia, that success and fame isn't completely desirable.
It easily helps deconstruct this opulent record into something deeper, and it takes an album of mostly bangers into a great direction.
Then it's RUNITUP with Teezo Touchdown, where it expresses fear and paranoia with the idea that now that Tyler is rich, he is making a lot of expensive purchases and and that maybe one day this money might disappear after all his spendings. A very great track concept, that I wish was a little more catchier and more fleshed out. But still a solid track.
MANIFESTO sees Odd Future alumni Domo Genesis return to a Tyler album, which is very nice addition. But with the song itself is certainly the most political Tyler has ever gotten on a track, as Tyler and Domo respond to the fact that during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Tyler was very silent on the matter, despite the fact he was at protests and even gave money to the cause, as he claims in the song.
I think it's a very powerful song, but does it really fit on the album? Well, since this is becoming an album of seeing the flaws of a rich successful life, being so privileged to not be effected by issues that are common to low class and even middle class citizens of a certain race, yet still grew up from the bottom that you do recognize those systematic issues as you slowly strip the layers of your perfect rich lifestyle... Yeah, I think this song does fit, especially this late into the album. I love it.
The longest track on the album, SWEET/I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE, could be the most decisive song on the album, not only due to the long length, but SWEET itself does feel like a lesser See You Again off of Flower Boy, and doesn't even have that much rapping on it.
I personally like the poppy production and I honestly can't resist a "you're sweet like candy" complement, even if it doesn't really do a whole lot beyond that.
But then it goes into I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE, that really brings the track together as it reveals the relationship between Tyler and this girl is essentially in an affair, and the girl isn't completely over her feelings with her current man, leading Tyler to feel paranoid about their relationship.
Then we have MOMMA TALK. Well, if I could think of a good excuse for MANIFESTO to be on this album, this is the song I struggle the most with. Basically it's a voice recording of Tyler's own mother giving a monologue about the love of her own son, even willing to beat up other kids over it.
And while I think the song is a very sweet ode to his mom, what it's doing on this album is confusing, and doesn't add much to the storyline or theming or even Tyler's history of music. I assumed he loved his mom considering how much he dissed his own father.
Now if this was a ode track to say his sister, in which he has made some fucked up lyrics regarding her in the past ("I traded R. Kelly my sister for a new hit"), I think this would be a nice way of sort of cleaning up that awkward point in his career. Regardless, the track itself is short, it's sweet and only slightly over a minute long. It's the weak point of the album, but not that big of a deal.
Onto RISE!, a pretty standard don't flaunt my talent song towards the haters, and as I said before: Tyler has the bars to prove it. BLESSED continues off this theme in a less than minute spoken word track where Tyler reflects on his success so far.
I guess I do see where the theming of this album begins to lose itself as a reflection on the flaws of fame and fortune with tracks where Tyler essentially gives himself a pat on the back. Especially on JUGGERNAUT, which is a I'm rich and awesome banger featuring Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell giving both a verse and doing a pretty great job at it.
But then we reach WILSHIRE. An 8 and a half minute track where Tyler is just rapping one long string verse and hot damn. This might be the most impressive track on the album, because not only does Tyler not stop, he has great bars and goes into detail about the relationship of this woman he talks about on the album.
I think it's great to compare this song to Her off of Goblin, where Tyler tells of his infatuation with this girl he loves deeply but is in love with another man, but he can't really do anything about it. In that song, Tyler comes off as a boy. But in this one, he comes off as a man, with his charisma to show his awesome status yet eventually lead back into his anxiety towards the situation that has Tyler rapping in a mic with no pop filter, giving symbolism to the state Tyler is in at that point in the song.
And finally we have SAFARI, one more fame isn't everything track that stands out with the second verse, as Tyler gives off a more nostalgic flow, like something you'd hear off of his first three albums. And considering Tyler in this album called himself Wolf Haley aka his evil Slim Shady alter ego. With this, Tyler might be reverting back into a primal or even evil state. Interesting.
And that's Call Me if You Get Lost. And needless to say... I loved it. Some snags in topic here and there, but overall I think this is Tyler's best album so far. Flower Boy showed that Tyler could really show his skills at a low point. Igor showed that Tyler was a master producer. But CMIYGL shows a decade long evolution of Tyler returning to what made him popular in the first place. Only now, a seasoned vet.
Favorite Tracks: SIR BAUDELAIRE, CORSO, LEMONHEAD, WUSYANAME, LUMBERJACK, HOT WIND BLOWS, MASSA, MANIFESTO, JUGGERNAUT, WILSHIRE, SAFARI
Least Favorite Track: MOMMA TALK