Okay, Tyler The Creator released his latest effort titled Flower Boy a while ago and since no one decided to offer a review of the album ‘till now, you have to satisfy with an opinion of a hip-hop noob. Flower Boy deserves to be mentioned here because the record is among the best offers we had this year, no matter the genre. So here we go.
After an unorganized creative mess that was Cherry Bomb, we got another chapter of the evolution of one of the most interesting hip-hop artists today. Flower Boy is a return to the form, return to his signature sound after wandering into unknown woods of electro-funk-rock-hip-hop mishmash that Cherry Bomb essentially was.
This time Tyler managed to produce an album that flows from one song to another, that sounds like a continuum instead like a labyrinth, one that just feels like a whole made out of individual compositions.
Lyrical themes often hover over emotions, personal doubts, depictions of modern-life paradoxes, and sometimes just go all over the place, which often leads to incredibly exciting word streams. The dark side personality of Tyler’s personality is mostly hidden, except for a few songs and occasional verses that could go unnoticed if you don’t listen too carefully.
Musically, Flower Boy shows more melody, with a massive leap in the quality of songwriting. Not as disjointed as on Wolf, most beats possess a clear structure along with incredible bass arrangements that don’t always play a foundational role in arrangements. Instead, they are often put in the background, giving songs subtle lines that always sound good.
The best thing about Flower Boy is that you can’t find a bad song on the album. From the witty Foreword, trough dreamy See You Again, progressive Garden Shed, and dynamic duo of Boredom and I Ain’t Got Time, Tyler presents an impressive combination of beats along with lyrics that make the listener wonder, taking them through a rollercoaster of thoughts ending with November, a song making all of us wonder what makes us happy?
And it seems like this motive is one dominating the album. Could it be love, or out friends, our money, or cherished memories? Well, you have to find out your own answer, while at the same time being offered with possible choices all through Flower Boy. Sure, as I said, there’s a bit of old Tyler here; just play Pothole, Who Dat Boy, or Droppin' Seeds.
Personally, I liked the most an excellent Boredom/I Ain’t Got Time duology. They depict one of the most common problems of modern generations, a kind of paradox with free time that never cannot be distributed evenly. And the beats found in I Ain’t Got Time are incredible. The album ends with a song adequately titled Enjoy Right Now, Today. After you found the source of your happiness, go after it and enjoy. If you didn’t, well enjoy today as well.
