In my honest opinion, I think Tyler, the Creator is one of the most creative hip-hop artists to come out in a while. Tyler can tell stories, be funny, and be emotional through his music. He is very honest and I feel is personality is just so different from a lot of rappers. He is also a great producer, yet he doesn't make mind-blowing, layered, beats. He relies on more simple sounds but he has a way of making them sound very good at the same time. Tyler's first two albums, Bastard and Goblin, both really impressed me. I think the whole way the albums flowed was so creative and Tyler can just make damn good music. It took nearly two years for this new album to drop, so will it live up to the ridiculous expectations I have for it?
WOLF- This track opens up with a terrific piano instrumental mixed in with soulful singing that sounds beautiful. Tyler comes in with his typical attitude to start off the album. It then transitions into Tyler meeting with Dr. TC, a character from his first two albums. Tyler plays a character named Wolf who is being introduced to another character named Sam, who instantly is very mean and aggressive to Wolf. 9/10
JAMBA (FEAT. HODGY BEATS) - This beat is definitely unlike any other beat I've heard this another, with huge claps and weird farty synths. Tyler flows flawlessly over this. He also delivers some great punchlines on this song. Hodgy Beats drops a great verse here, rapping fast and rhyming with some real skill. I have no complaints, this song was so sick. 9.5/10
COWBOY- Tyler's lyrics get really introspective on this song, which is a huge change from the song before it. He raps over a pretty slow, laid-back beat that I liked. Once the piano comes in, it sounds great. This song gets a little boring, though. In the end, Wolf notices a very pretty girl and asks Sam who it is. Sam responds by saying its his girlfriend, Salem, and advising Wolf to "stay the fuck away from her". 8/10
AWKWARD- This song is yet another change of pace with Tyler writing a relaxing love song. I love how he adds a creepy vibe to the song with the pitch-shifted deep voice. The beat is perfect and sets the vibe nicely. The hook was so catchy and and my head-bopping all the way through. This song was pretty much perfect once Frank Ocean sang at the end. In my opinion, I think this song was Wolf reminiscing on a past love after seeing Salem. I might be wrong, but I truly think that's what this track was. 10/10
DOMO 23- another totally different style for Tyler here, as he comes with a high-energy, trap style beat. Tyler sounds awesome rapping here, with a pretty nice flow. Tyler also lyrically covers his career and his fans with brutal honesty. This track was very cool, and it was good to know Tyler can make songs like this. 8/10
ANSWER- A very relaxing and sentimental sounding beat starts this one off. This track was purely topical as Tyler goes over something he has gone over many times before: his dad. This time, instead of only hating on him like he does on songs like Bastard, he sadly admits that if his dad called him, he would answer. You can definitely tell the emotion on this song, as Tyler is conflicted about his feelings for his father. The singing on this track sounded great and this was a fantastic song. 9.5/10
SLATER- I have to admit, this is not one of my favorite beats on the album. It sounds somewhat lazy and there is not much going on, in a bad way. Tyler's lyrical content was not great here either. Frank Ocean completely saves this song and makes it an awesome listen. He absolutely kills it, singing beautifully. 8/10
48- Another topical track here, as Tyler decides to delve into drugs. He does this in a really creative way, taking the persona of a drug dealer. As the song goes on, Tyler starts to realize the very negative affect his product has on people, as the drugs are sometimes even killing them. This is just such a cool song to listen to, as Frank sounds great once again on the hook. 8.5/10
COLOSSUS- Lyrically, Tyler talks about his fans here. He does this in a way very similar to Eminem's song Stan. He raps from the point of view of an obsessed fan who idolizes Tyler in every way. Near the end of the song, Tyler impressively raps a conversation, going from his own point of view to the one of the fan. Everything said in this song is sadly true, showing Tyler definitely knows what his fans are like. This song was entertaining, as it is full of great lyricism. 8.5/10
PARTYISNTOVER/CAMPFIRE/BIMMER- Tyler decides to combine three short songs into a seven minute medley here. The first song, Partyisntover, comes with a dramatic, detailed instrumental that sounds great. Tyler uses some basic lyricism here, but this song is definitely a show off of Tyler's improved production skills. Campfire also has a very unique beat, but this one has some better lyricism, and just sounds very cool, as Tyler can always put a really odd vibe into a song. The children's voices and singing voice at the end sound really interesting on this song, and it works. Bimmer is definitely the best song of the three. The upbeat production sounds fantastic here. Tyler uses some pretty corny lyrics, but I love his flow over this beat. Once Frank Ocean comes into this song, as well as the epic piano, the track becomes just amazing. Bimmer was pretty much perfect and I wish it was a full song honestly. Overall, these three songs featured amazing production and they just got better with each song. 9.5/10
At the end of the whole song, the album story continues with Sam talking to a friend. The friend tells him he saw Sam's girlfriend, Salem, hanging out with Wolf down by the lake, as expected, Sam is very angry and pretty much wants to beat up Wolf.
IFHY (FEAT. PHARRELL)- This production starts off very eerie but just gets more epic as the song goes along. The drums bang hard and the synths are just so odd, making the song incredibly unique. Tyler's lyrics on this song sound so passionate as he details the conflicting feelings of a relationship that are making him insane. I personally think this song is actually from Sam's point of view, as he details how much he loved Salem and how angry he is at her now after hearing she as hanging with Wolf. Tyler sounds crazy on this song and the whole vibe is amazingly unique. Tyler's idol, Pharrell, stops by to provide some fantastic singing. His part is so relaxing and the song becomes incredible at that point. This song was simply stellar and I still get chills when I listen to it. At the end of this song, Wolf and Salem are indeed hanging out at the lake and talking about Sam. Salem says he ran away because "some shit happened back home". 10/10
PIGS- In this song, Tyler goes into the Sam character's life back home, just like what Salem was talking about at the end of IFHY. Tyler raps here from the point of view of Sam in high school. Sam was just a troubled kid who couldn't get anything right and pretty much hated everyone. This leads to Sam shooting up his school. Tyler puts this into the song brilliantly, with screams, ambulance noises, and gunshots in the background during the third verse. Tyler shows Sam as a guy with some crazy, conflicted emotions in the third verse. This song comes off insanely creepy, messed-up, insane, but most of all, genius. 9.5/10
PARKING LOT (FEAT. CASEY VEGGIES & MIKE G)- A very jazzy instrumental starts this song off. I was not really feeling Tyler's rapping as much on this song. His flow sounded a little off to me, but he did have some good lines here. Casey Veggies' hook was very catchy and works really well on this song. Mike G has the next verse, and he totally kills it. His smooth voice matches the song perfectly and his flow was just so on point. Unfortunately, this song felt a little empty after the string of amazing songs before this. At the end of the song, the friend who was earlier warning Sam about Wolf and Salem hanging out, tells Wolf that Sam is after him and that Sam wants to kill him. Wolf simply says "not if I get to him first". 8.5/10
RUSTY- I was very excited for this one as Odd Future's three heaviest hitters, Domo Genesis, Tyler, and Earl get together for a song. A chilling beat covers this song which honestly sounds like some golden era Wu Tang production. It was just made for rapping. Domo starts this off with the best verse I have ever heard Domo spit, by far. He sounds hungry, aggressive, and tough as hell here. He somehow raps effortlessly at the same time, rhyming with crazy skill. Tyler then spits HIS best verse ever, in my opinion. His lyrics were incredible here, getting introspective and looking back on where he came from. His verse was full of amazing lines and brutal honesty. Tyler's verse was pretty much the rapping highlight of the entire album for me. Earl finishes this one off with the usual Earl verse, with crazy wordplay and nice flow. Tyler ties the story into Earl's verse by yelling from the point of view of Sam at Earl. He even ends Earl's verse with a gunshot, killing him. Sam was so mad about Wolf hanging out with Salem that he shot and killer Wolf's friend Earl for revenge. This song was easily the highlight of the album and possibly the best song I've heard all year. 10/10
TRASHWANG- Tyler provides another awesome change of pace with a sick trap beat, but of course, the beat has the Tyler vibe to it. He brings on the non-rappers from Odd Future to spit some hilarious verses. Nakel Smith's verse was just awesome, and Left Brain's hook was ridiculously catchy and well done. Jasper, Taco, and Tyler spit some usual, joke verses, which were funny nonetheless. The crown jewel of the song, though, was Lucas's verse, which was legendary to say the least. I also loved the way the beat progressed near the end of the track. This song was hilarious the whole way through and i was really entertained by it. 8.5/10
TREEHOME95- This song literally could not have been more different from Trashwang. This song was a super peaceful, relaxing jazz song featuring piano playing and production from Tyler and singing from Coco O. She sounded really good on this, and the production was just fantastic, as it was layered and showed Tyler can make more than just hip-hop. The hook was good and Erykah Badu sings really well on this song. This song, Tyler shows just how much musical talent he really has. 9/10
TAMALE- This was probably the weirdest beat on the album, but it actually sounds sick on this song. Tyler's flow was absolutely crazy here, and he sounded like a really good rapper on this track. The hook was also awesome, and the whole track brought some great energy. I loved the oddball vibe of this song, and it was definitely unique. At the end of the song, Wolf, now messed up mentally after Sam has killed Earl, gets caught jacking off and gets taken to Dr. TC. 9.5/10
LONE- Tyler brings a very relaxed beat here, but it honestly sounds a little samey at this point. It is still fantastic, but there were some beats very similar to it on the album. Tyler is all honesty on this song, as he lets out his problems to Dr. TC from the point of view of Wolf. He actually gets into the death of his grandmother in great detail on this song. This song was definitely an appropriate end to the song, as he was very personal and introspective, just like the rest of the album. At the end of the song, Dr. TC pretty much wraps up the album as Wolf ends the album on a cliffhanger talking about Sam. 9/10
WOLF WRAP UP
+Ridiculously creative story told through the songs
+Tyler gets really introspective and personal with lyrics
+Tyler stepped his flow up quite a bit on the album
+Production was absolutely stellar
+Every song had a different vibe and topic
+Great features
Best: Awkward, IFHY, Rusty
Worst: None
Tyler, the Creator- Wolf
9.7/10
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