The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

Tyler, the Creator offers new style in ‘Cherry Bomb’

It’s been two years since rapper, Tyler, the Creator, dropped his last album, ‘Wolf.’ In that time, he shows he has been able to develop a different style for his latest release, ‘Cherry Bomb.’

The newest album marks the third one released through his label Odd Future Records and Sony Music Entertainment, and is a different venture from the first two albums.

Unlike ‘Goblin,’ ‘Wolf,’ and his self-released first album ‘Bastard,’ ‘Cherry Bomb’ does not follow any kind of storyline or theme to tie all of the songs together. For instance, ‘Goblin’ was about Tyler returning to his therapist for a second time and really discovering his conscience and discussing his problems from his childhood.

While it doesn’t have the narrative style of the previous three, it still feels connected in a more mature way. The lyrics of most of the songs feel as though Tyler is growing up and moving away from his destructive and rebellious past, showing that he seems to have dealt with some of his inner demons and has a brighter look.

In addition, he also seems to be moving away from the more selfish materialistic side that he showed in his first two albums, and towards an appreciation for the money and opportunities that he’s been given.

While he showed some of these themes in ‘Wolf,’ he seems to be evolving with more upbeat and slower songs, like “F****** Young/Perfect” and “Smuckers.”

Tyler also introduces a new style to his music that has not been previously heard in his music. He introduces a lot more instrumental sounds to his songs, which at times proves to be problematic.

For example, in the songs “Deathcamp,” “Pilot,” and “Cherry Bomb,” the keyboard instrumental and the bass of all of the sounds in the songs are so loud and heavy that they make it almost impossible to understand what Tyler is rapping in the songs.

However, he does also introduce some new instruments to his sound, in addition to his piano skills, including guitars, saxophones, and xylophones, giving songs like “Find Your Wings” a more jazz feeling.

Tyler’s newest album also features his first collaboration with two of the biggest names in the rap/hip-hop industry, Lil Wayne and Kanye West. “Smuckers” deals with Tyler’s success and money and how its affected both his personal life and social life. While it shows he still has a materialistic side to him, it still shows that he’s evolved into appreciating what he’s earned.

West’s and Wayne’s lyrics feel very much like lyrics from their own solo works, West being unapologetically materialistic and narcissistic as he normally is, continuing to show that he feels he’s better than everyone.

Overall, ‘Cherry Bomb’ mostly works in its newer styles and themes, but Tyler has some work to do if he wants to use this new style effectively.

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