Creating the Creator
A vulgar, offensive, nihilistic anarchist has exploded onto the rap scene, and he’s making some of the most interesting hip-hop heard in the past decade. Playing front man to a bizarre crew of his hometown friends, the young MC draws on his turbulent upbringing, lucid imagination, and slight penchant for murder and rape to deliver ornate narratives that equally disgust and delight. Despite bubbling under the radar for some time, his ascension to the head of conversation has been blindingly fast, catalyzed by some unforgettable media appearances and punctuated by an infectious first single and a video that’s just as awe-inspiring as he is. MTV thanks God every time he spouts another profanity-laden quotable, and parents and pundits are already sketching picket signs. Hip-hop has never seen anything like him, and fans across genres, generations, and demographics can’t get enough. He’s funny, lyrical, angry, endearing—and he even has an awesome name: Eminem.
The paragraph above might be how a 1999 feature article in a music magazine would begin, covering the white rapper who was then the most interesting man in music. Today, the same descriptions may be invoked when speaking of rap’s latest bad boy, Tyler, the Creator. Numerous comparisons have been made around Tyler, with critics forcing their own footnotes onto his budding career. The young MC typically scoffs at these associations, rightfully dismissing the cries of horrorcore, Lil B and the Wu-Tang Clan. However, one call is undeniable: 9-year-old Tyler was watching very closely, as we all were, when Marshall Mathers took pop culture by storm a decade ago.
It seems appropriate that the successor to Em’s lovable chaos was still in grade school when The Slim Shady LP hit stores. Eminem was always for the kids. His persona was shamelessly aimed at the youth who Parental Advisory stickers were meant to repel, from the crayon scribbled logo on his debut album’s artwork to his cartoonish voice and zany videos that mesmerized those raised on “The Animaniacs” and “Pinky & The Brain.” When he arrived, Eminem was not only a whirlwind force in contemporary pop and hip-hop—he was a pillar in a generation’s youth, teaching pessimism and irony to tweens all over the country who were just peeking into adolescent angst.
Tyler, the Creator was evidently one of those tweens. Now all grown up, his music features the same brooding motifs and over-the-top imagery that made Slim Shady so inescapable. In fact, Tyler’s own first single “Yonkers” is in direct dialogue with “My Name Is,” the infamous debut that stamped Em onto the public consciousness. These two records overlap on several levels, and their intersections reveal much about Em’s legacy and Tyler’s potential.
Tyler and Em both channel fantastical imagery to establish setting and character–we find Tyler wearing synthetic wigs and wrestling with dinosaurs in his opening bars as Eminem murders aliens and mutilates himself before a classroom. Both records present a moral figure that the narrator is in conflict with: Eminem with a white-coated Dr. Dre, Tyler with his own voice, pitched down in allusion to the psychiatrist character on his “Bastard” mixtape. This device paints both MCs as beyond saving, and in perpetual conflict with an extended version of themselves. They reinforce this dichotomy by allowing their self-appointed alter-egos to “take over” their normal personas: during his last verse Tyler repeats “I’m Wolf” three times in reference to his Wolf Haley incarnate, while Eminem re-introduces himself ad nauseum, and by a completely different name (it wasn’t long ago that puzzled listeners asked whether the song was by “Eminem” or “Slim Shady” and were answered “both”).
Beyond the humor and schizophrenia, both “Yonkers” and “My Name Is” present strong ideology from each artist, taking form in candid emotional musings and emphatic pop-culture lashings. Parents are recurring themes in both records, with both Tyler and Em citing incompetent mothers and absent fathers as catalysts for their behavior. The maternal references are especially somber: Tyler concludes “that fucking broad” will never understand him, while Eminem confesses that “99% of my life I was lied to,” presumably by his only parent–a melancholy revelation sandwiched between his silly non-sequiters. And externally, the two claim fierce contrarian to the dregs of pop culture, as Eminem slices through late 90s staples Pamela Anderson and the Spice Girls, while Tyler asphyxiates Bruno Mars and crashes B.o.B’s airplane.
On their respective debuts, the MCs provide cohesive outlines of themselves, describing their fantasies, backgrounds, ideals and even drilling their names into our memories. They achieve what all set out to do with their inaugural piece of art: introduce themselves. However, if Eminem’s legacy teaches us anything, it is that these cordial introductions don’t last very long.
The struggle that Tyler will face is one his sensei could not overcome–maintaining the snapshot of one’s self that fans fell in love with, while addressing the overwhelming change brought by fame and notoriety. “My Name Is” is so accurately Eminem, so laser focused on every bullet-point of his pop appeal, that he was unable to ever match it (he’s vented about this dilemma in later works). But this is not to say that Tyler is doomed. Contexts have shifted greatly since 1999, and the excess and instance of the internet means that a rounder image of Tyler is just a few keystrokes away for those that care to look. In addition, the richest of dialectics between the two MCs is that Eminem was a white rapper from urban Detroit with a ceaser cut and baggy jeans, while Tyler is a skateboarding, Vice subscribing black kid from the L.A. suburbs. Like Eminem, many didn’t know that kids like Tyler existed in the world, but most expected it, and all now have demands. This role as a socio-demographic pioneer affords Tyler certain immunities (and boatloads of cool), but these privileges are limited. As hip-hop continues to demand originality from one turntable and despise change from the other, Tyler’s test will be his ability to crossfade: to retain the bullet-points he has drafted for himself while reconciling the image that will be imposed upon him and expected from him. To catch one record while the other still spins.
Luckily, Tyler has an example to work around: Em has missed the mark. His content is in top form, but his context has lost all spark: the rebel yell and flipped finger we came to love have been reduced to a limp cycle of self reference. Eminem now flies First Class with B.o.B. and Haley Williams, with Detox playing in flight. And even worse, he’s tragically unsuspecting of his young protege, all grown up, grinning in the cockpit.
Tyler is 19, not 9. always proofread!
always proofread your comments!
^9 as in a decade ago
Fucking hell with the typo corrections.
It baffles me that someone could read an entire piece and the ONLY thing they have to say at the end of it, is that a finger hit the wrong key. Makes you look like a nit picking idiot.
Anyway. Superb piece. I had this argument with my roommate yesterday who has declared war on Tyler but thinks Marshall is the greatest rapper of all time.
I guess he’ll just have to wait until they do a track. It’ll happen.
This is a great read. Fantastic writing. This is how music should be written about (take notes pitchfork). And to the girl who tried to correct you: learn how to READ in context before you tell someone else to proofread.
So there I was on madbury reading the lupe comments while Soul Plane was playing in the background. And as I scrolled down the page my cursor turned in to a hand to let me know I just passed a link. I scroll back up to see that within the name “Matthew Trammel” is a link to a site called theinerludes. So I click it and being a huge OF fan of course I click the article about Tyler. And oh my. That first paragraph was like a kiss on the cheek from Megan Good, while you’re getting a foot massage from Lauren London, as Tyra Banks and Amber Rose have sex right in front of you. Thank you based god. Dope write up.
Read this three times. Magnificent piece of writing, and quite a perspective to ponder upon.
Brownbear, you’re a fucking idiot. Amazing article, although I wonder if we can compare them so closely; talent and flow wise, yes they’re very similar. But as demented as ’99-00 Em was, “my name is” had a catchy hook and warm instrumental; which dare I say, isn’t Tyler’s MO. We’ll have to wait and see just how receptive America will be to him.
i actually had a physical reaction to the first paragraph, the kind where you’re just like “wooo~”
Yeah that first paragraph got me. Beautifully written.
Damn son I always thought that the two were similar but I would’ve never picked up on how similar their debut songs were in terms of subject matter and structure. Nice writing yo, you come up with some great book ends. Btw brownbear, always read carefully!
Hayley Williams at the bottom.
I always thought Em had three characters: Em, Marshall, and Slim.
great article, though you got one thing wrong; while tyler dismisses comparisons to horrorcore & the wu tang, he practically worships lil b. there’s an old video on youtube of him & a few other of members (i think left brain, hodgy, & earl) freaking out to “like a martian” & screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs.
of course, tyler’s not a big hip hop fan- he listens to lil b, gucci, waka flocka, clipse, soulja boy, eminem, & a bit of mf doom and that’s pretty much it. his influences lie more to the electronic indie pop side of things. i know he really digs stereolab, grizzly bear, liars, toro y moi, nite jewel, joy division, lykke li, etc.
-alex
@intergalactic the last time I spoke to Tyler he clarified that he’s a big fan of Lil B but hates comparisons
and the liars love is reciprocated! aaron hemphill & angus andrew of liars were quoted in a recent spin article on odd future saying that they’re huge fans- brought on by “leather head” off radical, no less.
-alex
Brillant.
May be the odd one out here, but I felt like the purpose of the first paragraph was to make us cringe a little, not wow us with its wording. Exhausting adjectives, packed “verbage”, obvious build up- Matt doesn’t write like that guys! Thought the first sentence of the second paragraph made that so obvious. Maybe I just pay attention too much? Or I have some type of writers’ sixth sense? *deep Kelly sigh*
Moving on…
I’m pretty embarrassed people use these little comment sections to point out things they think the writer bothched, or herald typos they felt were SO important that they had to call you out on. The Internet is the strangest pick-me-up I’ve ever known and I’m permanently pissy because of the fact. And the few of you that see nothing wrong with using it this way? Disappointments. If there’s any editing that needs to take place, it might be in the way you all healthfully read and form opinions.
Matt, keep writing pieces like this. I’ll be really reading.
(That “this” at the end was on purpose. I know it’s “these” Before I have get crazy with anyone)
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: you are a fucking fantastic writer.
i think it would be interesting in the fourth paragraph to see examples of lines that make yonkers and my name is so alike.
a question i had was how “if Eminem’s legacy teaches us anything, it is that these cordial introductions don’t last very long.” hasn’t eminem made a career of propagating the same image? granted that his last couple albums have taken on a more sober and mature look at his nature, but surely the slim shady lp, the marshall mathers lp, and the eminem show all contributed significantly to the eminem character?
i also think that each artists relationship with the media has greatly influenced the way we view them. eminem, clearly a rebel in his own right, enjoys his fuck yous to the media, but at the same time relishes in the limelight. can the same be said for tyler? with all his fuck you 2dopeboyz, nah right, gq, what have you, is it all just an act to be used in the same eminem styled fashion?
so many things to explore, but great piece matt, definitely sheds light on an odd connection the two share
Matt, after reading many of your articles here on The Interludes and on TMC, I’d have to say you’re becoming one of the seminal writers of our time here on the interwebs. And this is coming from someone who now at 22, for some time there completely rejected present day hip-hop in all it’s forms, much less read about it.
But it’s writing like this that makes people read about what they’d more than often not. It invites, it entertains, and seeks dialogue. It’s literally text-based culture. Just really a transcendent piece of the written word here. Were talking pay-per-read stuff. *I think I may have to print this out*
I am blown away by your writing every single freaking time!!! I am not sure of what is worse–the first commentator telling you that you had a typo, or the fact that the person didn’t read the enter sentence to understand where the number 9 came from. Nonetheless, keep the great content coming!!
Matthew killing it on the keystrokes as usual…great fucking read. Loved the turntable imagery. This is the type of article I wish I could read in Rolling Stone
this is one of my favorite blogs. please write more often
Excellent piece.
Props for mimicking the ‘standard magazine voice’ in the first paragraph without turning me off before I got to the punchline. From there I was hooked, and you didn’t disappoint.
…Back in 2000 Eminems popularity was skyrocketing following the release of his debut album The Slim Shady LP..But along with that success came comparisons to boy bands like the ……. …………………..Backstreet Boys and NSYNC due to all three acts sharing a fanbase that consisted of screaming teenage girls who frequented MTVs TRL studio in Times Square..Eminems video for is set to premiere Tuesday. So the best way that I know to separate myself from that category is to separate myself from it period.
A really well written piece. What do you think about Bastard his first album? Specifically the song “Bastard”. Doesn’t Tyler almost justify his actions in a way through that song?
Quality stuff man.
The internet has sort of numbed us all to any sort of editorial standards these days, especially regarding Hip-Hop, but It is corners of the web such as this one that continue to raise the bar and bring us back to the days before the importance of the Journalist fell by the wayside. I appreciate your meticulousness in showing the Tyler/Em comparisons without over-doing it or taking it to a place where it became corny. I rock with the imagery in the last paragraph too. It’s very clever and presents one of the saddest ideas in Hip-Hop these days by far. It’s crazy to me how damn near every rapper who’s entered the game with any sort of shock value have all softened up at some point in their career. Even though rappers don’t always relinquish skill as they grow older, it is almost inevitable that they begin to lose that appeal/connectedness with their original audience (i.e. Eminem). It definitely has something to do with a loss of exclusivity in the fan base. It will be interesting to see how Tyler evolves as his fanbase continues to grow and being an O.F. fan isn’t so revolutionary anymore. But I digress…
Nice piece. Keep swaggin it out around these parts and elsewhere.
Oh and to all the ritards (yes ri-TARDS) who found fit to comment on punctual errors rather than contribute to the conversation, I encourage you all to look yourselves in the mirror and have a nice laugh at the human being that you have become. I mean that in the nicest way possible.
hey fucker -
post more shit bitch
Great Piece of writing. Wow! Just read the newspaper article in the New York Times about him and this one is way better.