Advice

On tyler the creator.

What do you think of OFWGKTA and tegan and sara’s comments on them?

I respect Sara’s visceral reaction to Tyler the Creator, and I totally agree with her point about the industry being a bunch of bandwagoners when it comes to acts like O.F.W.G.K.T.A., but where Sara takes issue with Tyler’s misogynistic and homophobic lyrics, I just shrug my shoulders.

A song with racist lyrics does not make the singer racist. A joke with a homophobic punch line does not make the comedian a homophobe. A novel with misogynistic themes does not make the writer a misogynist.

I separate artists from their art, and unless there is hate or ignorance in their hearts, I always give artists a pass. I honestly don’t know what’s in Tyler the Creator’s heart, and quite frankly, I don’t care. I’ve listened to his music, and while I’ll give a nod to his nascent lyrical abilities, his shit ain’t for me.

Let’s not forget, we’re not talking about a man here. He’s a boy. From what I can tell, practically a child. Like most people who do what he does, he’s managed to channel what are essentially sociopathic tendencies into a creative outlet for which he seems to have some talent.

I don’t understand pop culture’s fascination with sad and angry little boys with tales of inner city woe, but I can’t fault Tyler’s exploitation of their disproportionate share of cultural relevance. N.W.A. did it twenty years ago with “Fuck tha Police,” and now O.F.W.G.K.T.A. is doing it yet again with an entirely new generation’s “Fuck tha Police.”

The difference is that N.W.A. weren’t whiny little bitches, and when the dust settles, I think we’ll all look back on Tyler’s early work as something significantly less important.

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One thought on “On tyler the creator.

  1. Fred Mailhot says:

    Hi,

    Just found you today (thanks random Jezebel comment) and have been enjoying these. In the present case, though, I feel like you’re wide of the mark (and I fully grok that you don’t — and needn’t — give two fucks about what I think).

    T&S’s post specifically (I’d wager intentionally) does *not* call Tyler a misogynist or a homophobe, but specifically does call out those aspects of his lyrics. And we *shouldn’t*, as a society, shrug and give them a pass. We should collectively say “yo, those lyrics are fucked up and promote fucked up values” without accusing their progenitor of being fucked up, all the more so *because* he’s a boy and not a man; now is the time for education and enlightenment.

    FM.

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