As humans, we yearn for connection. Whether it be through our family, friends, or loved ones, our natural desire to be connected drives us to do things that we otherwise weren’t. This is especially the case in a romantic relationship, maybe even more so. Tyler, the Creator’s album “IGOR” shows this on full display with clever production and wordplay. 

Igor tells the story of the titular Igor, a man pursuing love with another man. In the song “EARFQUAKE”, we get a hint into how Igor feels about the unnamed man, who will be deemed John for the sake of this review. Igor sings “’Cause you make my earth quake, Oh, you make my earth quake, Riding around, your love be shakin’ me up, And it’s making my heart break” telling us that, even if Igor loves John, it’s hard for him to admit it. Igor’s feelings are elaborated in “I THINK”, where Igor realizes that he is in fact, falling in love. Further in, we’re told about Igor’s dilemma: he is “RUNNING OUT OF TIME” to get John to love him back (Get it?), because there is a certain somebody that is also getting John’s attention, his ex. Igor’s jealousy makes him go mad. In the song “NEW MAGIC WAND” (my personal favorite from the album), Igor tells us his plans for winning John over. He plans to kill John’s ex with his “new magic wand,” left up to interpretation on what that exactly is. 

Now, halfway through the album, the story takes a different turn. Igor’s plans go south and it turns out that John doesn’t feel the same way about Igor, and shoots him down, “A BOY IS A G*N” after all. Even after being rejected, Igor still has feelings for John, and he resents those feelings. The next few songs are Igor trying to let go of John, until the final song, “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?”, where Igor tries to at least stay friends with John. However, the song ends a bit off, the chords sound wrong, but why? This is where IGOR, the album, makes its message clear. If the album ended at the track before, “I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE,” the album would sound properly over, but it doesn’t. But if you play the album on loop, going back to the first song on the album, “IGORS THEME”, the song sounds complete. This represents how, if Igor stays friends with John, he will eventually fall in love again in “EARFQUAKE”, keeping him in this cycle of falling in love, being rejected, trying to forget John, and so on. 

Being a Tyler, the Creator project, the production is naturally filled with passion. One of the unique benefits of being a concept album, an album that tells a story, is how every song sounds similar, but unique. Almost all of the songs have a distorted synth that is a staple of Tyler’s work, as well has Tyler’s high pitched singing, deviating from his typical gravelly, low-pitched rapping. At this point, he had experimented with other styles, but not fully embraced them. For instance, on his previous album, “Flower Boy” (2017), the song “See you again (feat. Kali Uchis)” , we got to see him sing for the first time, alongside pop icon, Kali Uchis.

Overall, IGOR is a masterpiece of an album. Tyler’s sound has progressed a ton since the “Goblin” (2011) days, and it’s great to see. It’s not a personal favorite, but I would give it a strong 4 out of 5 due to its sheer artistry and importance to Okonma.