Tyler The Creator - Bastard

And I'm about fourdays late on finishing this post. See, sometimes I like to plan out my...erm...features and then take forever to finish the damn things. Time for some fucking hip-hop.

Tyler, The Creator. Eponymous with silliness, hipsterisms, and lyrics ranging from archetypal to brutally ridiculous, this guy has become quite the hit in the last few years. 2009 saw the release of his best work to date titled Bastard. Herein lies Tyler's innate talent: great flow, abrasive lyrics, solid self-done beats, and a reverberating and recognizable voice.

Bastard begins slowly with the title track - which explains why Tyler named the album Bastard. It serves as a simple intro with some personal meaning behind it, and it leads right into the fucking awesome "Seven." The track is everything about Tyler The Creator in a nutshell. It features lyrics calling out Bruno Mars, Kid Cudi, etc. and it all flows excellently with the most intense beats on the album. Lots of other tracks don't hold up - or even compare to "Seven," but that doesn't make them bad. "French!" is great and it's one of the few times I really enjoy Hodgy Beats' featured work. "Blow" has a nice bluesy sound to it with some nice textures when Tyler's layered voice comes in. "Assmilk" is another solid track with Earl who at the time was a 15-year old monster.

There's a lot of vocal distortion and pitch shifting on Bastard but it tends to be limited to a few quick sequences. Some of the later tracks are a bit dull as well, with "Tina" sounding like a fucking Lil B song. If you've ever listened to Lil B you know how shitty that sound can be, although the lyrics are a bit above the "Wonton Soup" level of stupidity. There's still too much fucking "swag" though. Beats on Bastard tend to be pretty solid if "eerie." It's not the best description, but Tyler likes to use a lot of odd minor chord progressions when composing his beats which does work, and the sounds don't feel cheap. "Inglorious" is a nice piano-based track that gives the album a circular nature with references to the meaning of the title track. Whatever the case, Bastard is pretty solid for a self-release and debut.

7.5 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1. Bastard
2. Seven
3. Odd Toddlers (feat. Casey Veggies)
4. French! (feat. Hodgy Beats)
5. Blow
6. Pigs Fly (feat. Domo Genesis)
7. Parade
8. Slow It Down (feat. Hodgy Beats)
9. AssMilk (feat. Earl Sweatshirt)
10. VCR/Wheels
11. Session (feat. Hodgy Beats & BrandUn DeShay)
12. Sarah
13. Jack And The Beanstalk
14. Tina (feat. Jasper & Taco)
15. Inglorious