The Hidden Story of Tyler the Creator’s “IGOR”

Igor is an album released in 2019 by Tyler the Creator. It tells the story of love and heartbreak through a unique style of sound. The first thing I am going to talk about is the sound of the album. Igor is filled with songs that use pitch edited voice tracks, which some people may find weird, but in reality it really adds to the emotion of the album. While I would normally say there are a few standout songs, Igor is an album where every song is important and unique in their own way. Not just in their sound but in the overall story of the album. The album starts with Igors theme, which really helps set up the overall vibe of the album. It then goes to the song “Earfquake”, which describes the feeling of how someone makes you feel when you are just falling in love with them. We then go the song “I Think”, Which literally talks about how Tyler is falling in love with someone. It then goes to the song “Running Out of Time” which talks about how Tyler feels like he is running out of time to get with the person he has feelings for. All of these songs have a pretty happy and whimsical theme to them, but that feeling is about to go away. The next song on the album, title “New Magic Wand”, takes a turn in its sound. It comes in with a harsh beat and intense vocals by Tyler. This is very different to the pitch edited, dreamy vocals at the beginning of the album. This song is about Tylers anger when he finds out his love is dating someone else. This song really is where the album takes a turn. The next song, “A Boy Is A Gun”, takes place a little bit of time after “New Magic Wand”. Tyler is now dating his lover, but he is starting to realize his relationship is toxic. Again this song begins to show the realities of love that are not talked about much in media. After “A Boy Is A Gun”, we get to the song “Puppet”. This song really solidifies the idea that Tyler is in a manipulative relationship. Tyler uses the metaphor that he is the puppet in his relationship. He says that his lover “controls him” and this helps him realize that he is not happy. The album then continues into the song “What’s Good”. This song again goes back to the aggressive sound. Tyler uses this sound because this song is supposed to represent Tyler’s anger at his relationship. He flexes throughout the song and tries as hard as he can to come off as a strong person. This outpour of anger is in direct response to him realizing he is being manipulated. The next song, Gone Gone / Thank You”, is where Tyler finally comes to terms with his relationship. He realizes that his “Love’s gone” and he doesn’t feel his feelings anymore. This is almost like whiplash from the last song, and it really helps represent how relationships make you feel. One minute you are angry and the next you are accepting the reality. The penultimate song is “I Don’t Love You Anymore”. It is Tyler finally saying straight up, that the love is not there anymore. While the last song built up to it and ended with that Idea, this song celebrates the feeling and solidifies it. We then get to the last track “Are We Still Friends”. This song is what really puts the album over the top for me. It could of ended with “I Don’t Love You Anymore”, but it didn’t. This is because Tyler, like many other people, realized that love never really is gone. he keeps asking throughout the whole song if him and his past partner can still be friends. And this reality of the love still being there is not a bad thing. Tyler is past the anger of the relationship and can see that the person he used to love is still there, even if it is not the same feeling. The coolest part of this ending is how it ties back to the beginning. The first chord of the first song on the album resolves the final chord of the album. This helps represent the idea that love is never gone, and the cycle of love will start again. All in all, Igor tells an incredible, realistic story of how loves works. While falling in love can seem great, not every relationship is healthy. This album also shows the idea that letting go of someone is not easy, and the feelings of love never really go away. Igor is a musical masterpiece that will always hold a special place in not only Tyler’s discography, but music as a whole.

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