Tyler The Creator’s Top Five Favorite Jay-Z Songs Include Some Unexpected Choices

Although Tyler The Creator could easily be pegged as an antie-establishment nonconformist when it comes to hip-hop, he recently admitted that much of that posturing just came from feeling that he wouldn’t be accepted by the mainstream. Now that he more-or-less is the establishment, he seems a lot more comfortable engaging with the culture on its usual terms — working with DJ Drama on his new album, performing at the BET Awards, and participating in the time-honored tradition of sharing and debating Top Fives.

The Top Five, in this case, is Jay-Z’s songs, as prompted by Spotify’s Head of Urban Music, Carl Chery, who asked on Twitter on December 4 in honor of Jay’s birthday. As the responses rolled in by the dozens, Carl took the opportunity to share a clip of a recent interview with Tyler The Creator (who helpfully revamps his entire wardrobe between album cycles, making it easier to determine timelines in situations like this) revealing his own favorites. However, in typical Tyler fashion, the “Wusyaname” rapper still had to make sure his answers were a little off-center (and he picked six), picking eyebrow-raising tracks like “Allure,” “Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up),” “Excuse Me Miss,” “F*ck All Nite,” and “Show You How.”

Astute fans can probably pick out the common denominator in the majority of those picks, knowing Tyler’s allegiance to Pharrell Williams, but he also included the “Grammy Family” freestyle Jay performed for Funkmaster Flex. Maybe in a future interview, he could offer a little more insight into why these picks are his faves, but for now, they constitute solid picks from an expansive and nearly bulletproof discography. Watch Tyler’s interview with Carl Chery below.