Tyler, The Creator and Kanye West admire each other’s music. They’ve collaborated multiple times over the last decade. The former has cited West as a major musical influence on several occasions. Tyler will speak his mind when something annoys him, though. Kanye West posted footage of him performing the track “On Sight” during his recent concert in Korea, and Tyler, The Creator took to the comment section with some feedback. He wasn’t mean about it, but he did make it clear to West and the fans that he was annoyed with what he saw.
First, the footage. Kanye West is clearly letting the backing tracks do most of the work during the show. “On Sight” is a high energy song, but the rapper seems pretty laid back and content to just vibe out while the crowd sings along. Tyler, The Creator wasn’t thrilled. He left a comment on West’s page calling him out for being lazy on stage. “N**ga u was right there,” Tyler wrote. “Just say the words!!!!” He tried to take some of the sting out of his critique by throwing a few heart eye emojis, but his point stood.
Tyler, The Creator may have songs with Kanye West, but he’s been accused of dissing the rapper in the past. A fan theory developed around the 2023 song “Stuntman,” in which many fans assumed Tyler was taking aim at the “Carnival” hitmaker. He was not. Tyler, The Creator clarified this misconception during an interview with Rap Radar. “[People] have terrible comprehension skills,” he told the podcast hosts. “I would never diss—like, no, I love that n**ga. And that is not about him. It’s actually about the rest of the world.”
Kanye West has reciprocated the positive energy. He praised Tyler, The Creator’s fashion sense as far back as 2013. “[He’s an] artist, innovator, and a good mentor,” West told 97.1 AMP Radio. “Because he’s so talented and understands things.” It goes without saying that Kanye West and Tyler, The Creator are very different people than they were in 2013 (especially West), but mutual admiration still seems strong. Hopefully West starts rapping live again, and the two of them can continue to work together.
Tyler, The Creator’s recent interview with Maverick Carter stirred the pot, to say the least. His comments on an unnamed white rapper (perhaps a stand-in for many white artists) rubbed many fans the wrong way, especially fans of Ian. People thought that Tyler was talking about him when he spoke on white rappers mocking hip-hop, particularly the styles of MCs like Gucci Mane and Future. This is what led people to Ian, but the Hawthorne native never explicitly identified him in any way, so this is all pretty out of context. Nevertheless, The Joe Budden Podcast‘s thoughts on Tyler’s remarks are the same either way, and they discussed the implications of this conversation.
“I don’t know who the f**k Ian is,” Joe Budden’s thoughts on the Tyler, The Creator debate began. “When I was younger, I used to shame my older cousins and uncles for not being so in tune with what was going on in hip-hop. They was old and washed. Now that I’m old and washed, I really appreciate not being in tune with whoever the f**k Ian is.
The Joe Budden Podcast Speaks On Tyler, The Creator & Ian
Joe budden podcast talking about Tyler the creator criticising the rapper Ian O’Neill Smith “It’s some kid right now this white, regular caucasian man. And he’s, like, mocking Future and Gucci Mane — like, rap music — and people are like, “This shit hard!” pic.twitter.com/uhLLH0tqei
“You n***as got to do a little [more],” Joe Budden continued. “My famous people guard is up, y’all got to do a little more before I start running around saying ‘Ian.’ Who the f**k is Ian? Alright. Rest in peace Mac Miller, for sure, and couldn’t agree with him more on that point [about Mac and Eminem being more genuine]. I don’t know enough about Ian, but what I can say about Mac Miller, Russ, Eminem: they love this s**t. They live it. MC Shan produced “Informer”? I used to f**k with Snow before I knew race played such a huge factor in the country.”
Elsewhere, the podcast hosts also talked about trusted individuals in the industry pushing these white rappers and about the respectable tendency of some white MCs to not pretend like they’re a part of the culture. We know that Tyler, The Creator definitely struck a chord in Ian’s manager, who called him out amid all the speculation. Even if Ian wasn’t the intended target here, it’s no wonder why people pushed him to the forefront of the drama.
Tyler The Creator isn’t afraid to speak his mind. He’s also not afraid to look back and own up to faults in his past conduct.
In a recent interview on Mavericks With Mav Carter, Tyler spoke about seeing the Netlfix series Painkillers and how it changed his perspective on Eminem’s album Recovery. Tyler said (find the video clip here):
“When [Recovery] came out, I f*cking hated it. Hated it, publicly was like, ‘This sh*t is wack,’ didn’t like it. And after watching [Painkillers], I felt so bad about those tweets and things like that, because thinking from his perspective, someone like me publicly saying that stuff and him getting off drugs and being clean and getting to a point in life where that’s behind him, and me implying, ‘Nah, this sh*t is wack.’ He probably felt like I was attacking him. I thought I was just like, ‘I don’t like the music.’ He was in a different part of his life and probably felt like I was attacking him. And now I feel so bad about saying that stuff because my perspective was so limited. And I love him; That dude taught me how to rap. I learned how to put words together in rhythm because of some of the Eminem stuff I was hearing.”
He added later, “If I ever see him, I want to tell him that.”
Tyler, The Creator isn’t shy when it comes to sharing his opinion. He’s been an outspoken person since he was famous. Nothing has changed, despite the fact that he’s now one of the most revered artists of his generation. He still highlights the things he has a problem with, and the specific people who embody said problem. Enter Ian. Tyler, The Creator didn’t mention the breakout rapper by name, but he did make it very clear that he has an issue with a guy who fits Ian’s description. Ian’s manager didn’t appreciate it.
The revelation came about during Tyler, The Creator’s recent appearance on Spring Hill. He broke into a discussion about a “white kid” that has recently become huge for what he considers to be all the wrong reasons. “This white kid. Regular Caucasian man,” Tyler noted. “And he’s like mocking Future and Gucci Mane… like rap music.” Tyler, The Creator then expressed confusion over why people are supporting the rapper in question. “People are like, ‘this sh*t hard,’” he explained. “It’s not even like satire… I hold rap music so close to my heart. This sh*t changed my life and everyone’s life around me.” The perceived disses against Ian did not go over well with the rapper’s manager, Bu Thiam.
Ian’s Manager Said Tyler, The Creator Sounded ‘Old’
Bu Thiam, brother of Akon & Ian’s current manager, calls out Tyler, The Creator after he allegedly dissed Ian in a recent interview with Mav Carter. pic.twitter.com/QMK3xacrvy
Thiam, who is Akon’s brother in addition to being a talent manager, clapped back at Tyler, The Creator. He attempted to shut down Tyler’s claim that Ian copies the likes of Future and other Atlanta emcees. In Thiam’s estimation, Ian is simply taking influence. The same way that, say, Tyler, The Creator does when he emulates Pharrell Williams. Thiam also noted that he was from the ATL. “Yo, I signed Ian and I’m from Atlanta,” the manager wrote on his Instagram Story. “He sounds nothing like Gucci or Future lol. It’s called influence.”
Thiam then turned the tables on Tyler, The Creator and essentially labeled him an old head. The rapper who was once championed chaos and being different has, according to Thiam, become a hater. Ian is the new wave as far as the manager is concerned, and should be afforded the same benefit of the doubt that Tyler was given. “I never thought I’d see the day,” Thiam asserted. “Where you become old and hate on the youth lol.” Which side do you agree with?
Tyler, The Creator and Eminem have a bit of a complicated relationship with one another. Growing up, the former was a huge fan of the latter. In fact, he cites him as one of his influences for getting into hip-hop. During this new interview with Maverick Carter via his show, Mavericks with Mav Carteron YouTube, Tyler talks about how the Detroit legend taught him the basics. “I love Eminem. That dude taught me how to rap. I learned how to put words together in rhythm because of some of the Eminem stuff I was hearing and storytelling and things like that”. While this adoration still remains true, as we learn later in this chat, the last several years would have you thinking otherwise.
One of Em’s biggest supporters has been uber critical over the last several years of his records, especially toward the end of the 2010s. The Death of Slim Shady MC also respected Tyler when he started getting to the industry, so when he heard these digs, Em felt bothered and hurt. It led him to eventually diss the multi-hyphenate on “Fall” which is on his Kamikaze record. Since that time, it seems these two have been pretty silent on each other up until today. After essentially just growing up and being more understanding, Tyler feels really awful and guilty for what he’s said. He specifically cites his initial harsh dismissal of Recovery, one of Em’s most personal records to date.
Tyler credits the Netlfix series Painkillers for helping him realize how unfair he was being to someone who was battling a lot to put out a project like that. “When [Recovery] came out I f——g hated it. Publicly was like, ‘This s*** is wack.’ Didn’t like it and after watching [Painkillers] I felt so bad about those tweets and things like that because thinking from his perspective someone like me publicly saying that stuff and him off drugs and being clean and getting to a point in life where that’s behind him and me implying, ‘Nah, this s–t is wack’”. Later, he adds, “He probably felt like I was attacking him. I thought I was just like, ‘I don’t like the music.’ He was in a different part of his life and probably felt like I was attacking him. Now I feel so bad about saying that stuff because my perspective was so limited”.
Towards the end of the discussion, Tyler hopes that him and Em can meet so he can personally apologize. “I felt terrible. If I ever see him, I want to tell him that in-person”. What are your thoughts on Tyler, The Creator wanting to apologize to Eminem for his destructive critique of Recovery? Did you know he was publicly against the Detroit legend’s project? Do you think this could help repair their up-and-down relationship? We would like to hear what you have to say, so leave your thoughts in the comments. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Tyler, The Creator and Eminem. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.
Tyler, The Creatorkeeping it real in any scenario is Grade A content. In this case, the California multi-genre superstar is speaking on the hacking community at large, as well as fans who feel they are entitled to know everything. This is one of many discussions that him and Maverick Carter have in their brand-new interview. You can find it on the YouTube channel SpringHill, which is a media company ran by Carter and LeBron James. The show is called Maverickswith Mav Carter and he interviews tons of influential figures across all sorts of industries. Their sit-down was teased online yesterday with a sub one-minute clip of him going off the new generation of rappers and how they don’t value being a true musician.
As we mentioned, the segment we are focusing on here is about internet culture and how fans want to be as connected as possible to the celebrity. As you could probably guess, Tyler, The Creator is not a huge fan of this societal shift. “Because you like a song, or because you like a movie, that gives you permission to be a f***in’ weirdo?”. That is just one of many hilarious but real quotes from the IGOR MC. This topic came to light through Carter asking him about a time when he said making music is tiring. If you know his personality, Tyler doesn’t mean that 100 percent seriously. However, because of how many “kids hack everything”.
“They wanna know who your sister is, and like what you ate for dinner, like mind your f***ing business, go the f*** outside and listen to the damn art or the music. Like mmm”. Later he adds, “Because of the internet, people don’t know personal boundaries no more and its normalized and everyone thinks this s*** is cute, it’s like ‘we don’t know each other’”. Overall, he feels that fans getting the music isn’t enough anymore. Instead, they are “showing up to doorsteps… hacking this… following n****s’ moms home because [they] like a song”.
What are your thoughts on Tyler, The Creator calling out hackers in music and over-obsessive fans? Does he make some astute points here, why or why not? What is your favorite soundbite from this interview? Is Tyler one of the funniest and most real artists in hip-hop right now? We would like to hear what you have to say, so leave your thoughts in the comments. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Tyler, The Creator. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.
In a new interview with Maverick Carter for his series Mavericks, Tyler, The Creator sat down to talk about the state of hip-hop. He denounced “meme” rappers and those that the hip-hop world unjustly continues to make popular. “I don’t wanna seem like a hater. Sometimes I have hater energy ’cause I just think I’m that good,” he said. “I love this art form so much bro and there’s so many n****s out right now that aren’t musicians that are getting treated like musicians ’cause they make meme records. Publicly, they’ll be like, ‘I don’t give a f**k about music. I just do this s**t for money.’ It’s the Spider-Man meme of the next n***a when every publication is like, ‘Hell yeah, let’s put that out.’ You’re taking up space from n****s like me.”
One rapper Tyler, The Creator took aim at was St. Louis-based artist Ian. Ian frequently receives criticism by hip-hop fans because they consider him a Gucci Mane clone, or as someone pretending to be a rapper. Tyler seems to be one of those critics, though not by name. “This white kid, regular Caucasian man, and he’s like mocking Future and Gucci Mane like… rap music,” Tyler said. This is like… weird. Something about it don’t even sit well with me, in comparison to someone like Mac Miller or Eminem […] they had a genuine love for it, and they were still big.”
Tyler, The Creator Criticizes Ian For Mocking Black Artists
Tyler, the Creator seemingly calls out Ian in his new interview with Mav Carter
“This white kid, regular caucasian man, and he’s like mocking Future and Gucci Mane like… rap music. […] This is like… weird.” pic.twitter.com/favekbXkiY
Tyler’s criticism of Ian and the greater hip-hop landscape are not new ones. Fans, critics, and rappers alike have lamented the lack of creativity in the mainstream hip-hop space. Ian is far from the first rapper of his kind, but he’s the newest. He has also received co-signs from artists like Lil Yachty, which have boosted his career in its early days.
Elsewhere in the interview, Tyler, The Creator touched on other things that bothered him about hip-hop. Namely, the rush for fans to get on social media and call an album “mid” after one listen. “When artists put something out, the last thing they talk about is music,” he said. He also took the time to reflect on a past spat with Eminem, feeling that he owes Em an apology. The full interview is available to watch on the SpringHill YouTube channel.
More than a lot of people in hip-hop, Tyler The Creator is somebody who puts every creative fiber into his work and continues to push boundaries with his music. So, when he sees rappers taking an easy path or disrespecting the work, it bothers him.
“I don’t want to seem like a hater — sometimes I have hater energy, because I just think I’m that good. […] I love this art form so much, bro, and there’s so many n****s out right now that aren’t musicians, that are getting treated like musicians because they make meme records. [They will] publicly be like, ‘I don’t give a f*ck about music, I just do this sh*t for money.’ It’s a Spider-Man meme of, like, the next n****. When every publication is like, ‘Hell yeah, let’s put that out,’ you taking up space for n****s like me.”
On a lighter note, Tyler was recently the victim of a Billie Eilish prank. She called him and told him that she had pooped her pants while on a date (she hadn’t, of course), and his immediate response was, “Fire. Honestly? Fire. You deserve it.”
Hip-hop’s global importance is often talked about, but what often goes overlooked in those discussions is just how integral photography has been to its rise — and its continued authenticity as a culture. It’s so hard for hip-hop to be completely co-opted or corporatized because its rise has been documented so heavily by those within it.
Take Sagan Lockhart, for instance. Once a humble apparel salesman in Los Angeles’ fabled fashion district, Fairfax, Lockhart’s interest in photography led to him becoming the unofficial photographer for Odd Future as they rose to stardom, terrorizing local skate shops and sending parents clutching for their pearls. Now, the group’s members have Grammys (Tyler The Creator has a Best Rap Album award for each of his last two albums) and could potentially be adding Emmys to their prestigious collections (former member Lionel Boyce is up for an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series award for The Bear).
With all that success ahead of them, though, there’s no better time to look back at their beginnings — which is what Lockhart’s first book, I Don’t Play does. After hosting a jam-packed launch party sponsored by Zig-Zag rolling papers brand, Lockhart jumped on a Zoom call with Uproxx to break down the process for his book, the LA underground’s skate shop epicenter, and what it means to have captured history in the making.
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What made you want to put out a photo book now, and what went into specifically using Odd Future stuff for it?
It was just a project that a lot of people had been asking for over the years. Some friends of mine started a publishing company, and the way that they presented it to me just made it seem pretty seamless and easy for me to get done finally after all these years, so I was like, “Yeah, sure, let’s do it.” I was kind of just expecting to just make 10 copies, but it went a little bit crazier than that.
I started taking photos probably around ’09, 2010, and that’s when I was working on Fairfax and all the Odd Future stuff was going on, so I kind of just learned how to take photos with them as a lot of the first subjects. It wasn’t this intentional thing of making this book around Odd Future. It’s just that a lot of my earlier photos from this time period that I was showcasing in there just happens to be a lot of them. There’s other experiences and places and people that I wanted to show in the book that I was also shooting, and all of that is in there, but from 2010 to 2013, which is the bulk of the book, there was a lot of Odd Future stuff going on. It wasn’t like this intentional, “Let’s make an Odd Future book.” That’s just what life was at the time.
What did you take away from the launch party?
If one person comes to something that I’m doing, it’s just a reminder that like, “Okay, I’m doing something cool,” but when hundreds of people come to your thing? I was just overwhelmed with gratitude, and to have the support from my friends and new friends, and the event space, and [publicist] Pristina helping out, and especially Zig-Zag supporting the event and coming through with their people. Just super stoked on the way that it turned out, for sure. Definitely super thankful from our sponsors and Zig-Zag for helping out with that.
When did you get interested in photographing or documenting your experiences?
My interest in photography stems from… My godfather was a photographer for Hustler and sh*t like that, so I was always like, “Man, this job was dope. I like what this guy does.”
I’m sure any kid would
When I was younger, I think every young skateboarder, you want to be a professional skateboarder, but as I was getting older, and wanting to do other things, and seeing that maybe that route was not a possibility for me, I was already stoked for working for these street wear and skate adjacent brands, but I was like, “Maybe a skate photographer or something would be dope to do.” A friend of mine just gave me this old 35 millimeter camera, and he was like, “Yo, you want to take photos? Just play around with this and just see where you want to go.”
I want to know what timeframe you were going over there at, just out of curiosity?
Probably around the same time, but just in the interest of like, “Oh, I want to get this Hundred shirt and be out.” I was never like, “Let me hang out, let me kick it.” I was a sneaker kid, so that was what I was always trying to get… I was more on Melrose than Fairfax, honestly.
To me, during this time period, Fairfax was a little bit more… Maybe more of a secret. I mean, La Brea had been around forever. Union was the spot we would go to as kids, and then there was Undefeated and Stussy over there, and then Supreme started the new wave on Fairfax, but this is all very pre-internet.
I was working a full-time job over there, so it was like, “I don’t think I would go out of my way to go shoot Fairfax,” but I was there for 40 hours a week, so I didn’t have a choice. It was like, “I guess this is where I’m going to take photos at.” But from the jump, there was already people hanging out. My first gig over there, before I was at Diamond and met the Odd Future guys, I was working at The Hundreds. Dom Kennedy was hanging out every single day. Nas would come in. Nipsey [Hussle] would kick it all the time. There was already just all these characters that I was lucky enough to be around and just talk with, so it was super natural that when I got the camera to just start shooting whoever was around me.
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When you look at the photos from that time period, and then you look at how it’s evolved, what’s your overall impression of the changes that have been made, or how things look different and how much things look the same?
When I do look at it, I’m like, “Damn, all these people went on to do really, really great things.” Without them going on to do that with their lives, I don’t think the book would be as impactful, so I guess that’s what I think when I look at it. I’m like, “Damn, Lionel was just chilling with us, but now he’s up for an Emmy in acting.” That was never a thought in my mind at that time period.
There’s some photos in there where it’s, like there’s a couple old Fairfax shops in there where it’s like, “These businesses are just not there, and it’s going to look completely different.” There’s probably some show photos in there where you’re like, “Oh, this looks like the same exact that I see today.” To be a part of something and some music history, even the smallest scale of where I’m at, just super thankful. A lot of these dudes I just grew up idolizing and listening to, and knowing their albums word for word as a kid. To be a part of that in some capacity, like I’m saying, I’m just super thankful for it.
What do you want people to take away from the book, from the documentation of these experiences?
If I had to split it into two things, I would say for the people who were there, or for the fans from around the world who were looking at this under a microscope at that time, I would hope that they look at it and it kind of brings them back to that time period, and just like, “Oh sh*t, I remember this,” or gives them some sort of positive feelings.
Then for the younger crowd of the people who weren’t there, maybe it just shows them maybe what they missed out on. I got people messaging me about this, and they’re 15, 16, and I’m like, “Damn, you were literally born when this stuff was first going on.” So maybe I hope that y’all look at it, and it just shows you this time period that you missed out on just because you were hella young.
They can take from that. They can learn things like, don’t let anyone stop you. Pursue, pursue. Do the thing that sounds crazy, even if everybody calls you crazy. My guy Shake used to complain about Tyler all the time, because Tyler was terrorizing his blog 2DopeBoyz at the time, and he was just like, “Yeah, that kid’s annoying. But man, he’s a genius. He’s so smart.”
I think that the industry needed and still needs a personality that f*cking strong. Because if he wasn’t so intense, he wouldn’t be making those waves worldwide like that. We didn’t need a humble individual at the time. There’s already some of those. We needed something very strong and crazy like that to shake things up.
Tyler, The Creator has proven again and again that he is an artist’s artist. He truly tries to evolve and experiment with sounds, textures, and genres, to bring a different listening experience to each project. It’s why he’s become one of the biggest names in hip-hop, especially over the last several years or so. It’s been quite a bit since we got a new project from the California chameleon, with CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST being the most recent in 2021. We did get the extended version, The Estate Sale in 2023, but not a truly fresh and separate LP. We are going to hear him collaborate with A$AP Rocky again when DON’T BE DUMBdrops on August 30.
While we continue to hope for new music, Tyler, The Creator is sharing some pretty blunt comments/opinions on the current landscape of hip-hop. This is nothing new as he is going to speak out if he feels passionate about something. In this case, the IGOR creator is putting a lot of the new rappers on blast for not respecting the art form and thus do not deserve the musician title. In a repost from NFR Podcast, the clip sees Tyler sitting down with Maverick Carter, a close friend and collaborator of LeBron James.
He hosts his own show called Mavericks which is produced by Bron and Mav’s media company, SpringHill. His sit-down with Tyler will air on YouTube tomorrow, August 14, according to the teaser. In the short preview, he says, “There are so many n****s out right now who aren’t musicians, that are getting treated like musicians because they make meme records”, he states. Later, Tyler adds, “[They] publicly will be like, ‘I don’t give a f*** about music, I just do this s*** for money’”. Hilariously, at the end of the video, there’s an audio bite of Tyler saying that someone’s going to take this out of context. We will have to wait to hear the full conversation, but it seems pretty clear cut to us that Tyler doesn’t have a lot of respect for this new wave of talent.
What are your thoughts on Tyler, The Creator’s feelings toward the new crop of rappers? Do you think he makes a valid point, why or why not? Are you going to tune into this episode of MaverickswithMav Carter? We would like to hear what you have to say, so leave your thoughts in the comments. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Tyler, The Creator. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.
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