DJ Drama Explained How Working With Tyler The Creator On A ‘Gangsta Grillz’ Project Was Unique

Tyler The Creator shared his sixth album, Call Me If You Get Lost, on Friday. The project is his first full-length release since 2019’s Igor which went on to win Best Rap Album at the 2020 Grammys. While all of Tyler’s projects are unique, Call Me If You Get Lost was special in its own sense thanks to contributions from DJ Drama. The present-day record executive is also known for backing several key mixtapes in the 2000s through his Gangsta Grillz series and to the delight of fans, Call Me If You Get Lost was made to sound like a project from that era.

During an interview with Complex’s Andre Gee, Drama was asked how working with Tyler on his new album differed from past acts he collaborated with in the Gangsta Grillz series.

“Normally in these types of situations, if I do a Gangsta Grillz with somebody, they compile their music together and hand it over to me, and then I’ll go in on my own without them and do my thing and return the finished product,” he replied. “With Tyler, it was a little different: I came in, gave him an abundance of things—even more than what I had originally placed—and just gave him enough material to choose from and layer it out.” He added, “It has that Gangsta Grillz feel, but this is Tyler’s album. I wanted to relinquish some of the control and let him do what he always dreamed about.”

Altogether, Call Me If You Get Lost presents 16 songs with features from Frank Ocean, 42 Dugg, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil Uzi Vert, Pharrell, NBA Youngboy, Lil Wayne, Teezo Touchdown, Domo Genesis, Brent Faiyaz, Daisy World, and Fana Hues

Call Me If You Get Lost is out now via A Boy Is a Gun/Columbia. Get it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.