Tyler, The Creator’s sixth studio album CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST arrived on Friday, and it’s already in talks of so far being the best album of 2021. Hip-Hop fans that have already listened to the full project or heard the previously released single “Lumberjack” undoubtedly recognized DJ Drama’s voice while listening to Tyler’s new music, and to all of our surprise, the entirety of CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST is narrated by the legendary DJ, Gangsta Grillz-style.
Childish Gambino’s STN MTN project in 2014 was one of the last notable post-Gangsta Grillz era projects that enlisted DJ Drama for his services, but Tyler, The Creator’s latest work took that concept to an entirely different level. He recently filmed a video with Drama and praised the veteran artist, saying, “The legend. I don’t even use that word. You’re a fucking God. I love you and I’m going to give you a hard hug after this.”
Now, in a recent interview with Complex, DJ Drama offers some insight into the work that he and Tyler, The Creator put into CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST. Apparently, contributing to Tyler’s latest album was unlike anything that he’s ever done with other Gangsta Grillz projects.
“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,” DJ Drama tells Complex’s Andre Gee. “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.”
DJ Drama goes on to explain what makes CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST so special, saying, “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.”
Do you consider CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST an addition to the Gangsta Grillz cannon? Or is it simply a body of work that’s inspired by Hip-Hop’s abandoned mixtape era?
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