Earlier this week, I wrote about Tyler The Creator’s new album Chromakopia potentially bring back Tuesday album releases, but as it turns out, the entire rollout has been an extended exercise in how artists can benefit from putting fans first. Since announcing the unusual release date, he also announced a listening event at Intuit Dome in Inglewood for $5, where he would play the album and “perform.”
When you think about it, it’s hilarious that Tyler The Creator, who was seemingly so antisocial at the outset of his career, has become a paragon of “fans-first” thinking in hip-hop. After all, this was the destructive dynamo that told us, “Kill people, burn sh*t, f*ck school” along with his merry band of misfit troublemakers, Odd Future.
But that was where the unbreakable bond between Tyler and his fans first started. They related to his mischievous brand of anti-establishment mayhem because they recognized — instinctively, if not intellectually — that it came from Tyler’s own fandom. The Hawthorne native was as much one of the kids who tuned into everything his favorite artists did as he now is the artist fans tune into.
While older hip-hop heads might not have understood this, Tyler’s rage against the machine came from a place of genuine love for the art of hip-hop, and a frustration with the way corporations have stripped it of its adventurous, rebellious spirit in favor of cashing in on formulas and algorithms designed to make the most money.
He’s still rebelling on behalf of fans; the Monday release flies in the face of the Friday release convention, which benefits certain streamers but not those of us who want to discuss and dissect new music with the people we see most often, like coworkers and classmates. While this could have an adverse effect on his streaming metrics, losing three counting days of the sales week, and dropping at 6 AM, the release allows fans to wake up to a new release, rather than having to stay up all night to be among the first to hear.
The listening session makes his performance accessible to fans who probably can’t manage hundreds of dollars for tickets, let alone Ticketmaster’s ridiculous, tacked-on fees. Even billing the concert as a listening event feels a bit like Tyler thumbing his nose at a certain other so-called genius who’s taken to “performing” in a mask while simply playing his records and walking around arena floors and festival stages. Tyler seems to be saying, “Hey, if you’re going to do that, at least tell folks what they’re getting up front.” Meanwhile, he seems to be saluting another West Coast rap standout who recently put on a big show for the fans, acknowledging that it’s a good idea, but there should be some value added — like getting to hear an all-new album before its release.
Tyler even made the vinyl test pressing available for purchase, rather than forcing fans to wait for months for the finalized pressings as has become common these days. In addition to being reasonably priced, these records also come with detailed specs for vinyl collectors. That’s the sort of quality fans have come to expect from the purveyor of the GOLF collection.
Meanwhile, from the announcement of the album to the surprise concert to the Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival lineup reveal, the rollout has been unassuming, not demanding the spotlight for months as T rolls out singles to see which one sticks.
And that lineup? What a lineup! I called Camp Flog Gnaw one of America’s best festivals last year, and a huge part of that was the attention to detail in the artist curation. It’s eclectic, but there’s still a vibe. It’s underground, but adds enough stars to make it worth the price of admission. It prominently features Tyler’s friends and collaborators, but also showcases what The Creator himself has found inspiring and influential for the past year or so, highlighting once again how much of a fan he is. In an increasingly crowded festival space, Flog Gnaw sets itself apart by focusing on music discovery and love for the art rather than metrics.
That’s why Tyler The Creator has entered the conversation as one of the top names in not just hip-hop, but music overall. Because he’s a fan of music — not just one genre or artist, but the process of finding and enjoying music — he knows what fans want, and can give it to them. In return, they give him the accolades, the appreciation, and yes, the payouts that major labels and promoters have been struggling to achieve with their ongoing obsession with efficiency and profit growth. Tyler has laid out the blueprint for the future of music. As it happens, it’s just the oldest, most basic strategy, one his peers and contemporaries never should have gone away from: Put the fans first.