Released in 2019, IGOR marked one of the biggest transformations in Tyler, The Creator’s career. Rather than making a conventional rap album, Tyler built a strange, distorted world of synths, soul samples, blown-out drums and pitched vocals - producing and arranging the entire record himself.

At its heart, IGOR is a breakup album. It follows Tyler through a complicated love triangle, moving from infatuation and obsession to jealousy, anger, heartbreak and eventually the painful attempt to remain friends. The sequencing makes the album feel almost circular — as though Tyler could fall straight back into the same relationship all over again.

Songs like EARFQUAKE and I THINK capture the excitement and uncertainty of falling for someone, while NEW MAGIC WAND turns that love into frantic jealousy. By the time GONE, GONE / THANK YOU and ARE WE STILL FRIENDS? arrive, the album has transformed into something far more vulnerable.

Tyler also created the IGOR persona for the project - the blonde wig, brightly colored suits and deliberately awkward aesthetic becoming inseparable from the music. The album went on to become Tyler’s first US No. 1 album and won Best Rap Album at the 2020 Grammys.

Essential tracks:EARFQUAKEI THINKNEW MAGIC WANDA BOY IS A GUN*GONE, GONE / THANK YOUARE WE STILL FRIENDS?

Rate My Tapes: 9.5/10

For fans of: distorted synths, soul samples, obsessive love stories, unconventional hip-hop and albums designed to be experienced from beginning to end.