Tyler The Creator is riding the CHROMAKOPIA high right now, even if it comes at the expense of some pretty shocked casual listeners. With every new album cycle, a fresh set of folks new to T discover his controversial old lyrics, something he's talked about and reckoned with a lot in more recent material. So much so, in fact, that he specifically called out Taylor Swift fans for their context-lacking criticism. "I got Swifties all mad at me with their racist a**," the Hawthorne native joked during a short show in Boston yesterday (Thursday, October 31). "Bringing up old lyrics. B***h, go listen to 'Tron Cat,' I don't give a f**k, h*e. The f**k, b***h? They gon' bring out the old me."
For those unaware, this probably came up because Tyler, The Creator overtook Taylor Swift's No. 1 position on Spotify's global Top Artists chart. It's more of a battle between fanbases rather than between the artists, as Tyler was probably just generalizing a much larger group than Swifties here rather than calling out the superstar singer herself directly. Nevertheless, the commercial and critical success of CHROMAKOPIA made a heavy mark, although it's sad to see it result in fans bickering over their preference. More importantly, it minimizes actual dialogue and conversation about these lyrics, which have understandable and legitimate arguments on both sides.
Tyler The Creator Responds To Backlash Over Old Lyrics
But we know well that Tyler, The Creator would much rather talk about the quality of his music than these narratives. "At 1:54 of ST CHROMA, that siren and low end together feels like a blast wave after an explosion," he recently tweeted about his favorite CHROMAKOPIA moments. "The '20 thousand on me...' part of RAH TAH TAH, the delivery is from a d*mb joke of mine but i couldnt get it outta my head, why not record it."
With all this in mind, it will be interesting to see whether or not Tyler, The Creator or Taylor Swift actually speak on this in any direct way. They could either fuel their fanbases to be even more insufferably combative or show them the light. It's a big responsibility to carry, but such is the state of Internet Stan culture these days.