Tyler, the Creator

Tyler Gregory Okonma is a rapper, singer, record producer, director and fashion designer from Hawthorne, United States. Born in 1991, he is known as Tyler, the Creator and also uses other names and alter egos in his work, including Wolf Haley, Ace, Ace Creator, Young N***a, Tron Cat, Dr. TC and Tyler Baudelaire. He heads the independent label Odd Future Records and is associated with Odd Future, I Smell Panties and Earlwolf.

Early work and Odd Future

He is the leader of Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, the Los Angeles hip-hop collective commonly abbreviated as OFWGKTA. His first recordings appear on The Odd Future Tape in 2007, and he raps on and produces for nearly every Odd Future release. He self-releases his debut mixtape, Bastard, as a free download through the official Odd Future website. The project centres on conversations between Tyler and the fictional therapist Dr. TC, and he directs the videos for “VCR” and “French!” under the Wolf Haley name.

Albums and musical development

After signing to XL Recordings in 2011, he releases “Yonkers” as the lead single from Goblin, an album that continues the Dr. TC dialogue and is largely produced by Tyler himself, with Left Brain producing “Transylvania”. Goblin is followed by Wolf in 2013, where Tyler shifts some focus towards production while still rapping prominently and again handles nearly all production apart from one Left Brain track. Cherry Bomb arrives in 2015 and moves into heavier distortion, unusual song structures and jazz and funk influences, with “Smuckers” featuring Kanye West and Lil Wayne.

Flower Boy follows in 2017 as a more personal album about identity, self-discovery and loneliness, with songs including “See You Again” featuring Kali Uchis, “911/Mr. Lonely”, “Glitter”, “Who Dat Boy” and “I Ain’t Got Time!”. He then releases Music Inspired by Illumination & Dr. Seuss' The Grinch in 2018, a short, theme-based project. IGOR appears in 2019 as a concept album combining hip-hop, R&B, soul and electronic elements, with “EARFQUAKE” among its key tracks. It wins Best Rap Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. Call Me If You Get Lost follows in 2021, is hosted by DJ Drama, reaches number one on the Billboard 200, and wins Best Rap Album at the 2022 Grammy Awards. He later expands it with The Estate Sale in 2023.

He also releases several stand-alone tracks, including “OKRA”, “435”, “PEACH FUZZ”, “POTATO SALAD”, “BEST INTEREST” and “GROUP B”. In 2024 he issues CHROMAKOPIA, and in 2025 he releases DON’T TAP THE GLASS, which features Pharrell Williams, Madison McFerrin and Yebba.

Style, alter egos and wider work

Tyler’s work uses recurring characters and alter egos, and many releases are built around narrative framing or specific personas. Across his career, he works as a producer on his own material and directs music videos and commercials. He is also associated with fashion through Golf Wang and Golf le Fleur. His music is linked to hardcore hip hop, hip hop, horrorcore and west coast hip hop.