Tyler, the Creator reflects on the Billboard success of “Igor.”His fifth studio album finished No 1. and DJ Khaled’s “Father of Asahd” clenched the No. 2 spot. Tyler explained how fun competing with Khaled was, and “it was just watching a man die inside.” The topic came up as he promoted his new album Call Me If You Get Lost.
Demanding Respect
Tyler boasts about his victory over DJ Khaled. This came after he claimed that Tyler’s music “wasn’t rap.” He directly responded to Khaled’s diss on Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning:
“For some guy like that to kind of indirectly be like, ‘That ain’t real rap, that ain’t real Black music.’ That’s what it felt like,” he added, referring to Khaled’s statements in a now-deleted video that heard him seemingly call IGOR “mysterious sh*t” and his own Father of Asahd as “great music.” ”And I was like, my n***a, don’t do…but I didn’t say nothing, I just let that No. 1 speak. N****’s ego had to handle that because being No. 1 is his entire identity. And when he didn’t achieve that, it affected him for a longer time than just that moment. I moved on.”
Igor in 2021
Tyler the Creator embodied Igor during his Lollapalooza set. He performed a few hits from Igor, including “Lumberjack.” The rapper entertained fans with his methodological use of props and set design.
Despite recent comments, Tyler the Creator claims to have a great deal of respect for Khaled. He simply wanted to remind the latter of his greatness. Be sure to check out Call Me If You Get Lost.
Check out the full interview here.