IGOR - Tyler, the Creator (ANALYZED + DISSECTED)

Tyler, the Creator is a hip-hop artist and producer known for his wild and out-of-the-box talents. He gained popularity after the release of his debut album Goblin, along with the formation of his collective Odd Future. In 2019, he released his Grammy-winning concept album IGOR, which combines funk, rap, and RnB to create a sound like no other. 

The record follows the concept of loving someone who may or may not love you back, you don't know for sure. Tyler provides a very straightforward story throughout the album as we follow Tyler's persona "Igor" who experiences issues such as unrequited love, jealousy, love triangles, and eventually, acceptance.

Track 1: IGOR'S THEME

The introduction to the album does exactly as is advertised, introduces the listener to the album. There is no deep lyrical content or narrative in this track, it is simply to allow the listener to know what they are getting themselves into. The lyrics "Riding round town, they gon' feel this one" are repeated over and over again by fellow rapper Lil Uzi Vert, to convey that we as listeners are going to feel this album and relate to it.

Track 2: EARFQUAKE

Igor begins to fall in love with another man and expresses this feeling by singing about it in an upbeat, love-letter-like style. He compares his love for this person to an earthquake, basically saying that the person "rocks his world".

Track 3: I THINK

Similar to EARFQUAKE, I THINK follows an upbeat tone, but gives much more insight on the mind of Igor. The track begins with a verse from him, where he starts to question if this feeling of love is really good for him. It then leads into a hook that repeats the phrase 'I think I'm falling in love". Igor has chosen love over himself and decides to put his focus entirely on this other person.

Track 4: EXACTLY WHAT YOU RUN FROM YOU END UP CHASING

This 14-second interlude serves as foreshadowing for the next few tracks of the album. The interlude is a spoken word track that features comedian Jerrod Carmichael simply repeating the title of the track.

Track 5: RUNNING OUT OF TIME

Igor fears that he is running out of time to make this person fall for him, as he repeats in the chorus. Igor claims that his crush is "Living in pretend" and tells him directly to "Take his mask off". This implies that the person Igor is chasing may be hiding himself to stay closeted from the world. 

Track 6: NEW MAGIC WAND

Igor's crush seems to be maintaining a relationship with a girl to keep up appearances, but Igor knows this is just for show. On this track, Igor aggressively raps in a jealous rage about how he will go as far as to kill this other girl to be with this person.

Track 7: A BOY IS A GUN*

Igor grows impatient and frustrated with the other person's hesitation to be with him. He compares the pain that is being inflicted by this other person to something as strong as a gun. So, he officially cuts things off with the person and decides he is not good for him. In other words, he runs from him.

Track 8: PUPPET

This final decision to cut the other person off is soon retracted. In this track, Igor finds himself reminiscing on his time with them and decides that he will do anything they ask. Igor is self-aware of how unhealthy this is and dubs himself the other person's "puppet". Exactly what you run from, you end up chasing.

Track 9: WHAT'S GOOD

Igor really can't make up his mind. He switches sides once again after he realizes how toxic his relationship with the other person is. In this boastful track, he talks about how much better he is than this person, and that he doesn't really need them anymore.

Track 10: GONE, GONE / THANK YOU

This track features two different parts, the first being about how much better Igor feels after having cut ties with his crush, and the second is about him saying thank you to them for allowing him to learn from this experience.

Track 11: I DONT LOVE YOU ANYMORE

The title of this track says it all. Igor is no longer attached to this person and has gotten over them completely.

Track 12: ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?

On the final track of the album, Igor is asking the person if they can still be friends. This leads to the question "Is he really over this person?" While there is no way to know for sure, it can be assumed Igor may still have some repressed feelings for this person.

This track wraps up the album perfectly as it provides an ambiguous ending to the story and leaves listeners invested.

Igor is a simple story to follow, but that doesn't take away from the album's greatness. Tyler is a fantastic storyteller and it is absolutely clear why this album won a Grammy. Igor is easily his most meaningful and carefully crafted work.