Review | Tyler, The Creator’s new deluxe album intimately explores privacy, fame, and sexuality

A breath of fresh air in lyricism: “CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST: The Estate Sale” released on March 31 adds a new spin to Tyler’s discography.

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Sam Upshaw Jr./ Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tyler, The Creator performed during the Forecastle Festival at Waterfront Park in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 29, 2022.

Zhenya Loughney, Arts Reporter


With new lyrics stepping away from previous personas, Tyler, The Creator explores themes of privacy, fame, and sexuality in his latest album.

Tyler released the deluxe version of his 2021 album “CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST: The Estate Sale” on March 31. The deluxe album has all of the original tracks from the 2021 release, with eight additional songs at the end.

“EVERYTHING MUST GO” is the first new song on the album and serves as a transition to the rest of the new releases. The lyrics thank his fans for all of the fame and attention he’s received. It’s short but good, nothing truly of note. “STUNTMAN” (feat. Vince Staples) is the next new track with sounds of cowbells encouraging endorphins: It is a hype song in the truest sense.

“WHAT A DAY” follows, with lyrics thanking the people who raised him. Its instrumentals are soothing in opposition to most of this album. The lyrics go on to express the pressure of growing up Black and the hardships of dealing with fans’ intensity.

“WHARF TALK” (feat. A$AP Rocky) is a more uplifting track compared to the previous one. This groovy track talks of love and luxury together in solitude. The music video for this song was released the same day as the album, and features A$AP Rocky and Tyler in very abstract shots and muted colors. In each shot, Tyler is going on a date, but the date isn’t there: she is either invisible or a hallucination.

“DOGTOOTH” was originally released as a single on March 27. This is one of the strongest new pieces from Tyler with lyrics straying away from previous sexually violent and aggressive ones; this track praises female pleasure and bodily autonomy.

The music video for “DOGTOOTH” released on the same day and has the same muted colors as “WHARF TALK,” reminiscent of the way Wes Anderson films look. The shots consist of Tyler operating construction machinery, dancing on top of a water tower, and driving a convertible.

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“HEAVEN TO ME” has lyrics explaining the importance found family has had on Tyler. This track is an optimistic piece about Tyler living his best life keeping it private. Privacy seems to be a large theme among the new tracks. The music video is a continuous shot of Tyler rapping on a living room couch, further implementing the intimate theme of privacy.

“BOYFRIEND, GIRLFRIEND” (feat. YG) is a genderless ode to synth exploring Tyler’s sexuality. The track doesn’t care about the recipient’s gender, but only craving love out of loneliness in the limelight, with lyrics like “I been wishing on a star that you could be my boyfriend, girlfriend, yeah.”

“SORRY NOT SORRY” concludes the album by apologizing to everyone in his life for what fame has done to him and the choices he has made. Like the previous track, this track’s lyrics contain more ideology of hiding Tyler’s sexuality: “Sorry to the guys I had to hide. Sorry to the girls I had to lie to.”

This is the strongest of all of the tracks released, including the music video. The most striking shot includes a stage with every single one of Tyler’s previous personas performing different parts of the song, displayed like they are in a natural history museum. The tone shifts in the last few seconds when a new Tyler persona without a hat is shown killing the past ones.

His new songs are all perfectly strong additions to Tyler, The Creator’s music universe. The new music is candy to audiences’ ears, while leaving listeners hungry for more.