Tyler, The Creator's "Wolf" Released Today

What is this.

¡¡¡SPOILER ALERT!!! Before you read this, understand that this article will dive into the conflict and plot of the newly released album Wolf, in detail. So If you want to figure it out for yourself, this may not be the right thing to be reading. Wolf, Tyler's third album is confusing. Bastard (His first album) set the tone for Tyler's career, a "Fuck the Rest" mentality. Then, he released Goblin (His second album). Goblin was genius, released with several singles, the listener followed one of Tyler's alter egos, Sam, through his therapy sessions with Dr. TC. It had a direct story line and the eerie conversations between Sam and Dr. TC matched his content. Wolf is different. 

Welcome to camp Flog Gnaw! Camp FG is where the album takes place. Dr. TC, Sam's old therapist from Bastard and Goblin re-appears as no longer a therapist, but rather the camp counselor. The main conflict is between Sam and Wolf. Wolf is Tyler and the majority of the album is walking through his consciousness dealing with issues of love and loss and specifically growing up without a dad. It's not the first time we hear music about Tyler growing up without a father (one could argue his first album, Bastard, was entirely about that) but this is the first time we see him argue about the conflict back and forth between characters. Since most of the characters that appear in this album are products of Tyler's own mind (exceptions being Jasper, Earl and Domo Genesis) we see this conflict from several points of view. Much of the arguing however, is over Sam's alleged girlfriend Salem. Wolf starts hanging out Salem, and Sam, who sees this as a threat, reacts violently. In an attempt to scare away Wolf, Sam kills Earl. Then briefly after, the album closes with Dr. TC talking to Wolf about Sam. Dr. TC tells Wolf that Sam is looking for him, and Wolf says if he saw Sam, he would kill him. Perhaps a strong statement on his own personality? Having the character that most strongly represents his own self say that he resents another product of his own mind could be a hint at the idea that as much as Tyler hates this product of himself he has no control over it. If he did, he would finish it. That's why this album is here, it's a platform for Tyler to argue with himself over conflicts of his own that he cannot express from just one side. By ending the album on such a strong and direct comment, it leaves the listener on a huge cliff hanger, maybe to be tackled in later work. Regardless however, whether you are listening to the album for the story or not, I would absolutely recommend at least listening to the album. The complicated drum lines, and masterful beats influenced heavily by jazz roots are enough to be listened to alone. The fact that they have the odd future collective rapping over them only adds to the experience.