Tyler, The Creator

Tyler, The Creator, born Tyler Gregory Okonma on March 6, 1991, emerged in the early 2010s as a founding member of the Los Angeles collective Odd Future, quickly becoming known for confrontational, absurdist lyrics and a raw, self-produced sound. His early mixtape Bastard and the 2011 album Goblin, released via XL Recordings, courted controversy with their dark, provocative content, establishing him as one of the era's most polarizing new voices in hip-hop.

As his career progressed, Tyler steadily reshaped his sound and persona, moving from shock-value rap toward more melodic, jazz- and soul-inflected production on albums like Wolf and Cherry Bomb, the latter marking a brighter, more upbeat turn that he has cited as a personal favorite. This evolution continued into later work built around lush chords, live instrumentation, and genre-blending arrangements that pull from funk, R&B and pop alongside rap.

Beyond music, Tyler has worked as a producer, director, fashion figure and television writer, reflecting a broader creative practice than a typical rapper's career. Tracks like «See You Again», «EARFQUAKE» and «Yonkers» showcase the range between his early aggressive style and his later, more melodic songwriting, and his trajectory is frequently cited as a model for artistic reinvention within contemporary hip-hop.