For my essay proposal, I am planning to conduct an analysis report on the album IGOR produced and performed by Tyler, The Creator. Tyler, The Creator is an American rapper and record producer based in California, residing in the genres of mainly Hip-hop and Rap. He started out as one of the founding members of the rap collective, ODD FUTURE, and eventually started to release more solo projects. IGOR is the fifth studio album released by Tyler. This album is a representation of love and heartbreak, explicitly shown in each halves of the album. The first 6 songs are a story of his heartbreak and his struggles with his love interest whilst the last 6 songs are the progression of him getting over the heartbreak, evident in the title of the last two songs I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE and ARE WE STILL FRIENDS.
This album has striked a particular interest in me due to the contrasting themes Tyler portrays against the stereotypical concepts of masculinity in our current society. As Hip-hop has evolved through the years, artists have maintained a social construct of masculinity: aggressive, strong, and straight. However, ‘Artists like Frank Ocean and Tyler, The Creator offer their own definitions of masculinity as black queer men.’ (Blanchon, 2020). This is clearly reflected in the album through the themes of heartbreak and love between Tyler himself and another man. This is quite different to the norms of Hip-hop and rap in terms of their themes of drugs, violence, money, etc. whilst IGOR is a story of an unrequited love.
The structure of this album is quite intriguing as many lyrical concepts are implemented as well as structural ones. As previously mentioned the album is split into two situations: heartbreak and the process of moving on. In my analysis, I will dive deeper into the lyrical concepts used, the themes that influence the album, and the musical production process.