Ranked: The Top 10 Tyler, The Creator Songs
- Ellen Lovell
- Jul 1
- 5 min read
With a varied career of staggering highs and massive lows, it’s fair to say that California artist TYLER, THE CREATOR, born Tyler Okonma, is one of the most controversial musicians alive who still manages to get radio plays. From being banned from entering countries for lyrical material, to winning Grammys and performing six consecutive sold-out nights at the biggest arena in Los Angeles, he has done it all, all whilst writing and producing almost the entirety of his own catalogue.
This summer will see him headline his first festival in the UK in four years at All Points East in London. Here are the ten songs we hope to hear him play.
10) SHE
Teaming up with fellow Odd Future member and frequent collaborator FRANK OCEAN, She is a glittering diamond in the sea of edgy, shocking lyricism and underdeveloped production on TYLER, THE CREATOR’s second album GOBLIN, released in 2011. Weaving a dark tale of stalking and violence, the subject matter is at home amongst the rest of the lyrical content of the album – much of which led to Tyler, The Creator to be banned from the UK, and his Australian tour to be cancelled in 2015. But the vocal performance from Ocean paired with rare vulnerability in Okonma’s lyrics set it leagues apart from the songs it sits amongst on the album. She is a glimpse into the bright future careers that both artists would go on to enjoy.
9) DEATHCAMP
Released as one of the lead singles from his polarising fourth studio album Cherry Bomb, DEATHCAMP marks a turning point in TYLER, THE CREATOR’s sound and artistry. With a heavy, aggressive beat, it’s a boisterous opener to the album that takes the first major step away from the shock-rap and horrorcore that he had previously been known for, building on the varied production on previous album WOLF and diving into a more unique and experimental sound. Whilst Cherry Bomb is widely acknowledged as his least successful album, it’s an important stepping stone towards the critical acclaim he’d later receive.
8) IFHY
Enlisting PHARRELL to co-produce and feature alongside him, Okonma delves into a tale of obsessive love and jealousy told from the point of view of Sam – a recurring character in his first few albums. Included on the 2013 album WOLF, the song features low-key instrumentals and a driving dark synth line. Like all of the music videos he has released so far in his career, the video for IFHY was entirely self-directed and sees him in creepy doll-like prosthetics alongside a love interest in a set designed to look like a dollhouse.
7) I KILLED YOU
It has been a steady build to superstardom for TYLER, THE CREATOR, but it’s safe to say that the release of Chromakopia in 2024 propelled him to new heights. Nominated for three Grammys (and winning one), the album delves into themes ranging from paranoia to the struggles of dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, and the recurring theme of Okonma’s relationship with his black identity. I Killed You is an ode to hair, discussing the role that hair has played in black survival in America and how it is still policed today. Set against a traditional African drum beat, it’s a mature exploration that fans of his early work may have never expected to hear from him.
6) CORSO
A cut from the 2021 album Call Me If You Get Lost, CORSO is a loud, bouncy anthem that is as introspective as it is boastful. A lifelong car collector, Okonma spends the first half of the track talking about his Rolls-Royces, and the second half talking about a lost love that has left him with a void he’s trying to fill by buying more of them. The sound of many tracks from this album is reminiscent of his earlier work, but the subject matter is more mature than anything released in his young adulthood.
5) LIKE HIM
Perhaps the most constant theme through TYLER, THE CREATOR’s music is his relationship (or lack thereof) with his father, whom he has never met. On Chromakopia, this is no different. Like Him is easily the most personal and introspective exploration of his feelings regarding this throughout his whole career, wherein he wonders which parts of him resemble his father and wonders how he can miss someone he never knew. The song is addressed to his mother, who raised him as a single parent. At the end of the song, it’s revealed that the reason for his father’s absence was not that he didn’t want to be present, but that his mother, who features heavily on the album with spoken adlibs, did not want him present in his life.
4) ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?
2019’s IGOR is regarded by many to be TYLER, THE CREATOR’s most impactful album. Dealing with themes of jealousy and love, IGOR’s subject matter revolves around a love triangle between Tyler, a male love interest and the love interest’s on-again-off-again girlfriend. After 11 songs of agony, betrayal and lust, ARE WE STILL FRIENDS? seeks a resolution to the situation, admitting defeat and asking if things can go back to the way they were. The light, twinkly guitars contrast with an intense synth that give the song a dreamlike quality, and perfectly caps off the Grammy-winning album.
3) SEE YOU AGAIN
It’s impossible to compile a list of the best TYLER, THE CREATOR songs without mentioning See You Again. With just under three billion streams on Spotify at the time of writing, it is handedly his biggest song – and for good reason. Released on 2017’s Flower Boy, twinkling bells and piano chords fill the track, balanced against sung vocals from the vocal powerhouse KALI UCHIS and rap verses from Okonma. It’s catchy, breezy and beautiful, and it’s impossible not to sing along whenever it’s played.
2) BEST INTEREST
Originally intended for release on IGOR, BEST INTEREST was released as a standalone single in 2020. It’s a light-hearted track exploring themes of a secret affair, filled with a small orchestra of horns, strings and piano. It’s summery and bright, but just as soulful as anything no the album it was intended to be on. The video features Okonma being recorded on the back on a vehicle riding through a small river on a boat, interspersed with clips of crocodiles and sunny fields. It’s the perfect setting for a song so light and breezy. It’s painful to think that this song may have never seen the light of day, as even as a rough draft, it’s a standout in Okonma’s discography.
1) NEW MAGIC WAND
TYLER, THE CREATOR does many things well. He’s an incredible producer, writer and performer – and all of those talents are on display here. NEW MAGIC WAND is one of IGOR’s darker tracks, where he fantasises about killing his love interest’s girlfriend so that they can be together, and that darkness does spill into the instrumentation of the track too. Dark, haunting synths creep around underneath frantic percussion and an apathetic, intentionally resigned-sounding vocal performance. When the music drops out to just the sound of a muted warning siren, the anticipation builds until everything comes back louder – along with the need to lose your mind in a crowd of people doing the same. TYLER, THE CREATOR is a generational talent, and this song makes it impossible for you to forget that.
Catch Tyler, the Creator at All Points East this summer.
Words: Ellen Lovell
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