Tyler, The Creator has received lofty praise from one of his hometown’s biggest music legends: Ice Cube.
The gangsta rap pioneer shared his admiration for Tyler in an interview with HipHopDX, speaking highly of his creativity and individuality which he says represents a side of Los Angeles that is often forgotten about.
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When asked for his thoughts on the Odd Future founder’s success, Cube said: “That’s L.A. That’s the L.A. people don’t know about — ultra creative individuals who won’t conform to the culture of gangbanging. They’re going to be themselves.”
Cube then drew a comparison between Tyler and a particular West Coast rap group that’s held in high regard: “He reminds me of, like, The Pharycde. Here’s another: the Black Eyed Peas come from here.
“You’re going to always have those groups who are going to stay down with their own style and their own flavor, and going to win with it. Because they’re not conforming, they’re not being what you want them to be; they’re being who they are. And you gotta salute that.”
Tyler, The Creator has no shortage of famous fans. Since storming onto the scene with “Yonkers” (and its infamous roach-chewing video) over a decade ago, the Hawthorne native has earned co-signs from everyone from Kanye West, JAY-Z and Lil Wayne to fellow West Coast heroes Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar.
Some of the highest compliments have come from his idol Pharrell, who back in 2017 tweeted: “Thank you @tylerthecreator for being everything we dreamt of when making In Search Of,” referring to N.E.R.D.‘s genre-blending 2001 album. “Artistic freedom to be you and make whatever you want.”
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Though he’s now firmly a seasoned veteran, Tyler’s career has only continued to go from strength to strength in recent years — particularly in the last 12 months.
Last year he dropped his eighth album Chromakopia, which topped the Billboard 200 with the highest first-week sales of his career (almost 300,000) while being named the second best rap album of 2024 by this very publication.
Tyler also hosted the 10th installment of his Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival and introduced his debut fashion collection with Louis Vuitton, which he described as a dream come true.
Ice Cube enjoyed a strong year of his own as well, releasing his 11th album Man Down which boasted appearances from Killer Mike, Busta Rhymes, Kurupt, B-Real and his Mount Westmore buddies Snoop Dogg, E-40 and Too $hort.
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The 55-year-old also performed at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ World Series victory parade and expanded his BIG3 basketball league with new teams in Miami and Houston.
With a massive Chromakopia World Tour set to begin next month and a long-awaited fourth Friday film in the works, 2025 is shaping up to be another big year for both Tyler, The Creator and Ice Cube.
