Tyler, The Creator has revealed on his new album Chromakopia that he almost had a child with an older woman.
The revelation comes on the song “Hey Jane,” which finds the Odd Future founder describing his whirlwind of emotions after learning that he had accidentally gotten a lover pregnant.
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“I didn’t pull out, wow, I’m disappointed in me, this ain’t like me / How could be I reckless? This ain’t my lifestyle / Never had no scare in my life ’til now / Ain’t in no space to raise a goddamn child,” he raps over dreamy synths and electric keyboards that evoke his Goblin-era sound.
Addressing his potential baby mother by an apparent pseudonym, he continues: “Hey Jane, I’m terrified, petrified / I don’t wanna give my freedom up or sanitize it / This is my fault, the results are justified / I fucked up, I’m stressed out, I’m dead inside.”
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The 33-year-old rapper/producer, who has previously admitted to being attracted to men, then ponders whether they should keep the baby given they aren’t in a serious relationship.
“Our resumes unmet, the bus stopped that light / We ain’t make it to love yet / Took a short cut to forever, I’m upset / ‘Cause we was in the back, no strings with our tongues wet,” he spits.
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“We haven’t boat tripped, we haven’t argued / We still learnin’ each other, I don’t know all you / And you don’t know all me, how am I to live with / That is not a good foundation to have kids with / Or maybe it is, maybe it’s not, just not yet.”
He concludes: “Maybe this is a blessing in disguise, not a regret / Look Jane, it’s your choice at the end of the day / Just know I support either way, no pressure.”
The second verse finds Tyler rapping from the perspective of “Jane,” who is more determined to keep the child due to her biological clock ticking.
“Hey T, how would you feel if we kept it a secret? / It’s a voice inside me begging to keep it / I’m 35 and my ovaries might not reset / I don’t wanna live my whole life feeling regret,” he spits.
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After implying that she previously had an abortion in her 20s and “doesn’t want to go through that experience again,” Tyler (as Jane) suggests raising the baby as a single mother.
Despite her own fears and uncertainty, Jane even proposes moving “back to London,” suggesting that she is English or at least spent several years living across the pond.
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The song ends with Jane echoing Tyler’s sentiment regarding the fate of their unborn child, saying: “T, no matter the decision today, I just want us to be cool either way / No pressure.”
It’s not revealed what decision the pair took or how old Tyler, who has kept his love life largely private, was when this happened.
While “Hey Jane” could be interpreted as fictional storytelling, like many great rappers have done over the years, Tyler, The Creator later revisits the topic on Chromakopia‘s closing song “I Hope You Find Your Way Home.”
Appearing to confirm that the pregnancy scare was rooted in reality, he raps: “Almost had a mini me, I wasn’t ready / And she wanted it with me, I’m talkin’ heavy / Then we had to guarantee, ain’t no confetti / Four million on that car, that’s not a Chevy.
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“See, that’s my interest, so as of now, raisin’ a child is not on my wish list / Neither is bein’ a safety net for bitches / I’m too selfish, contradiction / Maybe I should before I’m too old and washed up like dishes.”
Tyler previously sparked speculation that he had secretly fathered a child last year when he rapped on “Dogtooth”: “If you don’t know my daughter name, then we ain’t really [dawgs].”
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However, he quicky clarified the line by writing on X (formerly Twitter): “I dont have kids and dont plan on it hahaha.”
As for Chromakopia, Tyler’s seventh studio album arrived early Monday (October 28) and boasts appearances from Sexyy Red, GloRilla, Lil Wayne, ScHoolboy Q and Childish Gambino, among others.
