Tyler, The Creator won his second Grammy award on Sunday night (April 3) as CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST beat out Kanye West‘s Donda, J. Cole‘s The Off-Season and Nas‘ King’s Disease II to claim Best Rap Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
The 31-year-old multi-hyphenate wasn’t able to attend the awards ceremony in Las Vegas due to tour commitments, but he did jump on Instagram Live while on a hike to deliver an acceptance speech. After thanking those who helped the album come to life, Tyler couldn’t help but rub his latest achievement in DJ Khaled‘s face.
“First off, I’m hyped,” he began. “Thank you to DJ Drama, you are fucking so important to rap music. Thank you to all of my friends for being my cheerleaders. Thank you to my whole team, the whole squad … where I can make an album where I just flex all goddamn day.”
Tyler then referenced DJ Khaled’s past comments about his music while humbly bragging about the success of his acclaimed CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST Tour.
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“And thank you to [DJ Khaled],” he continued. “I know you’re seething and angry. ‘Ugh, no one listens to that album!’ These arena tours that are selling out says different. And if you put that much energy into something, maybe everyone would be proud of you, too.”
In June 2019, DJ Khaled subliminally slighted Tyler, The Creator’s music when IGOR (which also won the Grammy for Best Rap Album) outsold his own Father of Asahd album to claim the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200.
“I make albums so people can play it, and you actually hear it,” he said in a since-deleted Instagram clip. “You know, driving your car, you hear another car playing it. You know, go to the barbershop, you hear them playing it. You know, turn the radio on and you hear them playing it.
“It’s playing everywhere. It’s called great music. It’s called albums that you actually hear the songs. Not no mysterious shit that you never hear it.”
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Tyler addressed the shots during an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe the following month, saying, “This is no disrespect to Khaled or anyone, but this n-gga had every person in the industry, everyone on that fucking album. Cardi B. 21 Savage. Travis Scott. Post Malone. Beyoncé. Jay.
“Everyone who sells billions of records and the fact that I beat him with this that isn’t parallel to all the popping music right now was fucking crazy, bro.”
When CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST earned him his second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 two years later, Tyler trolled DJ Khaled by tweeting, “MYSTERIOUS MUSIC! HA!”
Tyler, The Creator Enjoyed 'IGOR' No. 1 Over DJ Khaled Because It Was 'Watching A Man Die Inside'
However, the former Odd Future frontman’s tone changed while addressing the topic on Hot 97 in August 2021 as he described his satisfaction at watching Khaled swallow defeat.
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“Bro, that Khaled thing was like, it was fun, it was just watching a man die inside,” he said. “The weirdo was winning, I was moonwalking in a wig. This n-gga had everyone on his album. Everyone. That n-gga ego was deflated, he’ll probably never admit [it].
“I didn’t say nothing, I just let that No. 1 speak. N-gga’s ego had to deal with that because his whole identity is being No. 1. And when he didn’t get that, that sat with him longer in real-life time than that moment.”
