Rumblings of Tyler, The Creator’s third official studio album predate even 2013 when he was prepping the soon to be critically acclaimed album Wolf and critics were still struggling mightily to brainstorm a cute epithet for an artist the world had yet to witness. Thankfully, those struggles have ceased, and on the heels of the accolades Earl Sweatshirt is receiving for I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside and the insane level of hype awaiting the release of Frank Ocean’s second album, now seems a more fitting time than ever for Odd Future’s bandleader to release the long rumbled about — Cherry Bomb.
For the majority of Hip Hop artists, where ad-libbing in the safetynet of musical trends is their bread and butter, an album concocted sporadically over such a long stretch would wreak havoc on any sense of semblance of cohesion in the music. But for better or worse, Tyler is consistently trumping the opinions of tastemakers. Cherry Bomb is less theme-based than past releases; rather an amalgam of the artist’s varied ingenuity to date.
The shock raps casually exploring rape and homophobia found on early projects such as Bastard and Goblin have quieted down this time, allowing Tyler’s motley-inspired musicianship to truly flourish. The instrumentals are designed as the main attraction, and at times the lyrics are distorted to the point of being barely intelligible, similarly to 2013’s Wolf. “DEATHCAMP” renews his admiration for Pharrell, almost eerily similar to the In Search Of… era of N.E.R.D. The opener performs the same buy-the-ticket-take-the-ride function as Kanye’s “On Sight,” a remorseless execution of the artist’s vision rather than the audience’s expectation of what the music should sound like. Tyler enforces this disposition on every turn.
Tyler makes himself heard on “BUFFALO,” fusing boom-bap-minded rhymes with choppy, bass-heavy instrumental. The subtle permutations of Cherry Bomb’s sonic palette, like the intermittent piano strokes found in “PILOT” or the fuzzy synths of “2SEATER” sometimes make for a cumbersome challenge in the digital age.
After the onslaught of airborne synths and gnarled stabs, the explosive instrumentals of Cherry Bomb ease into a temperate climate. A jazzy mesh of xylophone, piano, saxophone anchors Tyler’s harmonizing on “FIND YOUR WINGS,” more of a serene interlude than an arresting track. Tyler’s most tour de jazz is accomplished with “2SEATER,” which features a heavy dosage of bars buffeted on a lush instrumental.
As the Odd Future brand gained steam around five years ago, fans wanted to see the members branch out and collaborate with other artists. Although these wishes have been granted long before Cherry Bomb, a track like “SMUCKERS” justifies these demands. Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Tyler each bring a distinct degree of creativity to the table, and yet their collaboration organically registers without either artist having to calibrate their respective styles. The guests are in top form, vibing well against the backdrop of spacey synths and Tyler’s perennially angry flow.
“OKAGA, CA” is the plush, tranquille finale to an album that seems to ebb and flow all over the place. Although it’s a proper representation of both Tyler’s past and present, Cherry Bomb may be a tough pill to swallow for some diehard fans who may not be able to stomach the more contemporary movements, in most instances the seemingly wayward direction of the album after a few straightforward spins. At this exact moment, Tyler is probably preparing to post grotesque alien drawings to his Instagram account, but musically, he is maturing before our very eyes.
Good review. Personal favorite song was Pilot. Smuckers was a great collab. Fucking young grew on me too. This album overall was very solid. I dig it
Love this album.
Yo this shit was so bad lol
It was overall good…but there were a few songs that were just downright un-listenable. Smuckers was tight tho
Wow… big fucking surprise. HipHopDX gives ANOTHER album 4/5. Look through all of these reviews and see how many fucking 4’s they give. Grow some balls. There’s no way EVERY album is a 4. This Cherry Bomb was straight ass.
Agreed
this album is a piece of shit.
sounds like Tyler steals a little from here a little bit from there.
highly overrated rapper on wack beats.
OF was a balloon and it has already popped
Many are casting votes without fully listening to this album, this is the most complete album this year with immense growth shown through insane production and chords and bridges that no other artist can capture. He fully produced this album and utilized a vast knowledge of music to create his own sound. No one compares when it comes to breakdowns in songs and the ability to embody multiple facets of his life all differing in sound while staying thematic.
This album is good and I’ve really enjoyed it the few times I’ve listened through it so far but it’s definitely not the most complete album of the year. Lupe’s “Tetsuo & Youth”, K.Dot’s “TPIB, Fashawn “The Ecology”, Big Sean “Dark Sky Paradise” are all more complete albums than this, in my personal opinion.
“He fully produced this album and utilized a vast knowledge of music to create his own sound. ”
Vast knowledge of music? Like he is some trained composer like Mozart? He didn’t invent anything new here. He still uses the same music equipment as every other half as producer which is a mouse and computer. Whoop Dee Doo!! If the dude was that talented he would be making beats for everyone, but he’s not. The future is odd for a dude that try’s to hard to not be himself. Golf Wang Chung Tonight!
Its a great album, songs like blow my load are lyrically perfec, the only thing that bothers me is that tracks like Pilot and CherryBomb becaomes distorted
Meh
Loved this album. Its more than just a rap album for sure.
Weak
The title track Cherry Bomb sounds like Death Grips mixed with poop, but besides that I really dig this album. Smuckers is my favorite hip hop song of 2015.. Yeezy’s verse is FIRE. Best Yeezy verse in years.
Tyler had the best verse by far.
I respectfully disagree. Tyler’s verse was fucking awesome, but Kanye’s was monumental imo
this album is fire!!!. Tyler the Creator has done it again.
Great album loved every track… well except the title track lol
odd future albums are never good the beats are fucking trash tyler aint got the bars to keep you interested for a whole album. The crew are annoying as fuck too like that skit in the beginning of the video where they are trying to make fun of white suburban kids …..odd future are suburban kids themselves so what are doing?
The haterade is strong with this one…
Looks like we have an angry white suburban kid on our hands.
The title track sucked but the whole thing besides that song is awesome. Love tyler
FUCK YEah
ass
let’s all fuck girls together. lol actualyl let’s maintain our fucking dignity and get engineering degrees
People actually like this piece of shit? I mean, yea if I was still a freshman in high school and shared dude’s outlook on the world, but everything he does just seems like a sad cry for attention. Smuckers blows, period. 3 washed up rappers I haven’t liked since their first or second albums (Ok, Wayne was great through C2), big fuckin deal. Everyone is tryna be so fuckin experimental nowadays, but has everyone forgotten this shit still has to sound good? Lyrics still have to resonate? This seems like regression, even with respect to Goblin and Wolf
Go back to listening fuckin Will Smith, you don’t know shit about hip hop. You’ll get smacked for saying what you said in the streets.
Great album
This is total stinky poo poo
Great album. Tyler said he was going to make a album of rough drafts because he thinks it sounds better so don’t complain. Enjoy the new music. GOLF WANG
This album is different but it’s great
In my opinion, Tyler The Creator is hands down the dopest “young” artist out That kid can flow with lyrics that are carefully crafted to go over the head of average listeners. And I don’t just call an artist dope for the sake of saying it! That kid is legit and can become very large if he hires the right management team.
OF
This album was horrendous. I’d rather drink a vat of Magic Johnson’s blood than listen to that shit again.
This was really BOOBOO.
Honestly, the instrumentals were alright, but at most times the vocals were hiding far behind them making it a bit of an effort to hear. At the same time, it just felt like a weak album. He wasn’t talking about anything out of the ordinary, there wasn’t any clever lines at all. The only alright track was Smuckers, which still has the EQ problem.
Dope album… he is a creative genius.
Cherry bomb goes hard musically. Its not even horrocore which i like
So this garbage is better than Yelawolf’s piece of art..HHDX, your integrity is open for debate.
Tyler>Yelawolf
No.. Yelawolf>Tyler. We all have opinions but denying that yelawolf didn’t put blood sweat and tears into his album is bullshit. I give tyler points for creativity, but in terms of raw talented beauty, love story steals the spotlight.
dope album
his most matured album yet
The shit they feed the streets
I’m in the minority, did not feel this album…don’t see it being remembered. A few interesting hiphop joints on here, a lot of uninteresting sounds and energy. The album annoyed and disappointed me but admittedly I’m very hit or miss with Tyler lyrically in the first place. I guess I was looking for more growth and structure at this point but it regressed into a sorta hip-punk project. 1/5
goes hard
my bad 5/5