Hiya! So, last week Tyler, The Creator's new record WOLF leaked. Anyway, since Tyler has made a quarter of a million off of socks, and Iâm a stay at home slacker who gets paid to have an opinion, I decided to have a listen.It was a bank holiday weekend, so, me and my girlfriend bought some pizza, turned the heating on and pressed play on our (read: my) iTunes account. It sounds pretty good, we said. WOLF represents a mellow and pretty Tyler, bike-riding through the pastel coloured fields of summer love, we thought. But, what happened next, we could not comprehend.Aimlessly flirting through the black-hole of YouTube, searching for that video of Forest Whitaker giving the G.O.A.T Oscar speech, we came across the video for âSam (Is Dead)â. Then, everything clicked into place.Since listening to âSam (Is Dead)â, re-listening through BASTARD, GOBLIN and WOLF on the walk to Sainsburys, and trekking through a Google Chrome sahara of forums, Iâve come to the audacious conclusion. Within the WOLF trilogy - BASTARD, GOBLIN and WOLF - Tyler, The Creator has created a directorial story-telling masterpiece.In fact, Iâd go as far to say that heâs created the best multi-faceted storyline since Slim Shady told me to go and stick nine inch nails into each one of my eyelids.Letâs lay it out.But first, for all you internet-users.TL; DR: 'WOLF' is the prequel to 'BASTARD' and 'GOBLIN'. "Sam (Is Dead)" is the culmination of the narration so far. In the music video for "Sam (Is Dead)", Wolf kills everyone off except Earl.The story will end in 2015 with the release of 'EARLWOLF?' (Source: Tylerâs formspring)Now, for all you long form savourers. Without getting too Rap Genius, letâs get into it.Since the beginning, Tyler has philandered with alter-egos. Heâs laid them out for us several times in the past. Thereâs Tyler (obviously), Wolf Haley, Dr TC, Ace The Creator, Tron Cat and, on WOLF, weâre introduced properly to Sam.âIâm Wolf, Tyler put this fucking knife in my hand / Iâm Wolf, Ace gonâ put that fucking hole in my head / And Iâm Wolf, that was me who shoved the cock in your bitch.â - YonkersLooking past the cultural references, the trilogy goes, in terms of narrative chronology, as follows. WOLF, BASTARD and GOBLIN. First, without any music or lyrical bias, the cover art for WOLF suggests that the record has a a reminiscent theme, with Tyler looking back at images of a younger version of himself. So, imma go right ahead and put it at the beginning.WOLFThe record starts with the title track, âWolfâ, in which Tyler is introduced to Sam, who has been at Camp Flog Gnaw for a while. Tyler appears to have been sent to Camp Flog Gnaw to deal with the loss of his grandmother (âJambaâ) and his inability to contact his father (âAnswerâ, which is beautiful in a floating around in a haze bubble with R.Kelly kind of way) suggesting that Camp Flog Gnaw may be a misnomer for the therapy and asylum sessions set out on BASTARD and GOBLIN, respectively. When Tyler meets Sam, Samuel is brash and tells Tyler to âstay the fuck out of his wayâ.The two then enter a tumultuous relationship throughout the trilogy, battling for the love of Samâs girlfriend, Salem. Specific characters lead the narrative of certain songs. On âAwkwardâ, Sam and Salem talk about how they met and fell in love. On âSlaterâ, Salem rides on the handlebars of Samâs bike, while Frank Ocean pisses Sam off by bullying him for talking to a piece of scrap metal on wheels. Sam continues through the album, angrily rapping about how he sells blow (Y U Mad, bro?) while Tyler battles through father and fame problems (Answer & Colossus - Tyler's STAN moment).On âPartyisntover / Campire / Bimmerâ, Tyler starts to hit on Salem. He asks her to âtake a chance with a nigga, like me.â and when Sam goes out on a drug run on âBimmerâ, Tyler tells Salem how her âman got a lame impala.â Sam comes back at the end of the track and is pretty pissed off because Tyler has taken Salem down to the lake, a location referenced on GOBLIN track âAnalogâ.In the video for âIFHYâ, the description reads:Wolf Performs Sam's Song, Sam Performs Wolf's Song.This suggests that Sam wrote the song "IFHY", directed toward Tyler and Salem, because Tyler âshoved his cock [in Sams] bitchâ (As referenced in "Yonkers"). At the end of the track Tyler asks Salem âwhy is Samuel such a fucking dick?â to which she replies - âHe isnât such a badass actually, heâs only here because he ran away, because some shit happened back home.âThe âshitâ gets delved into like doctors looking for something on âPigsâ as Sam murders a bunch of people. Tyler recruits Earl and Domo on âRustyâ to help him fight Sam, and on âTrashwangâ they go to war. The album ends with Tyler getting sent to Dr TC for getting caught masturbating on âTamaleâ.On the last track, Tyler says âFuck that nigga Sammy. If I seen that nigga, I would have killed him.âIf youâre at camp, talking about murder probably isnât a good idea. Itâs probably the reason Tyler got sent into deeper therapy, which brings us right back round to BASTARD and GOBLIN.Now, are you keeping up? Are you confused? Do you need a drink? How about this video of Forest Whitaker that I mentioned earlier? Take a break. Watch it. SPOILER ALERT: He makes Will Smith cry.BASTARDWelcome back. We're here at the first album. Which in terms of storyline, comes straight after WOLF.Itâs important to remember here that Tyler talking dirt on NahRight, 2DopeBoyz etc. has nothing to do with the storyline. Itâs just fun. The storyline starts here with Dr TC meeting Tyler for therapy after he threatened to kill Sam at the end of WOLF. Dr TC tells Tyler that there will be three sessions - BASTARD, GOBLIN, and maybe EARLWOLF?Tyler talks about a girl called Sarah - which isnât âher fuckin name, [Tyler] just think this shit is cleverâ - is Sarah, Salem?On âSarahâ, itâs apparent that Tyler will never get over Salem. He says that she tried to play him like a dummy, by fucking around with Sam.For the rest of BASTARD, Tylerâs already futile relationship with his father goes into overdrive ("Seven"). On âPigs Flyâ it seems that Sam makes an appearance. A guy talks about selling dope, how he went through a physciological phase, and how heâs battling half of his mental, continuing the characters narrative from WOLF. If that isnât enough, the name suggests that itâs Samâs apology for the murders that he committed on âPigsâ.At the end of BASTARD, Tyler graduates school, but heâs still hella pissed at his father, threatening to shoot him. This sets up the asylum scenario for GOBLIN.Does this make sense? Tyler is still mad at Sam for what happened on WOLF. He's also reeling from the absence of his father. Him and Sam are still fighting over Salem. Tyler threatens to shoot his father and gets sent into yet deeper therapy sessions.GOBLINTHIS photo. Hear that? That's the sound of a thousand girls dropping their panties and a hoard of teenage boys picking up snap backs and tattooing new found ulterior motives under their eyelids. AnywayâŠGOBLIN starts straight after BASTARD with Dr TC telling Tyler that he wouldnât ever shoot anyone. Tyler doesnât agree and goes into a brash, six-minute stream-of-consciousness telling everything and everyone to fuck off.The lyrics of âHerâ cross reference WOLF track, âAwkwardâ. On âHerâ Tyler talks about a girl whose name is his password. He seems to be stating that Sam is out of the picture, but by the end of the track they get back together. On âAwkwardâ - a track by Sam - Sam states that Salem's name is âstill his password.â Although continuity is broken in the story, like those really good bits in Fight Club, itâs clear that Sam and Tyler are the same person. Like I mentioned earlier, Tyler has a bunch of alter-egos.Following up from âHerâ, Sam calls out to Tylerâs crew on Sandwiches.âThey are them⊠and we are us. Kill them. All.ââWho the fuck invited Mr âI donât give a fuckâ who cries about his Daddy in a blog because his music sucks.âSamâs fucked up, bong-huffing anti-establishment persona peppers the track, while Tyler urges people to âlisten deeper to the musicâ.Tyler, baby. Iâm listening. Because frankly, the ocean is deep and Iâve dived in.âAnalogâ returns back to the summer time scene that takes place after âBimmerâ when Tyler takes Salem down to âthe lakeâ. Summer never has to end with Tyler. But it did, because Sam - Tylerâs fucked up alter-ego - stole Salem back.At the end of the record, Dr TC brings some of Tylerâs friends to speak to him because theyâre worried about their angsty little friend (âWindowâ). At the end of the track, Tyler shoots all his friends. But Taco and Jasper Dolphin survive, because they didnât turn up. Could that be why theyâre the only two joining Tyler on his recent tour? Earl Sweatshirt also survives, because he wasnât around at the time of GOBLIN. Tyler mentions him frequently in the narrative, which, although amazingly unplanned, ties into the real life Samoa scenario. This supports the theory that the next record could be EARLWOLF.The album concludes with Tyler trying to break out of the goblin asylum. But, Dr TC confides in Tyler that theyâre the same person: âsee Tyler, Iâm your conscience. Iâm Tron Cat, Iâm Ace, Iâm Wolf Haley, Iâm⊠(Me).â This confirms that all the other characters are alter-egos.Are you keeping up? To re-cap⊠Since "Bastard", Tyler has lost his mind. In the same way, because they're the same person, so has Sam. Tyler's alter egos, Tron Cat and Ace start to take over which end in him eventually killing his friends. The album ends with Tyler realising that he has a bunch of multiple personalities controlling his life and he wants to rid himself of them. How are you doing? Do you understand so far? I know it's hard.Let me hold your hand through to the final installment in the story, âSam (Is Dead)âSAM (IS DEAD)You really have to admire Tylerâs creative output. This video, âYonkersâ, âIFHYâ, and âDomo 23â are all vastly different but also equally brilliant. You canât fault Wolf Haleyâs ideas. Anyway, in âSam (Is Dead)â Tyler matures and kills off his alter-egos. At the end, we see him shooting himself three times, leaving three dead Tylerâs on the floor.The track title suggests that Tyler has already killed Sam. The three Tylerâs on the floor seem to represent Ace, Tron Cat and Wolf Haley.This leaves us missing the middle part of the story. After GOBLIN, but before Sam (Is Dead), Sam was murdered. How did this happen? The only members of Odd Future to survive after GOBLIN are Tyler, Earl, Jasper and Taco. This suggests that the next album almost HAS to be his long awaited collaboration with EARL. Will EARLWOLF have the answers?Have I read into this waaay too much?Probably.CONCLUSIONThe story obviously has a bunch of flaws. But, whatâd you expect? This is the Fight Club of music. The Donnie Darko of hip-hop. The Requiem For A Dream love story. Itâs fucking confusing, but also amazing. In the same way that when Eminem waxed lyrical about impregnating Spice Girls and a population recoiled because they didnât understand it, the BBC Newsnights of the modern age tackled Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All *Expletive Expletive* and berated them for only their angst ridden service.But, just like Eminem, itâs clear that thereâs more to the portrait than the paint on the canvas. Tyler's music isn't simply surface "fuck everything" water, instead, down in the depths a stronger undercurrent flows through a story. My theory is probably far from the truth, but itâs evident that Tyler has a well thought out storyline playing out.Or, maybe Tyler is just fucking with us. Either wayâŠRoll on 2015.Follow Ryan on Twitter: @RyanBassilDo you like conspiracy theories? Then read these:Is Kanye Building Up A Persona For Black American Pyscho?Here's Exactly What The FBI Thinks About The Juggalos311 Was An Inside Job
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