Odd Future's (OFWGKTA) Tyler the Creator commonly uses homophobic slurs, such as "faggot," and rape fantasies in his group's songs, as well as his solo material. Perhaps the reason he uses these words so much is to get people talking about Odd Future, which seems to be the reason for anything they do rather than out of pure artistic intelligence.
Either way, it has gotten Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara quite wound up. In response to Tyler's behavior, she has penned a brilliant letter titled A Call for Change. She raises questions like, "When will misogynistic and homophobic ranting and raving result in meaningful repercussions in the entertainment industry?" and "When will they be treated with the same seriousness as racist and anti-Semitic offenses?" Sara also points out that the media and the music community of other artists have completely turned an ignorant blind eye towards the matter. Frankly, I think she has raised some very interesting and important points.
To nobody's surprise, Tyler the Creator had something to say about this, and naturally it was quite sexist. He wrote on his Twitter (@fucktyler), "If Tegan And Sara Need Some Hard Dick, Hit Me Up!"
In a blog post, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) backed Quin, stating, "Tyler has said in interviews that he is not homophobic, yet his Twitter feed and rhymes are rampant with anti-gay slurs and references. His defense that 'people take things too seriously' or that he's 'just a kid' is inexcusable. Using hateful language, regardless of the context, is unacceptable and in fact, very serious. Tyler's attempts to be provocative as well as his indifference towards the consequences of his actions are irresponsible."
In a blog post, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) backed Quin, stating, "Tyler has said in interviews that he is not homophobic, yet his Twitter feed and rhymes are rampant with anti-gay slurs and references. His defense that 'people take things too seriously' or that he's 'just a kid' is inexcusable. Using hateful language, regardless of the context, is unacceptable and in fact, very serious. Tyler's attempts to be provocative as well as his indifference towards the consequences of his actions are irresponsible."
Should
Sara Quin be taking the matter lightly? No, but she should probably
consider who these slurs are coming from. Odd Future's "fuck everything"
attitude needs to be taken into account. Tyler the Creator and his
outspoken crew say these things all the time, but surely they can't be serious. On his solo album Goblin, which was released May 10 on XL,
plenty of lyrics lend support to his public persona as a helpless,
dazed and confused 20-year-old who's hungry for attention...a lot of
attention.
That's not to say that he shouldn't
be taken seriously because of his age, but rather that he's at an age
where expressing himself and making sure his voice is heard by others is
very important. I'm not much older than him myself; then again, I'm not
a musician, and I'm not choosing my words particularly carefully so as
to appease or displease critics. I don't think there's any doubt that he
doesn't write anything for the purpose of pleasing critics, though.
On
the first track of his solo album, Tyler the Creator gives plenty of
insight into his state of mind on the song "Goblin." He raps, "I'm a
19-year-old fucking emotional rollercoaster with pipe dreams," "My brain
is an obscenity / I'm fucked in the head, I lost my mind with my
virginity," "They wanna critique everything the Wolf Gang has ever
released, but they don't get it 'cause it's not made for them," and
lastly, "I'm not homophobic...faggot." Those lines speak for themselves.
On the track "Analog," fellow Odd Future rapper Hodgy Beats lays down a line in which he says, "I poke her face, her throat for taste, give me head like I'm on her mind." How lovely. And if you're wondering what Tyler the Creator's song "Bitch Suck Dick" is about, well, you guessed it. It's littered with misogynistic lyrics in which every other word refers to some chick as "bitch," and it's clearly overused and unnecessary. If this kid gets married in the next 10 years, I'll be shocked.
On the track "Analog," fellow Odd Future rapper Hodgy Beats lays down a line in which he says, "I poke her face, her throat for taste, give me head like I'm on her mind." How lovely. And if you're wondering what Tyler the Creator's song "Bitch Suck Dick" is about, well, you guessed it. It's littered with misogynistic lyrics in which every other word refers to some chick as "bitch," and it's clearly overused and unnecessary. If this kid gets married in the next 10 years, I'll be shocked.
Like I said earlier, it's not
that I don't think Tyler the Creator shouldn't be taken seriously as an
artist, it's that his messages (as well as those of his rap group) are
not to be taken so seriously. For goodness sake, the kid talks about
speaking to a therapist on multiple tracks of Goblin. The same
way that Howard Stern does a great job as a shock jock, Tyler the
Creator and his friends offer a fresh serving of potentially offensive
rap lyrics, which is nothing new in the rap world anyway. I certainly
award Odd Future points for creativity, but personally I don't think
they're anything special. "Yonkers" blew me away the first time I listened to it,
but so have a thousand other rap songs. Anything that group writes is
likely to be vicious, which is one of the only reasons that Sara Quin
should not be taking this matter personally. It is, however, respectable
that she has taken the matter into her own hands.
Will
Tyler the Creator eventually grow up in general? Will the music
industry begin to punish people for inexcusably using homophobic slurs
like the NBA recently punished Kobe Bryant and now possibly Joakim Noah as well? Hopefully, both of those things will happen soon, but only time will tell. Tell us what your take is on this situation.