On July 16, out of nowhere, Tyler, the Creator teased something that would be coming out in five days. Two days later, it was revealed to be a new studio album, “DON’T TAP THE GLASS.” It was first shown on a promotional website by the same name as the album, which showed the rules: body movement, no sitting still; only speak in glory, leave your baggage at home; don’t tap the glass.
The first rule is pretty easy: this album is to be danced to, not to be sitting down and listening like his old albums. Rule number two suggests that this will be a more casual listen, supported by voice lines in the background. The final rule leads into Tyler’s personality, being pompous and arrogant, something similar to what you can see in his freestyle of “Hey Now,” which he released on Christmas of last year. “DON’T TAP THE GLASS” is him saying, “You don’t want to mess with me, or this will be a bad time.”
The timing was especially surprising, as his last album, “Chromakopia,” had only been released nine months prior, and Tyler was still on tour. Because of this, it is to be assumed that he worked on it while on tour in his free time. But the question is: Does this dedication to his art lead to a good album? Why yes, yes it did.
The album starts with the opening track, “Big Poe,” with a reminder of the rules before you are thrown straight into the action, with the listener being hit on each side by bass as Tyler slides through the beat of the song. His rapping style, while using the same vocals that he mastered on “Flower Boy,” is similar to his old hip-hop days when he was first getting started, bringing back a bit of the edgy side of Tyler that people know but don’t love a lot. This reflects most in his lyrics with lines like, “I like dark-skinned like my daddy / You ain’t like that line? Not my problem.” Or, in another verse, he raps, “Yellow Diamond, Black Skin, I’m taxi.” Super braggadocious.
This song features two verses from Pharrell Williams, one of Tyler’s friends and mentors. Pharrell just came off his amazing production work on Clipse’s new album, “Let God Sort Em Out,” which featured Tyler, so it made sense that they would work together, though I would have loved Clipse to have been on one of the tracks. Pharrell takes a page out of Tyler’s playbook, bragging about his time in Paris as the men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton and raps, “and what you drive, you can’t compare to the chains.” In terms of value, it brings this pompous attitude that was already evident in this song. Overall, this is a great opener and gives a perfect idea of what you are getting into.
The next notable song is the fifth track, “Stop Playing With Me.” This is where that “Don’t mess with me” kind of vibe comes into play, as the song is about his musical talents. Throughout the song, he gives examples of his greatness, even comparing himself to Tupac Shakur, something he also did on the previously mentioned “Hey Now” freestyle. He restates these claims by talking down to the haters. This is infantilized by the beat of the song being overbearing and in your face. It even seems to adapt to Tyler’s flow when his rapping becomes more intense.
Another track, “I’ll Take Care of You,” is possibly the most electric song of the album, bringing in all of the dance influence that was already apparent throughout the work into one song that shows off his true artistic ability. It starts super mellow with vocals from Tyler and a feature performance from Yebba, but then it slowly picks up as a sample from Killa A and Princess slowly comes in with a makeshift chorus before the beat drops into this majestic melody that makes you feel like you’re falling into space. When I think of this track, I think of great music from the Plunderphonics genre, such as “Since I Left You” by The Avalanches or “Entroducing…” by DJ Shadow, a super-influential genre for Hip-hop and Dance, as they mix the two.
Although this album is the shortest in his discography, at only 28 minutes, it is enjoyable and a good listen if you are in the mood for a fusion of dance and rap. I would give this album an 8.5 out of 10.
