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Wolf (Tyler, the Creator album)

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Untitled

Wolf is the second studio album by Odd Future leader Tyler, The Creator. The album was released on April 2, 2013, by Odd Future Records and RED Distribution under Sony Music Entertainment. Wolf is a set in a different direction compared to his first two albums. Bastard and Goblin respectively featured more violent content, while this album features a more production based sound and different themes. The album features guest appearances by Frank Ocean, Mike G, Domo Genesis, Earl Sweatshirt, Left Brain, Hodgy Beats, Pharrell, Casey Veggies and Erykah Badu. The album is produced solely by Tyler, The Creator, except for the final track "Lone". The album was supported by a sole single "Domo23" along with additional music videos for "Bimmer", "IFHY", "Jamba", "Tamale", and "Answer". Upon release the album was met with generally positive reviews and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 selling 90,000 copies in its first week.

Background

Tyler first mentioned the album in early 2010 saying that he would have an album titled Wolf. In early 2011 he told fans through his Formspring and Twitter that his third album would be called Wolf and it is scheduled to be released in May 2012. On May 10, also on Formspring, Tyler said that it would be changed to the end of summer of 2012. In an interview with MTV he said the third album of the trilogy started with Bastard would not be Wolf.[2]

In August 2011, Tyler said that the album will be more focused on beats and have less rapping.[3] He has said that on the album he will try to make music similar to his current interests, which he has said do not contain rapping. Tyler has also mentioned that the album's sound will be similar to the hip-hop/neo-jazz band BADBADNOTGOOD, who he has collaborated with a few times. In an interview with DJ Semtex, he confirmed that he will handle all the production on the album, except one song produced by Left Brain.[4] This was how the production on Goblin was dealt with. In another post on Formspring, he said that Wolf will only have a few rap songs, while focusing mainly on production.[5]

On November 16, Tyler returned to the studio for the first time since the 2011 Wolf Gang Tour began in September.[6] He also said that he would like the album to be released in May 2012;[7] however, he later said on his Formspring that while he's trying to release the album in May, stating that it's perfect Summer music, he wouldn't be able to.[8] In May 2012, Tyler confirmed on Formspring that he had officially begun work on the album and that it will be released before the end of Summer 2012. However, it was later announced that the album is due to release in November.[9]

On October 1, 2012, he confirmed Earl Sweatshirt would be featured on the album.[10] The album features guest appearances by Odd Future members Frank Ocean, Mike G, Domo Genesis, Left Brain, L-Boy, Taco, Jasper and Hodgy Beats among other artists such as Pharrell, former Odd Future member Casey Veggies, Lætitia Sadier and Erykah Badu.[11] The album features 18 songs and every track is produced by Tyler, The Creator except for the finale, Lone.[12][13]

Themes

In an interview with SPIN magazine, Tyler expressed wanting to shift away from the themes of his previous albums stating,

"Talking about rape and cutting bodies up, it just doesn't interest me anymore... What interests me is making weird hippie music for people to get high to. With Wolf, I'll brag a little more, talk about money and buying shit. But not like any other rapper, I'll be a smart-ass about it. People who wanted the first album again, I can't do that. I was 18, broke as fuck. On my third album, I have money and I'm hanging out with my idols. I can't rap about the same shit."[14]

The themes of Wolf range from "struggles with women, not handling the absence of his father to misunderstandings about his grandmother's death, and the beautiful nightmare known as fame." "It is incredibly dark as with his previous albums though, Tyler weaves this intense imagery into an upbeat sound."[15]

Release and promotion

On February 14, 2013, OFWGKTA uploaded a video to their YouTube account, which includes L-Boy skydiving and stating that Wolf will be released on April 2, 2013. The same day Tyler would reveal the three album covers via his Instagram account.[16] The deluxe version of the album features a fold-out poster of the full album cover art designed by Mark Ryden, a limited embroidered patch, a "Wolf" calendar and a 24-page booklet featuring lyrics and artwork.[16] Four days prior to the album release, Tyler released the whole album for free streaming via SoundCloud.[17]

From March 11, 2013, through April 11, 2013, Tyler toured North America and Europe on the Wolf Tour. The tour was his first solo tour without his group Odd Future. His first stop was Boulder, Colorado and the Wolf release party took place in Los Angeles on the release day of the album.[18] He later announced he would extend the tour from April 30 to May 18, 2013. These shows took place on the west coast of the United States and featured his Odd Future cohort, Earl Sweatshirt.[16][19] On September 9, 2013, Tyler released a trailer for a film based on Wolf. The release date has yet to be announced.[20]

Singles

The first single from the album, titled "Domo23", was released on February 14, 2013 and accompanied by a music video which featured cameo appearances from Odd Future members Domo Genesis, Earl Sweatshirt, Jasper Dolphin and Taco Bennett.[12] The song has since peaked on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 at #2 and #37 on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[21] At the end of the video for Domo23, he previewed the video for the reported second single "Bimmer" which features Odd Future member Frank Ocean.[22][23]

On March 29, 2013, the music video for "IFHY" was released, featuring Pharrell. At the end of the video, the song cuts to the music video for "Jamba", featuring Odd Future member Hodgy Beats. In the music video, Tyler "plays a lovestruck doll, acting out scenes in a dollhouse with a plastic girlfriend. While the real-life Tyler later drives through a neighborhood with Hodgy Beats as his song "Jamba" blasts from the speakers."[24] "IFHY" has since peaked at #24 on the Billboard Heatseekers Songs chart.[25] On October 7, 2013, the music video was released for "Tamale" and "Answer".[26]

Commercial performance

In its first week of release Wolf debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 selling, 89,895 copies in the United States.[27][28] In its second week the album sold 18,000 more copies bringing its sales total to 107,000 in the United States.[29]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[30]
The Boston Globe(8/10)[31]
Consequence of Sound[32]
The Independent[33]
Los Angeles Times[34]
NME(8/10)[35]
Pitchfork(7.8/10)[36]
The Quietus(7/10)[35]
Rolling Stone[37]
The Wire(8/10)[38]

Wolf was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 70, based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[39] Craig Jenkins of Pitchfork gave the album a score of 7.8 out of 10, saying "With Wolf, Tyler, the Creator displays a radical growth as a producer, composer and arranger, even if, as a rapper, he’s still up to some of the same antics. Still, the album contains a few of the best songs he’s ever written."[36] Jeremy D. Larson of Consequence of Sound gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying "Tyler is his own worst enemy, of course. But the buoyancy of the production and the overall intrigue of hearing him struggle with his idle hands prevent the album from getting mired down in too much vanity."[40] David Jeffries of Allmusic gave the album three and a half stars, saying "It's a fun album for fanatics, but the willingness to shock feels too comfortable at this point, so those who found it tiresome before will likely find it devastating here."[30]

Chris Dart of Exclaim! felt that "While Tyler will almost certainly never outgrow life as a weird, hell-raising provocateur, Wolf shows that he's already growing into life as a smart, diverse artist."[41] Slant Magazine's Jesse Cataldo awarded the album three out of five stars, commenting "The production is routinely strong, but things are weighed down by Tyler himself, who forcefully refuses to provide a palatable anchor to over an hour's worth of material." Cataldo saw the album as "progress on some fronts", but felt that Tyler "needs to move beyond certain issues" to "prove himself a vital force."[42] Martín Caballero of The Boston Globe gave the album an eight out of ten, saying "Despite careering from one alter ego to the next and touching on everything from his absent father on 'Answer' to the art of making campfire s'mores on the seven-minute 'Partyisntover /Campfire /Bimmer,' there's a broad vision and deft execution that holds things together much better than on 'Goblin.'"[31] Eric Diep of XXL gave the album an L, saying "Wolf meets its own high expectations by creating an absorbing journey of Tyler's imagination. Everything from being his own therapist to poking fun at newfound fame is documented in captivating fashion, however juvenile it may be at times. There's still growing up to do, and maybe time will tame the fascinating artist we see on this album. Until then, there’s no escaping his meteoric rise. And the diehard Odd Future fans will love every minute of it."[43]

David Amidon of PopMatters gave the album a seven out of ten, saying, "If 'Wolf is not Goblin' is the most important statement I feel like I could make about this album, the second most important thing I can probably say about it is that nothing has actually changed about Tyler himself. All his flaws as a coherent lyricist and person are on full display throughout the album, and the charm or lack thereof of that fact goes a long way towards how enjoyable this album can be."[44] Jessica Hopper of Spin magazine felt that "Wolf's most grievous misstep, and its one true spiritual connection to the superior Bastard and Goblin: Tyler's defiant use of the word 'faggot.' As usual, he spends a ton of time here bragging about how little he cares about how the world sees him, but his reliance on the other f-bomb to keep our attention suggests otherwise."[11] Chris Kelly of Fact gave the album four out of five stars, saying "With Wolf, Tyler, the Creator is exciting again: maybe not as the ringleader of the Odd Future empire, but as a producer who just turned 22 (did you forget how young he actually is?), has internalized a decade of Neptunes/Doom/Def Jux production, and has Pharrell, Erykah, and (most importantly) Frank Ocean on speed dial. The don’t-give-a-fuck attitude might have run its course lyrically, but when applying it as a production ethos, Tyler is just getting started."[45]

Accolades

XXL ranked it at number 18 on their list of the best albums of 2013. They commented saying, "The leader of the Odd Future crew’s second album Wolf displayed radical maturity—both musically and lyrically; partnering with fellow Odd Future members Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt, alongside Pharrell Williams and even Erykah Badu on songs involving gripping narratives of personal frustrations and heartbreak. Coupled with vivid lyrics and stark synth production, Tyler’s fascinatingly still weird but insightful and musically pleasing."[46] HipHopDX named it one of the top 25 albums of 2013. They elaborated saying, "Wolf was Tyler’s most grown up effort to date. Developing into a fully realized production mastermind, he somehow tied a summer camp story in with his usual themes of relationships and the struggles of fame, not to mention the ghetto’s crack epidemic and bullying leading to school shootings."[47]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Wolf"Tyler Okonma1:50
2."Jamba" (featuring Hodgy Beats)T. Okonma, Gerard Damien Long3:32
3."Cowboy"T. Okonma3:15
4."Awkward"T. Okonma3:47
5."Domo23"T. Okonma2:38
6."Answer"T. Okonma3:50
7."Slater" (featuring Frank Ocean)T. Okonma3:53
8."48"T. Okonma4:07
9."Colossus"T. Okonma3:33
10."PartyIsntOver/Campfire/Bimmer" (featuring Lætitia Sadier & Frank Ocean)T. Okonma, Lætitia Sadier, Christopher Breaux7:18
11."IFHY" (featuring Pharrell Williams)T. Okonma5:19
12."Pigs"T. Okonma4:14
13."Parking Lot" (featuring Casey Veggies & Mike G)T. Okonma, Michael Griffin II, Casey Jones3:53
14."Rusty" (featuring Domo Genesis & Earl Sweatshirt)T. Okonma, Dominique Marquis Cole, Thebe Neruda Kgositsile5:09
15."Trashwang" (featuring Na'kel, Jasper, Lucas, L-Boy, Taco, Left Brain & Lee Spielman)T. Okonma, Na'kel Allah Smith, Davon Wilson, Lucas Vercetti, Lionel Boyce, Travis Bennett4:42
16."Treehome95" (featuring Coco O. & Erykah Badu)T. Okonma, Erica Abi Wright3:00
17."Tamale"T. Okonma2:46
18."Lone"T. Okonma3:57
Notes
  • "Awkward" and "48" contain uncredited appearances from Frank Ocean
  • Syd tha Kyd is uncredited with contributing vocals on "Answer"

Personnel

Credits for Wolf adapted from Allmusic.[50]

  • Erykah Badu – composer, featured artist
  • Hodgy Beats – featured artist
  • Syd Bennett – vocals
  • Taco Bennett – composer, featured artist
  • Delbert Bowers – assistant
  • Lionel Boyce – composer, vocals
  • Colin Boyd – piano
  • Left Brain – featured artist
  • Casey Veggies – featured artist
  • Dominique Marquis Cole – composer
  • Andrew Dawson – mixing
  • Jason Dill – vocals
  • Jasper Dolphin – featured artist
  • Mike G – featured artist
  • Chris Galland – assistant
  • Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering
  • Domo Genesis – featured artist
  • Michael Griffin II – composer
  • Bernie Grundman – mastering
  • Elijah Hall – vocals
  • Parys Hall – vocals
  • Trehy Harris – assistant
  • Jaycen Joshua – mixing
  • Casey Jones – composer
  • Thebe Kgositsile – composer
  • L Boy – featured artist
  • Jaslyn Leonti – vocals
  • Gerard Long – composer
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing
  • Na'kel – featured artist
  • Nas – interviewee
  • Coco O. – featured artist
  • Frank Ocean – composer, featured artist, vocals
  • Tyler Okonma – composer
  • Sarah Parker – vocals
  • Laetitia Sadier – composer, featured artist
  • Na-kel Allah Smith – composer
  • Lee Spielman – featured artist
  • Earl Sweatshirt – featured artist
  • Tallulah Willis – vocals
  • Eddy Tekeli – photography
  • Phil Toselli – layout
  • Tyler, The Creator – artwork, interviewer, layout, primary artist, producer
  • Mista VuhSachee – composer
  • Vic Wainstein – engineer
  • Pharrell Williams – featured artist
  • Davon Wilson – composer
  • Sterling Winfield – engineer

Charts

Release history

Regions Dates Label(s)
Worldwide April 2, 2013 Odd Future Records, RED, Sony

References

  1. ^ "AllMusic".
  2. ^ Tyler, The Creator's Wolf Album Might Be A Few Years – Music, Celebrity, Artist News. MTV.com (2012-03-22). Retrieved on 2012-07-14.
  3. ^ "Do you see Wolf being a similar project like Bastard and Goblin (rapping about the same topics)? Or do you think it's going to be different, different topics, progression". Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help). Formspring.me (2011-08-23). Retrieved on 2012-07-14.
  4. ^ "Lunch With Tyler On Vimeo". Vimeo.com. 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  5. ^ "You need some inspiration to rap again, give yourself a break! I HATED piano for a good 3 years now I love it again, patience... | Formspring". Formspring.me. Archived from the original on 2013-04-12. Retrieved 2011-10-12. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved on 2013-03-15.
  7. ^ "Possible May 2012 Release". Formspring.me. 2011-11-16. Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2012-06-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Man, stick with Wolf in May. Goblin in May set me up for such a sick Summer this year. | Formspring". 4ms.me. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  9. ^ "Summer Release". Formspring.me. 2012-05-09. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2012-06-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "all i want is one earlwolf track on wolf. just one. it dont even care if it doesnt sound how you guys used to rap. we just need earl wolf". Archived from the original on 2013-04-12. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help). Formspring.me (2012-10-01). Retrieved on 2013-03-15.
  11. ^ a b Martins, Chris (2013-03-26). "Tyler, the Creator's 'Wolf' Really Will Feature Stereolab Singer and Erykah Badu | SPIN | Newswire". SPIN. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  12. ^ a b Watch the Video for Tyler, the Creator's New Single "Domo 23" – XXL. Xxlmag.com (2013-02-15). Retrieved on 2013-03-15.
  13. ^ "why is Wolf so bad, can you be blatantly honest no sarcasm". Archived from the original on 2013-04-12. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help). Formspring.me (2013-03-04). Retrieved on 2013-03-15.
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  15. ^ "Tyler, the Creator, 'Wolf': Track-By-Track Review". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  16. ^ a b c Horowitz, Steven J.. (2013-02-14) Tyler, The Creator Reveals Three Covers For "Wolf" LP, Announces Release Date & Tour | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales. HipHop DX. Retrieved on 2013-03-15.
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  18. ^ Tyler, the Creator – WOLF. Golfwang.com (2013-02-04). Retrieved on 2013-03-15.
  19. ^ Tyler, the Creator Adds Tour Dates with Earl Sweatshirt. Complex (2013-03-04). Retrieved on 2013-03-15.
  20. ^ "Video: Tyler, the Creator – 'WOLF' [Trailer]". Rap-Up.com. 2010-10-18. Retrieved 2013-09-11.
  21. ^ Bubbling Under Hot 100 : Page 1. Billboard. Retrieved on 2013-03-15.
  22. ^ "Tyler, The Creator Previews New Song "Bimmer" and Flashes a BMW in "Domo 23" Video". Complex. 2013-02-15. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  23. ^ By Matthew Trammell (2013-03-24). "Tyler, The Creator Lets the 'Wolf' in at Intimate Brooklyn Show | Music News". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  24. ^ "Video: Tyler, the Creator f/ Pharrell – 'IFHY'". Rap-Up.com. 2010-10-18. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  25. ^ https://www.billboard.com/artist/tyler,-the-creator/chart-history/heatseekers-songs
  26. ^ Homie, Big. "New Video: Tyler, The Creator "Tamale"". Rap Radar. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  27. ^ "Building Album Sales Chart". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
  28. ^ "Tyler, The Creator Sells Nearly 90k Copies of "Wolf" His First Week". Complex. 2013-04-09. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
  29. ^ "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 4/14/2013". HipHopDX. Retrieved April 17, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ a b Wolf at AllMusic
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  34. ^ Roberts, Randall (2013-04-08). "Pop album review: Tyler the Creator's 'Wolf' can be daring, smart". latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
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  39. ^ Wolf at Metacritic
  40. ^ Larson, Jeremy D. (April 1, 2013). "Album Review: Tyler, the Creator – Wolf". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
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  45. ^ "Wolf – FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music". Factmag.com. 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
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  49. ^ Tyler, the Creator - Wolf (Track-by-Track Review)
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