‘Where This Flower Blooms’ challenges the stereotypes pinned onto what masculinity entails, and as a black male rapper, a bar like “I never mop up with my manicured nails” is essentially revolutionary. Tyler compares himself to a flower to show his progression and growth as an individual, and even drops in a “n*gga making leaves, keep it in my branches family could eat” as an allusion to the wealth he’s acquired. It’s slow and steady and utilizes the metaphor present in the track and record titles. In addition to featuring Frank Ocean, whose ethereal voice and musical presence is ideal for the nostalgic vibe of this track, it’s essentially an origin story. Where This Flower Bloomsīy far one of my favorite tracks on this album. Despite it being presented as a “foreword” and not the main meat of a track or album, he drops a subtle political statement asking “How many slaves can it be til Nat Turner arrives? How many riots can it be til them Black Lives Matter?” Following his general trend of behavior when it comes to nonconformity, asking these questions almost allows (or encourages) his listeners to question things for themselves as well, promoting a conscious lifestyle ( “Stay woke”, anyone?). The rhyme scheme is noticeable but disjointed with a very gentle bridge, allowing you to ease into all of his questions, consequently becoming personally invested. Tyler tapped into a sweet spot combo of rhetorical questions and hypophora/anthypophora to question his motivation (or more often, lack thereof). This track, featuring Can & Rex Orange County, is a bundle of questions. So, without any further ado, let’s get to the breakdown. Musically, there’s a fantastic contrast between the smooth and mellow vibes of the instrumentals, the choir-esque backing vocals, and his somewhat gritty flow and deep, punchy voice. It delves into themes of loneliness, vulnerability, and the craving of affection while indulging the materialistic and transient nature of his fame and fortune lifestyle. The album is stirring up quite the storm, and after having listened to it in its entirety multiple times, there is a very clear personal and introspective vibe to it. For those who love good music and an occasional laugh this album will definitely meet the cut.Headlines all over the place (along with many Genius contributors) have been speculating non-stop about what the album will be like. Besides the explicit use of choice words the premise of this album has a very relatable story to it. Do be warned, the producers of this album suggests parental advisory.
I advise many students to take the time and listen to “Flower Boy”. I’m not trying to sound dramatic or follow the rubric of a stereotypical band wagon, mainly because I am not a “bandwagon”, but I do feel as though the release of this album has allowed me to take the action in paying close attention to the lyrics connecting and relating them to my views on love and confidence.
As soon as “Flower Boy” was released, a musical rebirth occurred in my art. On repeat I would listen to “Cherry Bomb” and bask in the the unique coalition of genres.
“It’s a chill vibe it’s not like his other music where he’s screaming,” laughed Santillan. Each song is held to a neo soul hip hop quota, leaving listeners in a euphoric state. As mentioned earlier the transitions from song to song really accent the album’s name. The rap is catchy and has such an edgy yet groovy vibe accompanying the lyrics. The fourth song on his array of masterpieces, “See You Again,” was by far my most favorite, mainly because it has a mixture of singing and personified raps filled with imagery and sarcasm. The creativeness and just the way he talks to his audience made everything about “Flower Boy” amazing.” says Rene Santillan, Senior.
Cherry Bomb(former album) is one of the good ones but “Flower Boy” surpasses “Cherry Bomb”. “I think Flower Boy is one of Tyler’s best albums so far. With the many features of artists including ASAP Rocky, Estelle, BIlly Ocean and many more, the album has hit top 10 on Itunes charts. Some may even say that the success of this album has attracted “band wagons” or maybe even new dedicated fans. 43 minutes, 13 songs, and about 10 transitions, “Flower Boy” keeps an overall chill vibe that cannot be argued otherwise. The majority of the songs consist of unrequited love, conviction, and a side of bumble bees. With unique raps and sporadic beats, Tyler the Creator’s album, “Flower Boy”, was released July 21, 2017.