Tyler, The Creator Gets Candid About How The Neptunes Changed The ‘Trajectory’ Of His Life

Tyler, The Creator has opened up about how Pharrell Williams and The Neptunes reshaped his life as a young creative.

On Saturday (June 3), Tyler took to Instagram and uploaded an assortment of pictures, from him hitting a baseball player’s pose at Dodgers Stadium to him taking a New York centric picture with A$AP Rocky. But what also stuck out is a letter to The Neptunes against the backdrop of a video screenshot of Pharrell’s 2003 smash hit, “Frontin’,” which turned 20 on the same day.

“137th and Prairie, Hawthorne, CA. 2003. 6th grade. 12 years old,” the IGOR artist began. “Sam Goody had physical records and Kazza had mp3’s, but before the options of streaming we have now, there was this thing called Real Player. A few weeks before June 3rd, someone posted a link of FRONTIN’ from some dj radio show on the STAR TRAK message boards. a nice treat for me, given ive spent every dollar my mom could spare on any album that had Waters of Nazareth in the credits.”

He continued: “I was stunned. 3 minutes and 57 seconds of dopamine. the grove, familiar, but still sounded like the soundscapes of a different planet. the air of it; aside from GRINDIN and WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT BOY the year before, my ears hadn’t heard anything with that much space in it. 3 percussive sounds, 3 bass notes, 2 chords, and a synthesized whistle that sounded like ice cream melting.”

Tyler, The Creator then continued to talk about the soundscape of Frontin’. “The harmonies were full and warm. The concept, simple, and honest, leaving us a perfect 8 bar from HOV to bring it home. The melodies in PHARRELLS shaky head voice were sticky.  I was stunned.

“But what took me over the edge was the bridge. I believe the trajectory of my life changed at that moment. It’s a high chance my addiction of putting bridges on everything was cemented because of this song. I’ve subconsciously been trying to chase that high for 20 years.”

Tyler went on: “Most bridges only exist in the middle of the song, but he brought it back at the end. who does that? he did it a few times on justified but this just felt reckless. i was STUNNED. i rushed home every day to replay that link, blocking any phone calls since all we had was AOL. if i remember correctly, i caught the video on CITAS WORLD after school. i was stunned, but this time my eyes was recording information that would, again, change the trajectory of my life.”

“At the time, aside from SO ANXIOUS by GINUWINE, ive never seen a house look like that. minimal. silver. warm around the edges. it looked exactly how the song sounded. the video featured: two of the most beautiful women ive ever seen in my life to this day, a hanging bed, and a 550 Maranello (i had a silver hot wheels version of it at the time…different levels but my 12 year old brain felt even more connected.)”

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Tyler ended by talk about the apparel aspect of The Neptunes before ending with giving additional kudos to the iconic record.

“Everyone has a t shirt,” he wrote. “Moms, kids, dolls, you name it. but before this clip ive never seen someones personal collection of t shirts so carefully folded and presented as something special. That quick shot of screen printed cotton made me appreciate t shirts in such a different way that ive been making t-shirts since I was 13 with 5 brands under my belt since. at that age tony hawk pro skater 4 filled up spare time bending the possibilities of where you could skate. this man had a mini ramp in his house. who does that?

“Viva la bam wasn’t out yet this was jaw dropping. On top of that this was on BET, which felt like a curve ball compared to the other videos that aj and free were introducing. no one knew images like that would be shaping how things are 20 years later. I’ve stated this multiple times but FRONTIN is my favorite piece of art to grace this earth. i am forever grateful that i’m alive at the same time to experience it. i can only hope that one day something else crosses my path and makes me feel exactly how this does.” – tylerokonoma.

Meanwhile, Tyler, The Creator recently announced that Camp Flog Gnaw will return later this year following a four-year absence.

Tyler shared the news via Twitter on Wednesday (May 31), confirming that Camp Flog Gnaw will return to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for a two-day event through the weekend of November 11 and November 12.