Hi everyone, don't tap Tano here, the internet's busiest music nerd, and it's time for a review of this new Tyler the Creator album, Don't Tap the Glass. Here we have the latest LP from rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, Mr. Tyler the Creator. someone whose name and presence and brand within the world of hip-hop has been just growing exponentially bigger as of late to the point when it comes to many broad hiphop discussions of uh who's the best, who's the most influential, who's the most significant in the genre today, who's in the big three. Uh Tyler's name is getting brought up more and more and more. Not only because seemingly his music has been over the past decade or so uh been getting deeper, more artful, more interesting, but his influence on the broader rap landscape becomes more apparent with each passing year too as he slowly developed into this prolific left field flamboyant uh Prince Level type artsy fartsy uh pop rap everything blend type of artist. And it's been a metamorphosis that's just been intriguing to watch, especially as it feels like the progression has been picking up as of late, as it wasn't too long ago that Tyler was giving us this brash in-your-face uh flexathon rap mixtape type project on Call Me If You Get Lost, which was also backed up with a very impressive deluxe, by the way. And then immediately following that up with one of his most versatile and paranoid and personal projects to date, Chromacopia, a record that really saw Tyler exploring some of the darker recesses of his mind and also just kind of getting more ambitious with multifaceted songwriting and some unlikely production ideas. And we've barely had a year to sit with that record. It's an album that is so deep and so replayable that uh it most definitely warranted a deluxe or revisit of some sort. But rather than expanding the album, here we are in 2025 and Tyler has decided out of the blue to just announce a new LP, a new project entirely. And while Don't Tap the Glass Over here isn't uh an extension of Chromacopia per se, it does feel like a reaction to what he did on that album creatively. And right from the point of announcement, Tyler seemed really driven on social media to uh just try to control the narrative around this record and make sure that uh people were like reading into the cues he was delivering correctly, stating openly that this album uh it's not going to be a concept album. Don't expect a big concept. He also posted uh these rules and expectations for engaging with the album. Uh saying that uh movement is important and essential. Also, as you put this album on, those same rules are uh stated right at the start of the record in this kind of robotic vocoder voice uh with this little tiny weird sounding Tyler Gremlin figure uh yapping away in the background. Even saying in response to the second rule, uh only speak in glory. uh leave your baggage behind, so on and so forth. Uh yeah, none of that deep I mean, there are other nods Tyler's made uh toward this sentiment that I could bring up, but uh he has made it absolutely clear that he doesn't want fans going into this record expecting anything too deep, too conflicted. It's going to be a record that uh is brief, is brisk, is to the point, is visceral, is dancable, no mus, no fuss, as it were. And again, this may be a bit of a response to what Tyler was doing on Chromacopia because uh emotionally and instrumentally there are a lot of complicated moments on that project. So maybe next he just wanted to uh lower expectations a bit and do something just more simplified. But even going in this direction, uh Tyler manages to at least a little bit stay kind of conceptual because I do think it says something stylistically for Tyler to embrace a variety of different dance grooves uh so consistently across this record. And also on top of that, for Tyler to be uh giving us a series of songs and beats that are so rough around the edges and distorted and nasty. To my ears, it does kind of call back to the Cherry Bomb era, at least a little bit, which is an album cycle that historically for Tyler uh is not one of his favorites. Personally, it's not one of my favorites either. And while this is very much a different album from Cherry Bomb, it does seem like at least in a sense there's uh maybe some overlap in terms of ethos and Tyler's kind of going back to a similar rowdy uh uncontrollable energy and trying to pull it off this time in a way to where it's actually uh effective. I mean, the second to last track on the record actually even features a drum beat that was reused from Cherry Bomb. And Tyler's typically not the sort of artist to repeat himself unless he's doing so with uh some kind of intention in mind. You know, not a guy who is uh looking back all that much, unless it's to uh learn from past mistakes and efforts. But still, even with all of that context and all of those layers at work, uh, true to Tyler's word, uh, Don't Tap the Glass is a record that, uh, doesn't exactly invite a lot of super deep dissection and analysis. Still, that doesn't mean it's not an exciting and fun album to listen to. The opening track is a decent starter. features a lot of very edgy, oversaturated rap verses from Tyler as well as Fel who performs under this skateboard pseudonym. And yeah, Tyler does have some moments here where it seems like he's uh reverting back to his old self a little bit and trying too much to uh uh say some stuff that's going to push some buttons. But between his delivery and Fel's delivery a bit on this track, it does feel like they're kind of in character in a way. like Tyler is literally embodying this kooky little goblin version of himself. I'm also loving the looped throwback drum beats on this track as well as the hype group chance of jump jump which is just very House of Pain. On the following Sugar on my tongue, we have this bit of R&B and synth pop fusion with a very quirky uh groove and series of synthesizer sequences. We have more funky undeniable dance grooves on this one. Maybe even a slight whiff of Rick James vibes. I'm not in love with the tune at the core of this track, but uh I still do think the influences are embodied nicely. But following this, we have Sucker Free, which I think is handily the best song in the first half of this record. This thing is a Bay Area summer smash with some big '90s R&B vibes along with some synth funk touches, too. And while this does feature some of Tyler's smoothest bars and flows on the entire record, there is still something about his delivery that feels so god damn cartoony. Especially as he gives us a second verse where he just really digs into the back of his throat and and uh gives us an extra helping of rasp sounding like a Vince Staples who's smoked maybe one too many packs of cigarettes. But yeah, this is the most Tyler has leaned into his singing voice in my opinion since Eigor. And even though his singing still does feel very intentionally off-kilter, uh, it's managed to be one of his catchiest tracks he's ever written in my opinion. Following this, Mamm is a pretty cool little interlude track that builds up tension for the following song. And even though it is short, I do think it continues to add to this weird little character performance Tyler is pulling off here, along with bringing in some interesting vocal layers and almost an industrial twist with some of the noisier sound effects that are thrown into the mix. Stop playing with me is kind of like a call back to an old school B boy anthem or something like that. At least that's how the drum beat feels. However, uh nearly everything else about the track feels kind of like trademark Tyler at this point. So, even if there is a bit of deja vu going on here, I still do love uh some of the synth work and the call-in response group vocals on the back end of the track. Use a funky ass But following this on Ring Ring Ring, we have legitimately some classy off-the-wall Michael Jackson era vibes. This thing is pure disco bliss with the strings, the pianos, the super slick grooves. And for somebody whose music again typically sounds uh so weird, intentionally scuffed, like it's coming from uh an alternate dimension or something like that, uh this one genuinely does sound like uh some some real uh good quality disco. The title track here though does see Tyler going back into full rap mode with some old school Casio beat loops and synth lines and I would say a touch of Missy Elliot swagger too. There's a sick beat switch in the last leg. And yeah, once again, even though Tyler's production and songwriting sounds very rough around the edges and streamlined and not nearly as layered as it has been on some recent projects, he still manages to come through and develop uh a very catchy smash on this one. There's a monster in it. And it's just great to hear that Tyler can still make great quality music while forcing himself into a less is more scenario and limiting the number of options in terms of like what he can do, how wide and grandiose and lush the music can sound. The following Don't You Worry Baby uh features some great vocals from Madison McFaren. And as far as uh you know those lovely lead vocals from her uh combined with the peppy dance beat in the background, we almost have like a ghost town DJ's my boo type situation here cuz you do really have a great persistent club beat combined with some classic R&B touches. Meanwhile, the following I'll take Care of You with YBA that I mentioned earlier for having, you know, kind of that rhythmic call back to Cherry Bomb uh feels almost like an extension of that cut. like if you could do a southern fried remix of that track or same vibe and just extend it out with a different refrain. Uh great vocals too. Also some really sick ass nug a few buck samples which was an interesting call back that I didn't necessarily expect. Uh, while I don't think a lot of these moments stand super well completely on their own, what I appreciate pretty deeply about this project, despite the fact that it's so short and it's not supposed to be conceptual and all that, uh, Tyler did string a lot of the songs here together uh, throughout much of the record in a way to where they do build off of each other and they do feel like you're listening to a very well-connected mix. So again, even though this is supposed to be uh an assembly of tracks that's not super high concept, they do all link together very well into uh an album with a very cohesive flow. So in a way, I do think Tyler undersold this project uh a little bit because this doesn't merely feel like a randomly thrown together collection of tracks. It does seem like a lot of thought and intent uh went into how the 28 minutes of runtime here is going to progress. And then the final track on the album I I can't help but feel like is a bit of a meta statement of sorts. Uh while at its core and you know under a microscope you can simply observe it as a bit of a forlorn low-key rap anthem with a beautiful anthemic chorus uh that talks about Tyler having difficulties opening up his heart to find and accept love simultaneously. It's hard not to view this track again in the context of Chromacopia. How frank and sincere Tyler was with his own audience on that project. How Tyler also expressed feelings of dread with being known and perceived and obsessed over uh by his fans too. So, in a way, it does feel like this song is expressing at least a little bit uh a sentiment of, you know, when will it be or how will it be that I'll feel open enough with my audience again to uh be this raw with them. Because right now with this record, as enjoyable as it is, uh it feels instead rather than us getting like, you know, a complete picture of the actual Tyler, uh we're getting like a character rendition of him. And uh uh on top of that, we're putting that character rendition inside of, you know, a closed off glass box that we're only able to observe from the outside. Overall, enjoyed the hell out of this album. I wouldn't say it's one of Tyler's best, but it's incredibly fun for what it is. It's an album of quirky bangers, super melodic, catchy anthems, and a good time packed in a redemption arc. uh packed in uh a need for distance, which is why I'm feeling about a strong 72 lights eight on it. Tran position, have you given this record a listen? Did you love it? Did you hate it? What would you rate it? You're the best. You're the best. What should I review next? Hit the like if you like. Please subscribe and please don't cry. Hit the bell as well. Over here next to my head is another video that you can check out. Hit that up or a link to subscribe to the channel. Anthony Fantano, Tyler the creator of forever.