Tyler, The Creator, 'Yonkers': America's Best New Artist (VIDEO)

MTV had its annual Oh Yeah We Care About Music Videos thing last night, and all the biggest stars came out to celebrate. Among the youngest was Tyler, The Creator, a 20-year old from Los Angeles whose legend is already bigger than his discography (hates Bruno Mars, loves Selena Gomez, harsh words for Jesus). T,TC took "Best New Artist" Saturday based on his video for the song "Yonkers," a black-and-white thought piece on what a badass he is (pretends to eat a cockroach, harsh words for Jesus, throws up, dies). As self-conscious as "Yonkers" is, Tyler's Eminem swagger and comparable enemy list seems to mean we've welcomed our next shock-artist. Say hello, America!

And WATCH Tyler fake-eat a bug, not for ecological reasons:

Comments

[NJ Believer]

10:35 PM on 09/14/2011

Tyler and Odd Future are promoting rape, sexual assault, necrophilia and Satan. At one point do we stop and say something is wrong with this??

This article broke down all the satanic/occult messages and subliminals in their music and vids.

http://beginningandend.com/antichrist-generation-tyler-creator-leads-pop-musics-open-blasphemy/

[Itsasmallworld]

01:33 AM on 08/30/2011

He definitely has the drive and charisma. My son played it for me about six months ago in the car and I told him I didn't like it...too much cussing and intense beat. I think it was just hard for me to have my 15 year old play something like that for me...like where did he get this from? That being said I watched Yonkers a few times today. It's good I have to say. I kept watching it over. The video is pretty amazing. I have always enjoyed rap and hip hop and I appreciate the true current poetry of it. That being said, what he is doing has been done before, misogyny and violence like emenim, shock value like Marilyn mansion, or nine inch nails and political like tupac. He has original style for right now, but he is just recycling styles from the late 80s and early 90s LA. Which is where he is from so that makes sense. Just like the others he will mature and grow as an artist and be around for a long time.

[Paul Pearson]

04:36 PM on 08/29/2011

Geez, Mallika, way to take a talented rapper's work out of context and reduce him to just another shock-meister. Please don't make HuffPo come off like old fogeys; it doesn't become you.

[blizzard man robot voice]

04:06 PM on 08/29/2011

OFWGKTA. GOLF WANG.

[Tanner James Lemke]

02:29 PM on 08/29/2011

He's an artist, slick. Music is about self-expression. Maybe you should write a song about how happy you are. Would it be fair for a depressed person to to criticize it by saying, "This person's too cheerful, the world is to screwed up a place to be happy - they belong in a mental institution."

who would you have preferred? at least this guy is original.

[Eno]

07:47 PM on 08/29/2011

There are thousands of original, talented artists out there, better than any of the performers on the VMAs. Nora Jones used to sing in bars in Williamsburg. She was lucky enough to be discovered. Most people will never hear a fractional percentage of the real talent out there, that doesn't need the shock value and are talented enough in expressing their thoughts & ideas through different mediums. This isnt what sells so you'll never hear. Just like the news that only shows you the bad and uses the final 10 seconds to give you a "heart felt story"..

Hip hop is a dead. People are becoming dumber and dumber and what they choose to accept as entertainment is on par with monkeys playing with their *hit, the proof of that is with Kreyshawn and the white girl mob.

I'm not saying all music sucks because not all of it does. What I'm saying is that talented people don't need the gimmick or the shock value to get noticed Slick.

[Eno]

02:08 PM on 08/29/2011

I never heard of this kid before tonight. The kids voice sounds pretty evil, which I guess makes it marketable. But then listening to his lyrics and watching the videos made me think this kid belongs in a mental institution. This is music? This is culture?

Wow. Last time the VMAs was good was when Kurt Cobain was on in 92. The organizers wanted Nirvana to perform team spirit, but Cobain flipped the lyrics on them by including lyrics to Rape me, the song they wanted to perform. When Dave Grohl was calling out Axl Rose to come fight Cobain, classic.

But of clowns these "musicians" are now a days.

[blizzard man robot voice]

04:06 PM on 08/29/2011

"I'm old! I don't understand these kids music these days!" -You.

[Eno]

05:22 PM on 08/29/2011

I don't understand a lot of it. I can relate to even less of it.

[Christian Shaffer]

04:36 PM on 08/29/2011

Music, like all art, is about self expression. If he belongs in a mental institution for that, then most of us deserve to be as well.

[Eno]

05:15 PM on 08/29/2011

Yeah, you are right, art is about self expression and there is good art and bad art. Have you seen the video where he is humping a sex doll, have you heard the lyrics or have you heard the song where he stalking a girl, scream style. I like the kids voice but I cannot relate to his lyrics, just like most hip hop these days.

Art, music, movies they're all a joke. Art is what people do in their homes or where ever they chose to do it. The media companies sign "artists" like Gaga and Nicki Manag and this new guy Tyler for shock value. Its all a marketing gimmick. Adele, that’s art, that’s talent, no gimmick necessary, she doesn’t need to flash her boobs or shake her ass to sell.

[AllureAye]

01:59 PM on 08/29/2011

I really enjoy his instrumentals (as with most hip hop), but I could care less about the lyrics, etc...

[Bebop210]

11:01 PM on 08/29/2011

I agree! the beats are straight out of Wu Tang but the lyrics are totally Insane Clown Posse

[chelledc]

12:03 AM on 08/30/2011

I wasn't a fan of ICP either. Maybe this explains why I'm not really feeling this guy.