Tyler, the Creator Implores Fans to Move With Biting New Album, ‘DON’T TAP THE GLASS’

With little warning and much anticipation, Tyler, the Creator has already shaken up the music scene with a surprise drop. If we’re in the post-Chromakopia era, we’re starting with a bang.

Photo Credit: PRESS

It was only two days ago when he surprised fans and beyond with the announcement of a new album, while stopping over in Brooklyn for the Chromakopia tour, and he left much for all to ponder on. So, while the dew of Monday morning hung in the air, crust still being swept from tired eyes, Tyler, the Creator’s ninth studio album ‘DON’T TAP THE GLASS’ hit streaming platforms globally. 

Nearly 24 hours ago, he dropped a wordy post against a crayola-blue background, imploring fans and, well, sharing some thoughts about what inspired the album, saying: “I asked some friends why they don’t dance in public and some said because of the fear of being filmed. I thought damn, a natural form of expression and a certain connection they have with music is now a ghost. It made me wonder how much of our human spirit got killed because of the fear of being a meme, all for having a good time.” This came just after he’d spent time with fans at the listening party for the new album, “and man was it one of the greatest nites of my life, 300 people.” And lastly, the intention for this project, plain and simple: “THIS ALBUM WAS NOT MADE FOR SITTING STILL DANCING DRIVING RUNNING ANY TYPE OF MOVEMENT IS RECOMMENDED TO MAYBE UNDERSTAND THE SPIRIT OF IT. ONLY AT AT FULL VOLUME DONT TAP THE GLASS.”

The 10-track project borders on EP but with the fullness of an album, and deservingly so. It is spunky and spontaneous, but sophisticated and succinct. And in typical Tyler style, he intertwines witty, vulgar and vulnerable storytelling with a series of calls to action, which, ironically, I’m sure he wouldn’t care if you followed. In a shift we’re seeing much more of, the surprise drop feels deliberate: a move that shrugs off streaming algorithms and demands patience in a time of infinite scroll. 

Following on from Chromakopia, his eighth studio album (which was released seven months ago), and saw the artist take his signature sound and add a few more sonic swiggles and swirls, this feels like a more seasoned, ‘stripped back’ version of his earlier discography. It’s nostalgic in a way that could only be specific to Tyler, but fresh in the sense that we’re tapping into a different realm of his excited mind. It’s crystal clear that he thinks in music, similarly to how we’ve seen the likes of Pharrell Williams, Ye (otherwise known as Kanye West), Prince and Andre 3000 have. 

‘Big Poe’ featuring Pharrell – Busta Rhymes also has writing credits – is a hard-hitting, lust-infused, banging (pun fully intended) start to the album. From flippant, borderline colourist remarks to confessions of ‘I don't trust white people with dreadlocks’, it is colourfully controversial but wholeheartedly Tyler – or perhaps him at his most unabashed. 

As we go further down the rabbit hole that is the album, we continue to be met with the ghosts of Tyler’s musical past, present and future. ‘Ring Ring Ring’ immediately feels Michael Jackson in its intonation, that mirrors the bass of the late pop legend’s Off The Wall song, before blasting into a disco fever, spritzy jam that blends his deep, tenor vocals and high-pitched mumbling that can sometimes feel like a whisper. ‘Mommanem’ feels eerie, menacing and haunting, pulsing with harsh, staccato synths – this one spells trouble. Tracks like ‘Sucka Free’, ‘I’ll Take Care of You’, ‘Stop Playing With Me’ and ‘Tell Me What It Is’ demand the gritty playfulness that Cherry Bomb carved space for, while ‘I’ll Take Care of You’, ‘Don’t Top That Glass / Tweakin’ and ‘Don’t You Worry Baby’ nod to the jazzy, softer but gut-tugging-ness that would occur if Call Me If You Get Lost and IGOR had a lovechild, and GOBLIN planted a seed somewhere. 

And beyond Tyler’s signature of using stellar samples (“Roked” by Israeli musician Shye Ben Tzur, “Pass the Courvoisier” by Busta Rhymes featuring Pharrell Williams, “Knuck If You Buck” by Atlanta rap group Crime Mob – the list really does go on), this album is star-studded. And with surprise appearances from LeBron James and Maverick Carter in the rapper’s ‘Stop Playing With Me’ music video, it’s evident Tyler is clearly having a field day…or a few. 

Fans have theorised that the album is a call to get off of our phones (‘the glass’) and get out onto the streets – in whatever way you choose to do – or the idea of something on display but untouchable, and they’re probably right. But if this album is Tyler’s way of imploring us to ‘touch grass’ essentially, and bask in the buzz of our reality, we can suspect that perhaps dancing is the way he wants that to happen, first and foremost. Through the album’s website, the artist lays out three directives:

1. Body movement. No sitting still.

2. Only speak in glory. Leave your baggage at home.

3. Don’t tap the glass. 

   
   

There’s a sense that Tyler is toying with the idea of voyeurism. The album title reads like a museum sign, a reminder that the artist is not your entertainment, he’s simply living ( this has always been the case). 

It would be easy to call this album a detour, an indulgent experiment. But in context, it feels like a continuation. Tyler has always been a shapeshifter: the snarling teenager of Goblin, the lovesick auteur of IGOR, the flamboyant traveller of CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST. With DON’T TAP THE GLASS, he evolves again – softer, stranger, and more inward-looking. So no, don’t tap the glass, but rather, press your ear close and just dance!

Tyler, the Creator's new album 'DON'T TAP THE GLASS' is available to listen to on all streaming platforms now.