As I have grown to understand my emotions, I’ve realized the different ways people express feelings. Frequently I rely on music and other forms of art as distractions to my own expressions, though IGOR made me think about them. IGOR, the 2019 album by Tyler Okonma (Tyler, The Creator), helped change my perspective on the intense emotions of love, anger, loss, and acceptance. Through clever imagery and metaphors, it felt as if Tyler was speaking directly to me on my path to emotional maturity.
IGOR begins the story with a new kind of love, one that Tyler describes as his love interest making his “earfquake.” “I THINK” is a song that shows his long, grueling process of falling in love. The chorus, “I think I’m falling in love / this time I think it’s for real,” explains the theme and why it is so hard for Tyler to love. Even the uncertain and gloomy feeling of the key, D sharp minor, reinforces this process.
The first interlude’s title “EXACTLY WHAT YOU RUN FROM YOU END UP CHASING” describes exactly what Tyler is feeling. He was uncertain about falling in love, though ended up in the same situation he was trying to avoid. He soon realizes that the person he loves is now after another in the song “RUNNING OUT OF TIME.” The lyrics, “Are you livin’ in pretend?”, begins the statements of denial in the album.
Songs like “NEW MAGIC WAND” describe exactly how moments of anger often feel with their harsh bassline and cadence. This song is a turning point in the album and accurately displays the changes within the stages of grief. From denial to anger, he is tired of not being loved by someone he loves. The hook repeats “Like magic, like magic, like magic, gone / New magic, new magic, new magic, wand,” suggesting he will make his lover’s new interest disappear, something that a magic wand could do.
For a brief amount of time in the album, Tyler goes back to his sweet-loving phase with the song “PUPPET.” This track is again described exactly by its title. Tyler is his lover’s puppet, he wants to be with them and exclaims he will do anything to do so. This newly-surfaced, light-hearted feeling portrays the stage of bargaining, though it does not last long. The song ends with the lyrics, “But at some point, you come to your senses.”
He continues the story with a sense of loss in the song “WHAT’S GOOD.” Tyler fully realizes that the relationship between them will not work out, though he has not accepted this fate yet. The song is in retribution for what they did to his emotions. It mixes emotions of anger and pain that are generated in his expressions of loss.
The emotions of the album appear to end with the song, “GONE, GONE / THANK YOU.” With a positive, upbeat feeling that exemplifies the freedom of acceptance, Tyler seems to have gotten rid of his feelings in this two-part song. The first part describes how happy he is to be done with the torture of this relationship. He hopes for the best for his ex-lover and feels that his love is truly gone. The second part of the song takes a different stance on love overall. He is thankful for the entirety of the experience though never wants to go through it again. The simple chorus of this part provides a satisfying ending for the listener and Tyler’s emotions, “Thank you for the love, thank you for the joy / But I will never want to fall in love again.”
Convincing listeners that the story was finished, the final song on the album shows Tyler falling back into his old habits. “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS” is a beautiful, yet repetitive song that has Tyler pleading to be in any type of relationship with his lover. The song ends with a dirty synthesizer playing only B flat. The significance of this note is that the album’s start begins with E flat on that same synthesizer. In both classical and modern music, B flat is known to resolve or in effect “sound good” transitioning to E flat, meaning that the entire album is not only a lyrical but a musical loop of emotions.
The eternal loop of the entire album aids in showing what it means to be in a cycle of unrequited love and how to break that cycle of suffering. It is a lesson for Tyler and his listeners about what not to do.