Music / IGOR

I don't know where I'm goin', but I know what I'm showing.

IGOR is the fifth studio album by Tyler, the Creator. It was released on May 17, 2019. The album features notable artists like Kanye West, Cee Lo Green, and Solange. The album follows Igor, who plays with the trope of the same name, as he falls in and out of love with a close friend. The album marks a shift in Tyler, The Creator's style. Rapping is undoubtably his strength, but the album stands more on pop and R&B-like vocals. It makes use of repetition and synths to help carry the listener through Igor's journey.

IGOR was released to widespread critical acclaim. Critics praised it for its narrative and ability to convey a range of emotion. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

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Tracklist

1. IGOR'S THEME
2. EARFQUAKE
3. I THINK
4. EXACTLY WHAT YOU RUN FROM YOU END UP CHASING
5. RUNNING OUT OF TIME
6. NEW MAGIC WAND
7. A BOY IS A GUN
8. PUPPET
9. WHAT'S GOOD
10. GONE, GONE / THANK YOU
11. I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE
12. ARE WE STILL FRIENDS

This work contains examples of the following tropes:

• Album Intro Track: "Igor's Theme." It contains no rapping and is meant more as a tone-setter.
• Anti-Love Song: All over the record. "A Boy Is a Gun" ends with Tyler saying "stay the fuck away from me."
• Blasphemous Boast: This line from "WHAT'S GOOD":
  Hard to believe in God when there ain't no mirrors around.
• Caps Lock: Every track on the album, and the title.
• Concept Album: One about love and subservience.
• Continuity Nod:
  • A bridge from "Igor's Theme" is sped up from a track from Flower Boy, "Boredom".
  • A line from "Pothole", another track from Flower Boy, is referenced in "GONE, GONE / THANK YOU".
    But I listen to that weatherman 'cause it might rain
    -Pothole
    The weatherman told me it wasn't rainin'
    My stupid ass brought umbrellas
    -Gone, Gone / Thank You
• Destructive Romance: The album's main theme——the boy is compared to a gun, and the hold that the boy has over Igor leads him to destroy other people and himself.
• Epic Rocking: "Gone, Gone / Thank You" is six minutes on account of it being two songs in one.
• Evil Laugh: At the start of "New Magic Wand."
• Face on the Cover: Completely black.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Referenced on "New Magic Wand." The phrasing is a specific Shout-Out to Erykah Badu's "Green Eyes."
  I saw a photo you looked joyous
  My eyes are green I eat my veggies
  I need to get her out the picture
  She's really fuckin up my frame
• The Igor: Deconstructed. The main character is meant to be one, as conveyed by creepy synths and references to Gothic villains, but the album fleshes out the effect this has on his emotional state and arc.
• Miniscule Rocking: "Exactly What You Run from You End Up Chasing", a 14 second interlude.
• New Sound Album: The album is more Alternative R&B and Neo Soul-influenced than previous records, and contains not as much rapping.
• Please, Don't Leave Me: Said verbatim on "New Magic Wand."
• Questioning Title?: "Are We Still Friends?"
• Sampling: Notable in Tyler's discography for containing samples, which he previously was opposed to using.
  • "Igor's Theme" samples "Attention" by Head West.
  • "I Think" samples "Special Lady" by Bibi Mascel and "Get Down" by Nkono Teles.
  • "Running Out Of Time" samples "Hit And Run" by Run–D.M.C..
  • "New Magic Wand" samples "Vsichni Praznj" by Sileutes 61.
  • "A Boy Is a Gun" samples "Bound" by The Ponderosa Twins Plus One.
  • "Puppet" samples "It's Alright With Me" by Part Time and "Today" by Czar.
  • "What's Good" samples "Black Grass" by Bad Bascomb.
  • "Gone, Gone / Thank You" samples "Hey Girl" by Cullen Omori, and "Fragile" by Tatsuro Yamashita.
  • "I Don't Love You Anymore" samples "Caramel" by Cluster.
  • "Are We Still Friends?" samples "Dream" by Al Green.
• Spoken Word in Music: All over the record using snippets of comedian Jerrod Carmichael.
• Straight Gay: Igor makes numerous allusions to being in love with a man, but the content and style of the music certainly aren't campy in any sense.
• Studio Chatter: On "Gone, Gone / Thank You" before the transition between songs. It's fitting for the song's themes.
  "Can we do it over?" "What?" "Everything."
• Yandere: "New Magic Wand" is about Igor planning to kill his love interest's new girlfriend.

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Can't say goodbye...

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