If he doesn't completely succeed at this, it's because it's his first foray into the type of self-reflection we've come to expect from artists like Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West and JAY-Z. This is a Tyler who has opened himself up emotionally in an attempt to mature not only his sound, but himself. This isn't the loud, boisterous Tyler of albums past. The closest examination of this is on 'Boredom,' where Tyler muses over lost friendships and aimlessness. It's fitting that it was released the same week as Lana Del Rey's Lust for Life, because both albums employ a sense of winking nostalgia to address the afflictions of ennui, anxiety, and sexual desire. It feels blond and extravagant and yet completely personal at the same time.

Much of Tyler's career has revolved around complex beats juxtaposed with his staccato, almost deadpan delivery. What does it mean if Tyler is actually coming out on Flower Boy? Does it absolve his past sins if he's been queer the entire time? Call it naiveté, though, but when I heard 'Where This Flower Blooms,' his duet with Frank Ocean on Flower Boy, I finally felt Tyler's soul as he earnestly pleas: 'Tell these black kids they could be who they are.' It felt less like a gesture to a community he's mocked and more like a urge to keep finding ways to love himself. And despite his insistence that his 'gay fans' don't mind offensive language, words do have meanings, and a stark 'faggot' on a track isn't easy to disassociate for the purposes of Tyler's juvenile ideology.

He's been able to navigate a successful career because he hasn't been seen as a queer artist. It absolves nothing to me, personally, if Tyler has been queer this entire time. But if he was never an active member of that community, does he earn his past? Is it acceptable if someone hasn't publicly identified as queer but uses queer language? That's a harder question to parse, but Tyler is all about presenting alter egos and mischief and there's still the possibility that all of this is a clever façade to sell albums. What does it mean if Tyler is actually coming out on Flower Boy? Does it absolve his past sins if he's been queer the entire time? It would stand to reason that those instances could be explained as reclaiming his own community's language. But the concept of a straight rapper, with young male fans reinforcing that usage of the word 'faggot' was okay and cool has always rubbed me the wrong way. I don't want anyone to think I'm homophobic.' He's often compared it to black colloquial usage of the n-word, which is fair, if you're gay. I don't know, we don't think about it, we're just kids. I just think 'faggot' hits and hurts people. In an interview with NME he said: 'I'm not homophobic. Whatever Tyler's intent, the album has the word 'fag' or 'faggot' on it nine times, and his stance on the word has forever been bullshit. Sometimes I make concessions, particularly with previous-era rap, but in regards to Tyler, the last time I'd bothered listening to one of his records was 2011's Goblin: an unambiguously homophobic record. As a gay black man and a hip-hop fan, I've had to draw the line at what I will and won't listen to. Who among us hasn't asked for forgiveness? The last album I ever expected to write about with any sort of sentimentality was one by Tyler, the Creator.

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