[Album Review] Tyler The Creator’s Don’t Tap The Glass (I tapped it)
This new album from Tyler the Creator came as surprise, even to his fans. Considering it has been less than a year since the iconic Chromakopia dropped, I went into this project with an open mind as always and wound up having a good time. I confess - I sat for most of my listen, so I do need to do another playthrough purely to get my footloose on and adhere to the carefully curated instructions.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
There’s something a little less serious about DON’T TAP THE GLASS than Chromakopia, and I think that’s intentional. In the intro Big Poe (Feat. Sk8brd), it establishes that this album is the equivalent of the friend who pulls you off the wall at a party and won’t allow you to stand around and just watch. It wants you to participate in the tomfoolery and to let go, if only for a few minutes.
I get it. In the age where being perceived as cringe can be a bit of an invisible wall that gets in the way of something as pure as a genuine sense of play and connecting with another person through your shared love of music and listening with your whole body working as an antennae for the stank face when you’re feeling a snappy drum or bassline that takes you right back to pulling out the robot and pop-locking, regardless of where you were or who’s around.
I respect what the project is aiming for. Standouts for me include the infectious beat of Stop Playing With Me, the funky Ring Ring Ring which feels like something straight from early 2000s Pharrell. Don’t You Worry Baby (feat. Madison McFerrin) was another sonic time-capsule, sounding like the inside of a memory from the 90s. A perfect fit on a playlist with Drake’s Nokia.
Yebba’s hook on I’ll Take Care of You is one of my favorites for how simple but effective it is in contrasting the hard breakbeat that follows the softness of her vocal. I’m a fan.
Nostalgia is big right now. This album is a nod to that truth. We remember a time when we were less repressed by shame and were able to release our inhibitions to just have a good time. Even if this album or Tyler isn’t your cup of tea, I think you’ll find at least one record on here that evokes a familiar feeling that you simply can’t resist moving to.
And maybe that’s enough.
If it’s been a while since you’ve moved your body, consider this album an invitation to break out of that, and remember, DON’T TAP THE GLASS!
Listen Now
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