⟵ Cherry Bomb • Flower Boy • Igor ⟶ Flower Boy (alternatively titled Scum Fuck Flower Boy, and FB or SFFB for short) is the fifth studio album by Tyler, The Creator. The album was released on July 21, 2017, by Columbia Records.[1]
The album revolves around imagery of gardens, flowers, and cars, as represented in its official cover. Flower Boy features vocals from a range of artists, including Frank Ocean, A$AP Rocky, Kali Uchis, Estelle, and Rex Orange County. The album was supported by four singles that helped propel the album to fame and earn him his first ever Grammy nomination, it being for Best Rap Album at my crusty ass basement.[1]
Background[]
The album came two years after the release of Cherry Bomb (2015), which was met with mixed to negative reviews. While Cherry Bomb contained more experimentation and less personal lyrics, Tyler said he wanted to go on a more structural and personal route for this album.[2] The album's title was going to be Scum Fuck Flower Boy, as indicated by its alternate artwork on CDs, vinyl, and cassettes, but it was renamed shortly before release.[3]
Tyler started working on the album in late 2015,[4] with the account @scumfuckflowerboy following some of its work between April 2016 and the release of the "See You Again" video.
For this album's composition, Tyler said he aimed to keep his rap verses short and to-the-point to give guest artists and instrumentation more of a focal point.[5] A sizeable amount of songs on the album feature guitars done by Austin Feinstein, the same guitarist who sung at the end of the music video for "PERFECT."[6]
The beat for "I Ain't Got Time!" originated from studio sessions with Kanye West while he was working on The Life of Pablo (2016). After West declined to use the song, Tyler asked Nicki Minaj to perform on it, but she couldn't think of any good lyrics to use.[2] Similarly, "Glitter" was written for Justin Bieber, but since he didn't reply to any of Tyler's calls, it went to this album instead.[2] "See You Again" was also written with Zayn Malik in mind to perform on it, but he flaked on recording twice.[7] "Who Dat Boy" was also rejected by ScHoolboy Q, despite claiming otherwise.[8]
Flower Boy is preceded by the "throwaway" tracks "FUCK IT" (2015) and "WHAT THE FUCK RIGHT NOW" (2016) which were released as YouTube uploads.[9][4] The album was leaked eleven days before release.[10] Tyler references this in his post-Flower Boy throwaway "ZIPLOC."[11]
Cover[]
The main cover, designed by Eric White, features Tyler wearing a green cap, white t-shirt and dark green pants while standing in a flower field with multiple bees roaming around him, one of the bees flying over his shoulder and obscuring his face. In the distance can his McLaren 675LT be seen on the road with it's doors open.
The alternative cover, designed by Tyler himself, features a picture of a bee with the words "SCUM FUCK" and "FLOWER BOY" above and below it. The cover also has the track list written on it. All the text on the cover use the font "Arial Black".
Track list[]
- Foreword (ft. Rex Orange County)
- Where This Flower Blooms (ft. Frank Ocean)
- Sometimes... (Skit/Introduction to See You Again)
- See You Again (ft. Kali Uchis)
- Who Dat Boy (ft. A$AP Rocky)
- Pothole (ft. Jaden Smith)
- Garden Shed (ft. Estelle)
- Boredom (ft. Rex Orange County & Anna of the North)
- I Ain't Got Time!
- 911 / Mr. Lonely (ft. Frank Ocean & Steve Lacy)
- Droppin' Seeds (ft. Lil Wayne)
- November
- Glitter
- Enjoy Right Now, Today
Singles[]
- Who Dat Boy / 911 (June 30, 2017)
- Boredom (July 11, 2017)
- I Ain't Got Time! (July 19, 2017)
- See You Again (August 29, 2017)
Music videos[]
- Who Dat Boy / 911 (June 29, 2017)
- See You Again / Where This Flower Blooms (August 8, 2018)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Flower Boy. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Eferighe, Joshua (n.d.). "5 jewels Tyler, the Creator gave us in his new interview about 'Flower Boy'". KultureHub. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ↑ Strauss, Matthew (July 19, 2017). "Tyler, the Creator's New Album Not Actually Titled Scum Fuck Flower Boy". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "WHAT THE FUCK RIGHT NOW" by Tyler, The Creator. Genius. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ↑ Harling, Danielle (July 25, 2017). "Tyler, The Creator explains why every rap on "Flower Boy" is "Ridiculously Important"". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ↑ Dandridge-Lemco, Ben (July 21, 2017). "Meet Austin Feinstein, The L.A. Guitarist All Over Tyler, The Creator's Flower Boy Album". The FADER. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ↑ Thomas, Helen Meriel (September 17, 2017). "Tyler, the Creator reveals he originally wrote 'See You Again' for Zayn Malik". NME. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ↑ Cowen, Trace William (January 22, 2018). "Tyler, the Creator and Jerrod Carmichael Talk All Things 'Flower Boy' in New Hour-Long Conversation". Complex. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ↑ "FUCK IT" by Tyler, The Creator. Genius. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ↑ Cheung, HP (July 10, 2017). "Tyler, The Creator's New Album 'Scum F*ck Flower Boy' Leaks". HYPEBEAST. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- ↑ Annotation on "Ziploc" by Tyler, The Creator. Genius. Retrieved October 18, 2022.