Tyler, The Creator’s Grammy defeat with ‘Flower Boy’ only accelerated his artistic evolution, says Pharrell

Tyler, The Creator was heavily influenced by Pharrell Williams.

Missing out on one of the biggest awards in its field can be a disappointing and humiliating experience. But for the right person, it can be the motivation that inspires them to perfect their craft, becoming even more proficient and overcoming the flaws that held them back in the first place. According to pharrell williamsthat’s what happened to Tyler, The Creator when he fell short of the Best Rap Album award at the 2018 Grammy Awards. His 2017 album “Flower Boy” was light years from his previous work and drew inspiration from the work of Pharrell, Justin Timberlake It is Max Martinmaturing Tyler’s sound and expanding listeners’ understanding of rap musicianship and worldview.

But that wasn’t enough to impress Grammy voters. The first episode of Hulu’s newly released documentary series RapCaviar Presents, based on Spotify’s RapCaviar playlists, focuses on Tyler The Creator and find pharrell (one of Tyler’s biggest mentors) sharing his thoughts on the rapper’s growth — which he says was driven in part by the loss of the 2018 Grammys.

In fact, he says the loss was “one of the best things that ever happened to (Tyler) because it motivated him in a different way. Doing this to him only accelerated his growth. He realized he needed to go further – and he did. The result was, of course, the 2019 album “Igor”, which completely renewed the approach of Tyler The Creator.

That album won the 2020 Grammy for Best Rap Album… but it also took Tyler The Creator directly confronting it as a mostly sung album, it was still classified as a rap album, calling the win a “backward compliment”. That didn’t stop pharrell to share their heartfelt congratulations at the time.

In February, Tyler, The Creator said that pharrell was like a father to him and revealed advice that changed his life. “I didn’t have a father, I didn’t have an older brother… So, as a kid, since I was 10, 11 years old, Pharrell is who I looked up to”. The producer also appeared, revealing that admiration turned into friendship. “He asked me for advice on certain things,” said the artist.