Yesterday turned out to be a huge day for Tyler, the Creator, as results from last week’s Billboard 200 chart revealed that his sixth studio album, IGOR, had officially taken hold of the No. 1 spot, topping DJ Khaled’s Father of Asahd with 74,000 traditional copies sold.
IGOR, NUMBER UNO, STANK YOU
— T (@tylerthecreator) May 27, 2019
And for Tyler, this was a big deal.
Flower Boy debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard in 2017 and he is on record expressing how he felt he deserved to win best rap album over Kendrick and Jay-Z during that Grammy cycle before going on to win none at all.
With IGOR being his first number one, he finally feels like he’s getting the credit he deserves.
“Honestly didn’t think people would enjoy this album based on a lot of things, so again, thank you, I mean it,” he wrote in a Tweet.
“A lot, a lot of effort put into this. Not that that should dictate if people like it or not but I’m happy all that time and attention paid off,” he continued.
— T (@tylerthecreator) May 27, 2019
While the feat may be a milestone and personal accomplishment for Tyler, it also holds bigger implications being that it’s the first album in the history of Billboard to go number one that’s completely self-produced and self-arranged.
According to hip-hop stat account @HipHopNumbers, “69 rappers have gone No.1 on the Billboard 200” and “No-one has done this before.”
Tyler, The Creator created history today with IGOR
He's the first solo rapper in history to have a No. 1 album he produced and arranged by himself, no co-production or co-producer credits at all
69 rappers have gone No. 1 on the Billboard 200. No-one has done this before
— Hip Hop By The Numbers (@HipHopNumbers) May 27, 2019
Now, many may immediately think to J. Cole, who also produces, raps and infamously goes No. 1 without features, but that’s only half of what Tyler does.
While J. Cole may have been the executive producer on all his albums only featuring himself, that doesn’t mean he didn’t have co-producers or even composers who strung the records together.
Production speaks to the overall overview and management of the project but arrangement goes deeper into the musical structure, whether it be a single record or a whole album and Tyler did both.
Tyler posted the accolade on his Instagram story (as did his pal Solange), sparking conversation to the fact that he’s up for producing for other artists too. “Now who gone take a chance a let me produce for them,” the caption read on the screenshot.
The 12-track album released on May 17 is perfectly Tyler. It’s a rollercoaster of sounds, themes, and moods, all unique and fresh. With features ranging from Playboi Carti to Kanye, there’s no guessing on this project. No wonder why it’s been received so well.
Catch Tyler closing out his set at any of the festivals he’s headlining this year (Governors Ball, Firefly Festival, and his own Camp Flog Gnaw). Until then peep how he taps into his producer-self on IGOR.
https://tidal.com/album/109485854