Written by Krish Gondhi
In 2019, one of the most unique and cutting-edge artists in hip-hop dropped an album that nobody saw coming. When Tyler, the Creator came out with IGOR, everybody was surprised by the futuristic production and Tyler’s new vocal inflections and delivery. However, the aspect of the album that people found most compelling was the story telling. Through the album’s 11 songs, Tyler tells the story of a complicated love triangle through his eyes. This album breakdown will deconstruct this tale, song by song, and explain how it reveals the album’s overall themes.
IGOR’S THEME
The album begins with a droning synth key backed with intruding shouts and screams throughout the track. While it contains minimal lyrical content, there are two halves to the song, with one lyric each that, in a sense, perfectly summarize the album. The first half of the intro track repeats the lyric “Riding ‘round town,” which symbolizes Tyler chasing his lover to get them to fall in love with him. The second half repeats the lyric “Got my eyes open,” which symbolizes Tyler realizing the destructive nature of his habits.
EARFQUAKE
We meet Tyler’s love interest, who is about to end their relationship. Tyler tries to convince him to stay, blaming himself for the relationship’s poor state, knowing he hasn’t been the best partner. We see that he is highly dependent on his partner. While Playboi Carti’s feature on the song doesn’t add anything to the album’s progression, it is a nice piece of ear candy that keeps us hooked on the music.
I THINK
Tyler admits in the song that chasing his lover is messing with him, but at this point the bond he grew between them is unbreakable and inescapable; he continues to long for his attention. He tries to tell his partner he grew real feelings for him now, but can’t find a smooth way to do so. Through doing this, we see that his dependency on his lover starts to become unhealthy. His lover practically has him in a trance: “I’m your puppet, you’re my Jim Henson.”
RUNNING OUT OF TIME
He continues to drown himself in his partner’s love, but realizes there are two main obstacles in the song: time, which Tyler needs more of if he is to convince his lover to stay, and a more shocking one, his partner’s ex-girlfriend that he regains interest in. Tyler asks him to “take off his mask” to reveal his sexuality, which will eliminate the girl from his problem. Nevertheless, the end of their relationship seems imminent.
NEW MAGIC WAND
The start of this song states that “You gotta close a door to open a new window.” Tyler can see that the boy he’s chasing is still chasing after his ex, so the new window Tyler opens is finding a new tactic to get closer to his partner, which is getting a new magic wand to make his partner’s ex-girlfriend disappear, aka killing her. The magic wand is most likely a metaphor for a gun. The album takes a sinister turn and Tyler’s jealousy grows out of control so much that he threatens to kill his partner and his ex out of anger.
A BOY IS A GUN
This is an important song in the album because it can be considered a moment of realization. Tyler acknowledges that just like a gun, love can be a very dangerous thing to mess with, both mentally and physically. But a gun can also make you feel secure, which is why it’s hard for Tyler to let go. However, realizing that he is starting to be controlled, he decides to distance himself from his lover, asking him to stay “away from him.”
PUPPET
Tyler still acknowledges his dependence on his partner, but is learning to get over him. At the beginning of the song, he wants to visit his lover again due to his dependency, which is ironic since that is the same thing that pushed Tyler away from his lover (exactly what you run away from you end up chasing). Tyler further enforces his dedication to and dependence on his lover in this song, but at the same time, thinks about whether his romantic gestures even matter at this point, now that his lover is edging towards the girl. Kanye’s ad-libs serve as Tyler pondering these thoughts.
WHAT’S GOOD
Tyler has come to his senses. We see that his persona, known as IGOR, has surfaced. This alter ego can be thought of as a way for Tyler to repair his ego and forget the heartbreak he’s endured. Eventually it works, and Tyler’s “eyes are open,” giving him much greater clarity of his situation. This track is also one of the hardest Tyler songs ever.
GONE GONE/ THANK YOU
This is a two-part song. The first part of the song finds Tyler reminiscing on the love triangle he was part of, and what he felt. Now that his eyes are open, he is ready to admit that the relationship is officially over. He is just glad that he was able to find someone, even if it wasn’t a long-lasting relationship. He finally accepts that the girl has won, and just wishes his lover to have a good life with her. His soul is crushed, though, because he knows that he could’ve started something worth living for. Nonetheless, IGOR is ready to move on. He simply thanks his partner for the good memories and good times. He states that because of what he’s been through, he doesn’t want to ever fall in love again.
I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE
On this track, Tyler seems to be getting over his partner and moving on, but all of it is just a ploy to cover the truth: his heartache is only continuing to pile up. He lies to himself because of the pain he’s endured. The reason that he has a high-pitched voice is to represent an angry tone, which is also him lying to himself. Despite how many times he lies to himself, tells himself he won’t love again, his love for his partner won’t go away. The relationship might have ended—but Tyler still wants him.
ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?
Knowing that the relationship can never happen again, Tyler hopes that he and this person can still be friends, his only way of staying close to him. He fears that this won’t actually happen, which shows that there is still some dependency. Tyler can never really let go of this love, and this is shown in the final line of the entire album: “Can’t say goodbye.”
Overall, the album has 6 main segments:
- Falling in love with someone new and developing a deep bond with them
- Hurting them and trying to get them to stay in your life by apologizing
- Chasing after him/her, developing an unhealthy dependency
- Realizing that the dependency is unhealthy and that the relationship must end
- Actually ending the relationship and attempting to move on
- Failing to do so and finding a way to still stay close to this person
Tyler’s intricate storytelling and world-building on the album is nothing short of impeccable, as IGOR perfectly encapsulates the cycle of heartbreak.
Scribemen Magazine 