Humans, mistakes and regrets are an irreparable part of us! And I stay away from you motherfuckers because nobody seems to respect that. Again, we’ll never be perfect because perfection is an ideal—a figment of the imaginations of people who dream of never being disliked, disapproved of, or disagreed with. All the fake shit that people do isn’t generally for them, it’s for whomever they believe or perceive is judging them. Hold up, let me learns y’all real quick. On humanity’s journey to our current quasi-intelligent condition, laws and traditions were created to evoke a sense of—and establish a state of—civilization. Those customs and conventions are meant to influence our habits and behaviors, so as to make humans less primitive and uncivilized than they once were. But in the process of determining the disparities between civilized and uncivilized, differences in beliefs among us formed division and disdain. And being at variance with humans who are fundamentally unwilling to or intellectually incapable of accepting that their norms aren’t everyone’s makes many of our differences irreconcilable. In simpler terms, the more “intelligent” humans got—meaning the more they concluded that each other’s ideas and beliefs were stupid—the more they insisted that objectors to rules and regulations needed oversight. To dumb it down once more, people possessing varying concepts of right and wrong in a world where nobody wants to be wrong means that everyone is wrong to someone. And the problem has always been that compromise also isn’t a commonly shared concept. When people feel empowered by fighting for something and accomplished by winning battles, expect fights to come from all directions. And while you live with that expectation, trust that there will be ceaseless casualties and counterattacks. Does that make sense to you? Instead of accepting that we’re all different, humans would rather try to force everyone to be the same. For instance, the entire concept of religion is based on people’s willingness to relinquish all their free will to a higher power—a more intelligent being—at which to be guided through one’s deity’s notion of an idealized life. But even if you aren’t religious, institutionalized educations—where one’s curriculum is controlled by “higher powers” with vested interest in one’s life decisions—are an obvious and old-fashioned method of indoctrination. It’s not difficult to comprehend why unadulterated freedom isn’t suitable for maintaining any state of law and order. But with that being said, why should any higher power alone have the freedom to define and enforce law and order? Well, historically, that’s the question that a system of government like democracy was supposed to answer. Yet, here we are in a world full of disgruntled, disenfranchised, disaffected, and disrespected deviants. Y’all, I’m sarcastic as fuck! If you’re scratching your head, I’m saying that all higher powers—be they deities, dictators, or political dickheads—consider one a deviant whenever one refuses to accede. Believe it or not, many people wouldn’t be able to cope with the fact that they’re imperfect if they didn’t have a higher power to submit to. And the majority of those people are sticklers for the most observable rules and regulations because they believe that serving a higher power—or greater purpose—is restitution for all the deviant things that their hateful asses do to people who they dislike, disapprove of, and disagree with. Motherfuckers are out here giving people every reason to hate them, and then hating people for hating them because they believe that they should have the right to make people hate them without being hated in return. I could say this a hundred different ways, but the moral of the story is, humans got life fucked up and it’s fucking up our lives. Why should anyone want to be more like you? Most people aren’t even honest, right? If no one’s told you, I would like to inform you that openly struggling to be normal doesn’t make you a more respectable person than someone who is outwardly being themselves without stress or shame. Sorry.
So, Tyler, the Creator is the latest rapper to rouse my narcissism with lyrics that land right outside my door, which is way too close to home. I wouldn’t go so far as to call “Chromakopia” a masterpiece, but there’s something magical about the sounds on this album. Years ago, I learned how much of a music nerd Tyler is by his appearances on Nardwuar Serviette’s YouTube channel. But prior to playing “Chromakopia” in its entirety this week, I hadn’t listened to a full Tyler album since “Wolf” in 2013. Following artists through the duration of their careers is a commitment that I’m seldom willing to make. But this album proves that Tyler isn’t an artist who can be shunned or shooed away, as not only has it received critical acclaim, but it debuted at number one on Billboard’s premier music chart and sold just shy of 300k copies the first week. That shit usually doesn’t matter to me, but in an era where nobody needs to pay for music, selling big is attestation to an artist’s overall value. I’m going to be honest, I like my artists like I like my porn—deglamorized! Nobody can truly relate to ideals. And though I’ve scolded people for being stupid and talking too much, saints and simps don’t appeal to me. Admittedly, my favorite humans have a little smut on them, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I won’t dick-ride the gay guy for too long, especially considering that there’s a rumor circulating that I’m gay, but “Chromakopia” was beautifully constructed and I’m now a permanent Tyler, the Creator fan. Also, I fully support the LGBTQ+ community. Again, shout-out to Frank Ocean, Joe Budden, Isaiah Rashad, Lil Nas X, and all the down-low bros. While I’m at it, shout-out to Doechii just for the fuck of it, who is currently my favorite rapper. Diverging slightly, Freddie Gibbs has literally never let me down. And the “Baby Face Killa,” who is Michael Jackson’s hometown neighbor, must’ve drank the “Jesus Juice,” because he’s rapping like he’s eager to get close to the “King” on his latest album, “You Only Die 1nce.” Okay, so, telling that joke right after showing my support for homosexuals may be a little wild—ass the kids say these days—but what is the internet for if not offending people? But what’s really gonna cook your noodle later on is, would have known that joke was offensive had I not pointed it out? Recognizing and understanding obscure cultural references is key in dissecting rap lyrics, and being ignorant to said references can make hip hop music a lot less exciting for the casual listener. And as a writer, I appreciate other creatives’ exploration of the many facets of literature and the general conveyance of messages. Articulating one’s thoughts plainly, or translating concepts into words, can be an endeavor sometimes. And great artists do that and then some, because they can verbalize a concept artistically—or figuratively—in ways that make misunderstanding their point nearly impossible. Deviating a bit, have you ever thought about the fundamental message that you attempt to convey the most? Like, if you could only convince people of one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? If you can’t answer that question swiftly, good. Because now you have a reason to sit and really think about who you are and what you’re willing to fight for. Whether you’re ready or not, remember that fights are always going to be approaching from all directions. When I say “they” and “them” don’t want you to be happy, know that applies to every sexuality that humans made up just so they’d have something to oppose. Y’all, all this shit is made up! Like I said before, many humans believe that intelligence is simply the ability to form their own thoughts, but they’re offensively oblivious to the fact that they’re incapable of thinking for themselves. Y’all, humans hate their differences so much that they’ve seemingly made all of them clinical disorders. Humans, y’all, something’s wrong with y’all! Peace.