Tyler, the Creator is famously an unabashed Pharrell and Neptunes disciple. However, another of his strongest influences is Kanye West. Any producer-rapper can adore Ye’s level of craftsmanship in his beats and the zany humor he would weave into his rhyming. It’s more than evident through Tyler’s career that they share a lot of the same tendencies. Consequently, when they eventually came together on “SMUCKERS“, it felt like a full-circle moment.
This affinity for Kanye stuck with Tyler, the Creator, even in the most turbulent times. When ye came out during the summer of 2018, the Chicago legend was constantly making controversial headlines. He visited the White House to visit Donald Trump and donned the Make America Great Again hat in one moment. The next, he claimed slavery was a choice. Lots of artists and fans left Kanye behind at that point. Still, Tyler stood up for his music above all else.
During an August 2018 conversation with GQ, the interviewer asked Tyler, the Creator about his feelings on the Kanye album that came out that summer. There, he reveals that “Violent Crimes“, the album’s tender closer, made him cry. The sheer musicality was enough to move Tyler in a profound, spiritual way.
Tyler, the Creator Reveals How ‘Violent Crimes’ Made Him Sob
“Those chords, like, fucking—I can’t explain what they do to me. I always talk about chords and probably sound like a fucking dork, but since I was fucking 4 years old, I would always say it was a slant or it went up,” Tyler, the Creator explains. “‘Cause I didn’t know what chords were, but it was a thing that music did that I just felt in my fucking body. And that was the most recent song that did it to me. Like, 1 out of 10, that shit did it a 12, and I just—my eyes just started watering. I couldn’t explain it. I hope when I die it gets explained to me.”
Sadly, earlier this year, Kanye had some serious criticisms to air out about Tyler, the Creator. Back in April 2025, when he was still using X (formerly Twitter), he threw shots at Tyler and Kendrick Lamar, deeming them overrated. “Name one good Tyler The Creator bar Name an actual good Kendrick line Like you really wish you had said that level bar,” he wrote at the time.
“Broooo Kendrick Lamar can not rap,” he claimed. “Wayne got waaaay more life bars I got more bars Kendrick doesn’t have one bar where I say I wish I said that Kendrick and Tyler the two most overrated so called artist Please order more security… Kendrick and Tyler raps are about equal honestly.”
The post Tyler, the Creator Reveals the Kanye West Song That Made Him Cry: ‘I Hope When I Die It Gets Explained to Me’ appeared first on VICE.
