After the album’s massive success back in 2021, the legacy of Grammy award winning CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST continues through the addition of eight new songs, courtesy of this extended version. Tabitha Smith walks you through this ‘estate sale’ of old-but-new, delivered to you in punchy vibrance, as is Tyler’s trademark.
As these new songs lead straight on from CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST (CMIYGL), we start at track seventeen, EVERYTHING MUST GO, a play on the idea that these songs are being sold as leftovers;
tid-bits of this Baudelaire era to round off the project. Tyler admitted in a tweet that he really loved
a lot of the music he made for the album that ultimately got cut and so these eight incredible
additions fill in the gaps seamlessly. EVERYTHING MUST GO starts with Tyler’s applause and thanks
to everyone for the love and support he received from CMIYGL, something which marks this new
section of the album without it feeling too jaunty. And these new songs don’t feel like a stretch at
all; you can tell that they were produced in conjunction, with the same colourful vitality that has
come to define the CMIYGL era. The biggest giveaway, however, is the big booming voice of DJ
Drama, the album’s narrator, who continues his commentary throughout the new tracks. The album
was inspired by his Gangsta Grillz mixtapes, so it was only right to have him back to help complete
the project.
"Tyler is still as confident and unapologetic as ever, and he still has everything to brag about"
As if the original album didn’t boast incredible enough collaborations, these additional tracks see
Tyler team up with some of hip hop’s greats. The fact that WHARF TALK, featuring long-time
frenemy A$AP Rocky, didn’t make the original cut really speaks to the quality of the songs on the
original album. This is one of Tyler's top choices amongst the new tracks, and with its gentle
percussion underneath that smooth RnB beat, WHARF TALK definitely feels like a fast favourite. It
transitions nicely into the album’s lead single, DOGTOOTH, which is a lyrical mishmash of fierce
family loyalty and the defence of women who face criticism for their bodies. This is a contrast that
works surprisingly well, as Tyler is known for his tongue-in-cheek ‘feminism’, the best example of
which is his faux-innocent afterthought at the end of CORSO, ‘I don’t even like using the word b***h,
it just sounded cool’. If you phase out the part on this new single where he discusses the importance
of remembering his grandma, and performing oral sex, in the same breath, the theme of supporting
women sort of fits…
Not all the ‘new’ songs are entirely new, however. CMIYGL was full of riddles, right down to its
mysterious marketing tactics, and even the music videos were easter eggs. If you listen carefully
before Tyler starts performing at the birthday party in the CORSO video, you can faintly hear
BOYFRIEND, GIRLFRIEND (2020 Demo), the penultimate track on the rerelease. Featuring another
iconic collab in the form of a verse from YG, the song feels effortless through its infectious groove,
and there’s the ultimate satisfaction for fans who finally get a full version of that music video
snippet.
The new tracks also have some big names behind their production too, most controversially with
Kanye West collaborating with John Legend to produce HEAVEN TO ME. Sampling Legend’s 2006
song Heaven, which was also produced by Kanye, the song is curated from a mix of Tyler’s influences
from over the years. Despite recent events that have caused Kanye to step back from the spotlight,
Tyler hasn’t been afraid to share his gratitude towards the rapper when announcing the release of
the track on social media. Kanye is also credited as a writer, making for an interesting debate as to
whether this is a good strategy for the industry. On the one hand, the song is incredible, and Kanye is
lending his talent to better those around him, without being the face of the music itself.
Alternatively, this tact could be seen as allowing Kanye to use other artists as a mouthpiece to put
out work without drawing any more heat. Either way, Tyler certainly makes this track his own,
perfectly describing the beat as ‘a warm sound’, with that glowing quality cementing it in this near-
springtime that we’re currently experiencing.
This dreamy, springtime feeling is once again embodied in WHAT A DAY, even committing to
occasional sounds of birdsong in the background to lull the listener. A personal favourite of mine,
the track was produced by none other than legendary DJ, Madlib. The colourful layers of
instrumentation are a giveaway to his work, something which also inspired Tyler growing up,
detailing how this beat was something he used to skate home to. This dreamscape of ethereal hip
hop, alike to a lot of the other bonus tracks, are the product of working with life-long favourites.
From tweets and other interactions surrounding these new releases, Tyler seems in genuine
gratitude towards all his supporters and the people who have made this immense project come to
life, and now to a close. Despite this, Tyler is still as confident and unapologetic as ever, and he still
has everything to brag about, as fans are excited for what he could possibly have in the works to
follow up the grandeur of the CMIYGL era. With periodic album releases around every two years, we
can only hope for a new project by the end of the year to get excited for all over again.
Edited by Ali Glen
All photos courtesy of Tyler, The Creator's Instagram. Video courtesy of Tyler, The Creator on YouTube
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