Tyler, The Creator Praises Will.i.am For Musical Influence, Says He’s “Still A Dipstick”
Tyler, The Creator hasn’t forgotten that Will.i.am “prayed on his downfall” almost 10 years ago, but he is still able to pay homage to one of his influences. The 32-year-old rapper gave the Black Eyed Peas founder and the rest of the group their flowers as their debut album Behind The Front hit 25 years.
“Will.i.am is still a dipstick BUT 25 years ago Behind The Front by the Black Eyed Peas (1998) released,” the Odd Future founder tweeted on Saturday (July 1). “One of the first Hip-Hop albums i owned. 7 years old, i wrote my first rap to the second half of ‘positivity’ (starts around the 5 minute mark). ‘the way you make me feel’ ( my favorite) melds perfectly with kim hills vocals, ‘joints and jams’ simple yet incredible video is still something i awe over and ‘love wont wait’… sheesh… still amazing!”
Tyler closed his tweet by saying that Behind The Front was his “introduction to the sounds of bossa nova” due to Will.i.am’s “great ear” for samples. He thanked his fellow Californian for “helping shape” his ear and giving him the inspiration to start writing raps, even if their relationship went sour back in 2013. This occurred because the 48-year-old veteran allegedly told the Call Me If You Get Lost artist that he would have to change his sound in order to survive.
Tyler, The Creator went on an impassioned Twitter rant in Oct. 2013, saying that he made a bet with Will.i.am. Ty said that he will be making money 10 years from then by doing the music he enjoyed making as opposed to the type of music that would make the most money.
“Ni**a said, ‘Then you make a decision on what to do to survive’ no ni**a that’s not how it is for everyone,” the “Wusyaname” rapper wrote. “Im not gonna make music I hate.”
“He’s so talented but he’s making butt sh*t to make bread, use the creativity for something tight man,” the GRAMMY winner wrote in another tweet. Even with how angry he was, he was still able to pay homage to Will.i.am, Black Eyed Peas, and their debut album. “Irony is that Behind The Front, the first Black Eyed Peas album, was the first rap album I ever liked when I was 7. Great beats haha,” he said to close his rant.
More from VIBE.com
Solve the daily Crossword
