CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST
(Felicia) The goat returns from his emcee hiatus, picking up the mic once again (and of course offering an infinite spectrum of soundscapes) in his insanely abundant ‘CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST’ album.
Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, you’ve only gone and possibly cultivated THE most kaleidoscopic project that’ll grace our ears this year, if not for many more to come - I know we don’t brand projects with ratings at The Pit, but this one right here… worthy of 5 stars no doubt, actually make that the music equivalent of 5 Michelin Stars. Overflowing with a cache of incalculable genre-bending offerings, ‘CALL ME…’ will leave you utterly perplexed at this man’s sheer multifariousness; whether he’s hopping from serenading his ‘sugar’, travelling back to the 80’s to produce finger-snapping slow jams or exercising his demons within that nostalgic ‘Goblin’ era flow - Tyler continues to present his all-encompassing soundscape on the highest of pedestals. Seriously though, Tyler’s ear for music is honestly out of this world, the man’s discography is a never ending renaissance in itself and this conscious seizing affair see’s Tyler spin every one of our minds yet again.
Heading into this album I had absolutely zero clue of what I was getting myself into, I hadn’t actually given the album a listen until the week tailing the release, so I’d just settled myself in for a luxurious IGOR 2.0 listening experience … *30 seconds into SIR BAUDELAIRE* ‘GANGSTA GRIZZILLS!’ - just like Carti’s pause in ‘Place’ on WLR, I just thought the damage to my phone over the years had it bugging or something - but no, it turns out trap pioneer DJ Drama had indeed linked up with Tyler, in an unexpected collaboration seeing the matured musician reincorporate an essence of his soundscape’s adolescence, returning to the defiant days of ‘Wolf’. Little did I know what else was in store for me throughout this sweet-sixteen track project.
Five offerings down and the hyperbolic LUMBERJACK abruptly cuts, and I’m greeted with a harmonious flute, fluctuating throughout the air. Paired with paralleled orchestral percussion, Tyler breaks off into a hypnotic cadence linking both boom bap delivery and unorthodox subject matter cohesively, showcasing his poise as the wordsmith he truly is deep down. Following DJ Drama getting one more producer tag in, Mr ‘Young Mulla Baby’ hops on yet another project of Tyler’s, switching it up this time going berserk with an erratic flow, all before cascading into that divine symphony once more that could comfortably hold a place radiating throughout one of Casablanca’s ever so elegant fashion shows.
Coming out the back end of Lil Wayne’s contribution, those fruitful flutes suddenly tie in with a repetitive ‘on hold music’ inspired melody, while Tyler saunters through, as he casually converses with his audience; empowering us to chase our passions and reminiscing the eye-opening experience of fleeing LA for the first time, and breaking out his ‘bubble’. Mid-sentence, the uplifting sequence is abruptly interrupted by a snare dominated rolling drum sequence, as ‘MASSA’ makes its presence known.
‘MASSA’ presents the globe-trotting Tyler Baudelaire setting off on an ascending adventure, as he begins on ground-level, solemnly coasting across a pensive instrumental, delving into his journey through adult-hood and maturing: ‘that caterpillar went to cocoon/I was shiftin’, that’s why Cherry Bomb sounded so shifty’. Tyler picks up the pace at an ascending rate as soon as those euphoric synths come into play, taking us from his darker ‘Bastard’ days, into that radiant ‘IGOR’ flare; providing a climbing vigour in delivery, paralleled to the rising soundscape, as he lays everything out flat with his ‘chest out’: ‘I paint full pictures of my perspective on these drum breaks/just for you to tell me ‘it’s not good’, from your lunch break’ - not to mention fuelling the never ending debate of his sexuality with that introspective ‘everyone I ever loved had to be loved in the shadows’ line.
‘MASSA’ really has my inner 12 year old self smiling, especially with that ‘ummm’ flow… those Odd Future days were too iconic, got me reminiscing as I’m sat here writing away - remember when Theresa banned my man from the UK for being ‘a threat to the public’… ahh, the good ol’ days. However, after being outlawed from not one, but two countries in the past, the rapper states he’s ‘not that little boy y’all was introduced to at 19’, he’s ‘calmed down’ since then - but quite frankly ‘MANIFESTO’ proves he still couldn’t give a toss (not sure if I’m allowed to swear on here lol) about anyone’s judgement, as the unfiltered artist delves into the rather touchy ‘cancel culture’ we live in: ’I was cancelled before cancel was with twitter fingers/lil white b*tch gon’ say, ‘you need to say something about that’, b*tch suck my d-’.
Now, when I say I wasn’t ready to hear this next track… man, this one here was just the ‘cherry’ on top in my eyes—the ‘bomb’ *;)*. A seamless 10 minute-long two-parter see’s Tyler bring back those flutes one more time for the soothing intro, easing us into a shimmering Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark type beat, honing a plethora of chilling 80’s synthesisers within this swaying pop number. Sonically, I was already made up with this track, plus Tyler expressing that raw vocal range he posses is always a pleasant addition to any track, but when Brent came through… nah, it was over - when I heard that ‘got a smile that can light up a planet, yeah-e-yeahhh’, straight goosebumps. The call to get this generation’s slow jams king on this number was just what we needed, well I know I did anyways - and yes, I do know Giveon is very much thriving right now within the realm of slow jams too, but Brent is just… well, it’s Brent man, what else do I have to say. This brudda really said ‘fuck the world I’m a walking erection/don’t be mad you know how Brent is’, that’s just confidence I dream to attain.
But wait… there’s more. As I previously mentioned this track was a two-parter and if you thought that first half was insane, then you aren’t even ready for the switch up. Wound-down into another sequence of laid-back monologue, followed by idyllic elevator music and heavenly harmonies, Tyler does the unthinkable, taking us to the tropics with a care-free 60’s reggae inspired rhythm, seeing him partner up with the angelic Fana Hues to address the heartbreak that befalls him shortly after his previous period of infatuation. The ‘What makes you think…’ hook is intoxicating, and will no doubt have you in a two-stepping trance like any uncle at a function, but when Fana and Tyler break off into that acapella duet at the end - it honestly had me considering whether this project may just take the spot over Greentea Peng’s ‘Man Made’, and that’s saying a lot. I mean the man even punched in a few dancehall sirens just for the culture, so if you haven’t already ran this one up a few times, take the advice from the Vox at the start and *run the track!*
I could honestly go on about this album all day - there were actually a few more I wanted to get into (RISE!, JUGGERNAUT and WILSHIRE) but I think the word count is a bit mad now *sorry* - I’m not even the everyday Tyler fan I used to be, but this project is probably one of the most cohesive pieces of work I’ve heard in a while, I don’t think there’s one track without a green heart next to it now I think about it. ‘CALL ME…’ cements Tyler’s name amongst fellow generational talents to come, proving ‘rappers’ can have a multitude of layers both sonically and as a whole - this offering truly showcases Tyler in his finest form yet, continuing to push himself out of his ‘bubble’ (but I’m pretty sure he could even kill some heavy metal if he really wanted to) and wholly presenting himself in what seems be his most content period in life so far, expressed vividly on ‘BLESSED’.