Wyatt Ehr @wyattehr [Staff Writer]

Evolution is an important characteristic for any music artist, and this is shown very prominently on Tyler The Creator’s new album Cherry Bomb. With this new project Tyler chooses to veer away from his usual offensive lyrics, relying on mostly on shock factor for a more subdued sound, based around jazzy chords and calmer lyrics. This makes Cherry Bomb very polarizing for most of his fan base.

Growth seems to be a very central theme to this album. It is most obvious with the instrumentals. Musically Cherry Bomb is Tyler’s greatest album yet, also his most experimental. He abstains from the usual “hip hop” sound, for a jazzy, neo soul sound. This is one of the many reasons why this album can be difficult to swallow for the average listener.

There are many improvements made on this new project, but like every Tyler The Creator album, there are still flaws. While Tyler still continues to use homophobic slurs, which can make it a difficult listen, this isn’t the biggest problem on Cherry Bomb. The biggest annoyance is the mixing. Tyler chooses to turn the vocals very low on many tracks to switch the focus on the instrumentals. This overall does not pay off and can make Cherry Bomb unenjoyable at parts, and at some points completely unlistenable.

Theres no doubt that Cherry Bomb is flawed, can be loud, and sometimes obnoxious, but overall it is a good album. It pushes boundaries for what classifies a “rap” album, and with a mix of both hard hitting rap beats, and beautiful melodies, this continues to prove Tyler’s versatility as a musician. While Tyler still has more room for growth, he has taken a big step as an artist, and has proved he is here to stay.

Overall rating: 7.8/10