The undiscussed beef between Tyler, The Creator & DJ Khaled
Tyler, the Creator is rarely seen in feuds, and any problem he has ever had with an artist has almost certainly remained behind closed doors. However, in 2019, a public dispute broke out between the Odd Future founder and DJ Khaled after an exchange of veiled insults.
Races to the top are not unfamiliar to hip-hop fans. In 2007, all eyes were on Kanye West and 50 Cent to see who would clinch number one when they released their albums on the same day and on May 17th 2019, the same happened but between Tyler, The Creator and DJ Khaled.
Khaled is known for recruiting the most famous artists in the world to appear on his projects, whereas Tyler, The Creator, is known for being a little bit more artsy and careful in the way he curates his albums. Furthermore, Khaled is renowned for making music designed for the charts. On the other hand, the Cherry Bomb rhymer is more focused on narratives and the idea of conceptual albums.
With this in mind, it was expected that DJ Khaled’s Father Of Ashad would undoubtedly grab the top spot. Boasting features from the likes of Cardi B, 21 Savage, Travis Scott, Jay-Z, The Migos, Future and even Beyoncé, the body of work was full of stars. Nonetheless, Tyler’s IGOR beat Father Of Ashad, creating a bit of bad blood between the two acts.
Following the news of Khaled losing, the DJ took to social media to send an indirect shot at Tyley, the Creator, writing, “I make albums so that people can play it, and you actually hear it. You know, drive in your car, and you hear another car playing it. You know, go to the barbershop, and you hear them playing it. Turn on the radio, and you hear them playing it. You know, it’s playing everywhere.”
He continued, “It’s called great music. It’s called albums that you actually hear the song — not no mysterious sh*t, and you never hear it.” Many saw this as an example of Khaled being a sore loser and not able to be happy for his fellow artists.
The Flower Boy rhymer didn’t receive Khaled’s comments well but instead approached it with humour. In an interview with Ebro Darden and Peter Rosenberg on HOT 97.0, Tyler responded, “Bro, that Khaled thing was fun. It was like watching a man die inside. Because the weirdo was winning. I was moonwalking in a wig!”
He admitted that although he didn’t like it, he wasn’t aiming for the top and asserted that Khaled’s ego was bruised by the experience, telling the hosts, “A piece of me really didn’t like that at all because I make music, but rap is my thing. I was already making alternative rap and not fully being accepted by the BETs. So, for some guy like that to kinda indirectly be like, ‘That ain’t real rap, that ain’t real Black music.’ That’s what it felt like… But I didn’t say nothing, I just let that number one speak.”
He concluded by attempting to sum-up DJ Khaled’s thinking, finishing, “His whole identity is ‘We the best, we the number one.’ When the underdog to him took that away from him, that n*gga ego was deflated. He’ll probably never admit it, and it’s no hard feelings towards him.”