Tyler, The Creator criticises Kanye West for recent use of backing vocals
Tyler, The Creator has become one of the most respected figures in hip-hop, not just because his music is great, but because he always speaks his mind, even if it’s to criticise a longtime friend. The rapper, whose real name is Tyler Gregory Okonma, has admired Kanye West and his music for years but recently decided to call him out for a decision he made during a live performance.
Okonma has cited West as a major influence on several occasions, but recently he decided to criticise the rapper for a video he posted of him performing ‘On Sight’ at his coveted Korean show. Taking to the comments section, Okonma gave his peer feedback about performing with a backing track.
Under the video, Okonma wrote: “N***a u was right there just say the words!!!!” He added three heart eyes emojis after the fact likely in an attempt to soften his statement, but he managed to get his point across nonetheless.
Aside from having worked together in the past, Okonma has always expressed his admiration for his fellow rapper, who has returned the favour by describing him as an “artist, innovator, and a good mentor.” West also said, “he’s so talented and understands things.” Clearly, therefore, this latest stunt is another of Okonma’s moves to inject more honesty into the industry, despite who he offends in doing so.
The artist has made a series of remarks recently, some about his peers and their relationships and others about the industry as a whole. For instance, he shared his views on the current state of rap with Maverick Carter on Mavericks, revealing that he is disillusioned with many rappers in the game at the moment.
“There are so many n****s out right now who aren’t musicians, that are getting treated like musicians because they make meme records,” Okonma said. He didn’t name any specific musicians, but it’s not too difficult to hazard a guess. He added, “[They] publicly will be like, ‘I don’t give a fuck about music, I just do this shit for money.’”
Although some of his comments may seem confident and relentless, the rapper does reflect on his previous statements and calls himself out if needed. This was demonstrated on the same podcast when he said he believed he owed Eminem an apology for dissing his album Recovery almost 15 years ago because his views had since changed.
Discussing the Detroit rapper, Okonma noted how he publicly stated that he hated the album when it first came out. However, after being further educated on addiction earlier in the year, the rapper has admitted his perspective on drugs, and subsequently, the album has changed. He said, “I thought I was like just like ‘I don’t like the music’. He was in a different part of his life and probably felt like I was attacking him. And now I feel so bad about saying that stuff because my perspective was so limited.”
It’s unlikely that West will respond to Okonma’s latest Instagram comment publicly, but it’s clear that this likely won’t be the first or last instance depicting the rapper criticising his friends and peers, no matter how long they have engaged in mutual admiration.