The artistic transformation of Tyler, The Creator, remains a phenomenon to witness within the scope of hip-hop and beyond. As a musician (singer, rapper and producer), video director and designer, he has repeatedly demonstrated his prowess, skill and knowledge, allowing him to transcend his peers in hip-hop. 

The cloth in which Tyler is cut stems from influences such as Stevie Wonder, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott and most notably, Pharrell Williams. This all-star-studded array of musicians sets Tyler apart from his peers, past and present. “Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale,” released on March 30, expresses Tyler’s transformation from making beats and rhymes with the Odd Future collective in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Additionally, it now shows the lifestyle and attitude he carries as a Grammy Award-winning musician for his albums “IGOR” and “Call Me If You Get Lost” respectively. Although he has always been boastful, Tyler now has the lens of retrospect, glaring at his past with a developed eye.  

Thematically as well as instrumentally, the artist continues the narration of his 2021 album with “The Estate Sale” acting as a deluxe version of the now two-year-old “Call Me If You Get Lost.” Tyler employs retrospect in his own way, threading the deluxe with callbacks to his past as well as a lush and beautiful optimism for the future. 

“I feel like these songs could have been like their own little EP but to make it a deluxe was kinda cool, like I think it’s better when a deluxe is that and not just dropping instrumentals for an album or like different versions of the same songs,” Miami Palmetto Senior High sophomore Mateo Papadopulos said. 

Track one on The Estate Sale, “Everything Must Go,”  presents Tyler extending his gratitude to his fans for what he has accomplished with the release of CMIYGL, including a sold-out arena tour and a Grammy win for the album. The vocals may sound very familiar to anyone who has seen Tyler perform on his 2022 tour for CMIYGL as they have an uncanny resemblance to vocals which the artist would play in between songs during his set. 

Track two “STUNTMAN,” featuring Vince Staples provides an enjoyable combination of artists; especially because the two toured the United States in 2022. The chemistry between the artists is apparent and the two go back and forth on the track as Tyler defines his version of flaunting his wealth and success as his enjoyment in life, rather than people’s expectations of him. 

The subsequent track “WHAT A DAY,” uses a beat produced by none other than Madlib. Madlib’s sonic influence on Tyler appears as Madlib originally produced the beat over 10 years ago. A relaxed beat laced with Tyler’s distinct vocals, alongside DJ Drama’s adlibs allows for the song to be a notable addition to the Call Me If You Get Lost tracklist. 

“WHARF TALK was crazy, WHAT A DAY was crazy… he probably could have put those on the album [2021’s CMIYGL],” Papadopulos said. 

The following tracks, “WHARF TALK” and “DOGTOOTH” are the two tracks commonly praised as those that could have easily made the original tracklist for 2021’s “Call Me If You Get Lost;” although this may be true, neither of these songs in the selection of the “Estate Sale” stand as the strongest in the tracklist. Although quality tracks, I believe songs such as the John Legend sampled “HEAVEN TO ME,” and finally track “SORRY NOT SORRY” are my favorite tracks on the deluxe. Although “HEAVEN TO ME” is one of my favorite tracks on both CMIYGL and The Estate Sale, I believe it worked perfectly as part of the deluxe rather than the main project in 2021. 

The house-influenced “BOYFRIEND, GIRLFRIEND,” is a catchy hint to the deluxe that adds a different flavor compared to that of the rest of the project. The groove of the track reminisces on the groove one may feel while listening to 2019’s “I THINK,” or even some of the music Tyler provided while in charge of the musical direction alongside Benji B in Louis Vuitton’s Fall/Winter 2022 show. 

“‘Sorry Not Sorry’ in my opinion might be his best song like with that video and everything, it’s actually insanely good,” Papadopulos said. 

SORRY NOT SORRY: a simply beautiful sendoff to the project and the CMIYGL era as a whole. The track’s music video contained all of Tyler’s past personas with each other and incorporated the characters in the rapping of the lyrics of the song. For example, in one section of the song the version of Tyler seen rapping is the version of himself in a green ski mask, a callback to what he and the rest of Odd Future would wear during the Goblin era in 2011.  

The characters in his IGOR and Cherry Bomb albums are also present, playing a more subtle role in the video. IGOR, a more reserved, yet explosive version of Tyler, 

While the Cherry Bomb wielding Tyler says nothing, signifying the onslaught of negativity the musician received towards his 2015 album during its release. The ending of the video shows Tyler, in his rawest form, no costume, no shirt even, killing his most recent persona, Sir Baudelaire from 2021. Fans understand this as the death of an old persona and the potential rebirth of Tyler within his next album rollout. Although the artist is constantly evolving, the next album may hold even greater significance toward fans’ understanding of who the artist truly is in his rawest form. 

The last track of CMIYGL, “SAFARI,” in 2021 had DJ Drama yelling the “Call Me If You Get Lost!” tag, which laces through the album alongside the iconic “Gangsta Grillz” tag and finally shouting “And like that we gone.” As in 2023’s The Estate Sale, DJ Drama calls back to this moment by shouting one last time, “so once again we gone!” A full-circle ending to an era, album and moment which provided countless goosebumps and memories for fans, and will continue to do so for years to come. What an era to experience, and all fans can expect is for Tyler, The Creator to keep evolving through every medium he touches.