Tyler, The Creator’s Early Influences and Teenage Years

Tyler, The Creator's career trajectory signifies a shift away from traditional music industry gatekeeping. His use of platforms such as Tumblr bypassed conventional music industry channels and directly connected with his audience. Tyler's self-directed, independent approach has become a model for aspiring artists. His journey from a teenager recording music in his bedroom to a GRAMMY-winning artist is widely considered culturally significant. Tyler, The Creator's high school rap endeavors contributed to a substantial shift in hip-hop culture by bridging the gap between MCs, skateboarders, and visual artists.

The rapper and singer's musical style is shaped by three key influences — Eminem's controversial lyricism, Pharrell Williams' creative nonconformity, and MF DOOM's experimental approach. These three artists contributed to Tyler's unique artistic identity. With his unconventional vision and distinctive sound, Tyler, The Creator inspires up-and-coming artists. Read on to learn more about when Tyler, The Creator first started rapping, his early influences, and how he fundamentally disrupted hip-hop's traditional boundaries to open the genre to a new generation of misfits and creatives.

Tyler Gregory Okonma was born on March 6, 1991, in Hawthorne, California. His father is of Nigerian descent, and his mother is of African American and white Canadian ancestry. Growing up, Tyler's home life was unstable. He never met his father, and there was no strong male presence in his life. Tyler attended 12 different schools in the Los Angeles and Sacramento areas during his primary education. Despite these challenges, his artistry and creativity flourished, and he dreamed of becoming a musician. 

When Tyler was just 7 years old, he would remove the covers from his compact discs and replace them with his own artwork featuring albums he hoped to create one day. He even included a list of songs and their runtimes. At the time, Tyler didn't even know how to make music. He taught himself to play the piano at the age of 14. During Tyler, The Creator's teenage years, he also took a keen interest in skateboarding. He learned by watching videos and playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. 

Tyler, The Creator first started rapping in the late 2000s. He worked odd jobs at FedEx and Starbucks before deciding to make music his full-time career. In 2007, he co-founded the hip-hop collective Odd Future. He was just 16 years old at the time. The following year, the group released its first mixtape, The Odd Future Tape Vol. 1. 

Over the next few years, Odd Future members also worked on various solo and collaborative projects. Tyler released his first YouTube video in February 2008 and continued to post videos until October 2009, when he stopped to focus on his self-produced debut album, Bastard , which was released for free on the Odd Future Tumblr page in December 2009. 

Eminem had a major influence on Tyler, The Creator's musical approach. Few artists had as big an impact on hip-hop culture in the 2000s as Eminem. He became one of the best rappers in the world, breaking down cultural barriers in an industry that was predominantly African American at the time. He resonated with Tyler as a young artist who also wanted to push the boundaries of what was possible. Tyler, The Creator was inspired by Eminem's 2009 album Relapse while penning his album Bastard.

Despite Tyler's adoration of Eminem, in 2017, he took to Twitter to criticize the rapper's collaboration with Beyoncé on the track "Walk on Water." Eminem retaliated by hurling a homophobic slur at Tyler in the single "Fall" from his Kamikaze album. When The Guardian asked Tyler about the diss in a 2019 interview, he shrugged it off, stating "He felt pressured because people got offended for me. Don't get offended for me." Tyler's response to the situation showed his mature perspective on artistic criticism.

Pharrell Williams was another of Tyler, The Creator's early inspirations. By the early 2000s, Williams was one of the most respected hip-hop artists. As one half of the production team The Neptunes, he was in demand by many key industry figures. In addition to his innovative approach to music, Williams was a cultural icon. He was one of the first respected personalities in hip-hop who didn't have a gangster aesthetic. This resonated deeply with Tyler. 

During Tyler, The Creator's teenage years, he looked up to Williams as a role model. He was 15 years old when the artist released his debut solo album, In My Mind. At the time, Tyler didn't fit in with his peers and felt lost. He would daydream about a better life but couldn't see a path forward. Williams' track "You Can Do It Too" gave Tyler hope. 

In 2013, Tyler proved dreams do come true when he worked with his idol on the track "IFHY" for his third studio album, Wolf. Since then, Tyler and Williams have partnered on several songs, including "Keep Da O'S" in 2015 and "Are We Still Friends?" in 2019. In 2024, Tyler, The Creator launched a clothing collection with Louis Vuitton, where Williams served as the creative director of menswear.

During Tyler, The Creator's teenage years, MF DOOM was at the height of his career. The artist was known as much for the mask he wore to conceal his identity as the clever wordplay he incorporated into his songs. When Tyler, The Creator first started rapping, he was heavily influenced by MF DOOM's experimental production techniques, including his unconventional mixing styles. The rapper's distinctive approach helped shape Tyler's artistic identity during his high school years.

Tyler, The Creator's early influences shaped his career and the broader hip-hop landscape. His evolution from the 16-year-old founder of Odd Future to a renowned artist was only the beginning. In May 2019, IGOR became the artist's first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. That same year, The Wall Street Journal named Tyler, The Creator Music Innovator of the Year. He won the GRAMMY for Best Rap Album in 2020 for IGOR and another for Call Me If You Get Lost in 2022. Explore Tyler, The Creator's early work and how it continues to resonate in contemporary hip-hop.