Examining Lyrics: Tyler the Creator, ‘Cherry Bomb’

Tyler The Creator has never been one to hold back. Nope, the 24-year old underground rapper is arguably the rawest of the raw, exemplifying the mantra IDGAF. As brash as Tyler may be, his fourth studio album Cherry Bomb is explicitly brilliant. Besides his superb production skills, it is TTC’s biting, memorable rhymes that make his latest album notable. Here are 14 notable lyrics extracted from Cherry Bomb! 

1. “I hope you little n*ggas is listening / Them Golf Boys is in this bitch like an infant / the blind n*ggas used to make fun of my vision / and now I pay a mortgage and they stuck with tuition / so special the teacher asked if I was autistic / and now I’m making plates, you just washing the dishes”

– “DEATHCAMP”

You’ve got love Tyler’s wordplay here. There’s a little bit of everything including opposites, anti-educational stance, special education, and overall prominent status.

2. “I’m going harder than coming out the closet to conservative Christian fathers / when it’s a lot at stake carne asada let’s be honest, I’m really morphing / name the album Cherry Bomb because Greatest Hits sounded boring”

– “DEATHCAMP”

Sure, the reference to gay and conservative Christian is the ‘meat’ of this lyric, but what about Tyler’s clever use of “stake” and “carne asada,” Mexican “steak”? 

3. “God, goodness gracious / I can’t wait to see the look y’all n*ggas faces / that boy T is nuts, surprised his thoughts isn’t chaffing / f*ck them crackers up at Mountain Dew them n*ggas is racist”

– “Buffalo”

While anytime the word “chaffing” is used is both too much information yet fascinating, the bomb is when Tyler references the whole Mountain Dew commercial fiasco.

4. “And I ain’t bring no extra baggage for this trip / but I do bring a terror like I hate America”

– “Pilot” (Verse 1)

Simple – Self-explanatory and controversial, right?

5. “Come and light my fire, I’ll blow your f*ckin’ face off / N*gga I’m a god damn pilot / and I decide when we gon’ take off / let’s get it”

– “Cherry Bomb” (Verse 1 & 2)

This is a play on words once more. “Light my fire” generally references one of two things: the literal or sexual innuendo. It works in either context here, though follow-up “blow your f*ckin’ face off” seems to be more literal.

6. “The holy grail of your body, when you be kissin’ missus / This is a kid from Africa, you, you are the kitchen / I come quicker than pitches from Sammy Sosa…”

– “Blow My Load” (Verse 1)

S-E-X.

7. “Your p*ssy tighter than door hinges / I munch you like sandwiches… Face Time your c**t, I will jack off my dick / I go hard, shit / I might need an ice pack on my wrist…”

– “Blow My Load” (Verse 2)

Again it’s all S-E-X.

8. “Back when Left Brain had the hightop fade / and we would go skate on them concrete waves / and now I switch gears to hear the cylinders pump / the beat dumb don’t get it twisted boy my board’s in the trunk”

– “2Seater” (Verse 3)

He’s got a sick, sporty ride, but he hasn’t left behind that skateboard or upon deeper examination, his past – them good ole days!

9. “Can’t a n*gga get some f*cking chaos in here? / I’m the truth and the dare / and you can get your ass beat like a kick in a snare”

– “The Brown Stains of Darkeese Latifah Part 6 – 12 (Remix)” (Part 8)

Tyler The Creator loves to ruffle feathers. He’s brutally honest – he doesn’t care who he offends or ‘flips the bird’ to.

10. “A six year difference is a ten year sentence / and with the pigment on my skin / I don’t want to be another statistic / you bring me joy… / and you fill a void that was once missing / and I can say I’m in love”

– “F*cking Young / Perfect” 

She’s not legal apparently even though the age difference is only six years. He doesn’t want to get in trouble. Ultimately to him, she’s “perfect.”

11. “They say I’m nutty, a picnic basket / I’m short of a sandwich / a peanut butter, Boyce Watkin’s a f*ggot”

– “SMUCKERS”

Tyler, it’s not very nice to call people names. While TTC’s choice of word is inappropriate, it’s understandable why he doesn’t have much love for Dr. Boyce Watkins.

12. “My trigger finger wise but my nine dumb / middle finger blind so it’s f*ck A-N-Y one / f*ck, skate and die son, a hundred ways to die son / I’m starin’ at a tramp on lean, make my eye jump”

– “SMUCKERS” (Lil Wayne)

Lil Wayne is definitely ‘On’ here. Autopilot baby!

13. “My garden’s full from breaking these hoes / a handful of green and a couple of stones / your lawnmower’s foreign, you rent a home / but n*gga, how much of that shit do you own?”

– “Keep Da O’s”

Oh Tyler, you love to play on words don’t you? Gardens and hoes – both innocent things in one light and filthy in another – sigh. Then through in the weed, drop the obligatory ‘foreign’ reference’ and this set of lyrics is perfect.

14. “Let’s move to California / right now (pack your bags, go pack your bags) / I have wings on my back, so we don’t (take the plane, have to take the plane)…”

– “OKAGA, CA”

Two words – “California Dreamin’.”

Tyler, the Creator • Cherry Bomb • Odd Future • US Release: 4.13.15

Photo Credit: Odd Future/Columbia