Tyler, The Creator, THAT GUY | Song Review

Grammy-winning rapper Tyler, The Creator releases his dope freestyle, “THAT GUY,” sampling a Kendrick Lamar beat.

Word.  Ask yourself this question.  Does Grammy-winning rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer Tyler, The Creator ever drop a dud? No. “THAT GUY” continues the utmost consistency of one of the more intriguing artists, regardless of genre, in the game.  Also, ask yourself this question: does the background sound familiar? If you are a fan of Kendrick Lamar, you’ll recognize that this freestyle samples “hey now” from GNX.  Beyond the big-time K-Dot sample, Tyler samples Baby Keem ( “Booman” ) and himself (“Rah Tah Tah”). Ultimately, “THAT GUY”  TOTALLY SLAPS, NO CAP! Tyler, The Creator wrote it alongside Kendrick Lamar, Jack Antonoff, Mustard, Sounwave, Fabo, Slick B, and Dody6.  He produced it with Mustard, Sounwave, and Antonoff.

“THAT GUY” begins somewhat mysteriously, with odd, unsettling sound effects. This sets the tone for this banger. Soon enough, the signature badass, hard-nosed West Coast beat (“hey now”) provides a mean anchor.  As usual, Tyler, The Creator eats, leaving no crumbs.  He’s bold, confident, and unapologetic. He delivers a captivating cadence and flow.  “LaFerrari popping on the 40 with the 5 / One ticket, two ticket, three ticket, four million,” he asserts in the first verse, and adds, “Lil’ Bunny Hop out, you seen me at The Pop Out / Pandemonium screaming like they brought Pac out.” Woo!  He doesn’t stop there.  He memorably raps in the second verse, “All these women is a habit / Boyfriends mad ‘cause they thought I was a f— (Hey now).” Oh, Tyler, never change! And there’s more: “One whip, two whips, black bitch, blue strips / Green face Grinch, Tyler on his Dr. Seuss shit.” D-d-damn! The chorus, unsurprisingly, is ‘kind of a big deal’:

“Hey now, say now, I’m all about them bands

Shit, I’m on, bitch, you wouldn’t understand.”

With a minimalist, beat-led backdrop initially, “THAT GUY” adds the bright, dynamic, and triumphant pad (again, “hey now”) that exemplifies the West Coast sound.  The minimalism returns, but that big wall of sound briefly reappears to conclude “THAT GUY.”  All told, “THAT GUY” is another winner from the compelling and creative Tyler, The Creator.  It gets high marks for its performance, rhymes, and production.  Even Tyler’s freestyles are nothing short of fine shyt. “Big stud energy the way I get my lick back, huh.” Hell yeah!

---

Tyler, The Creator » “THAT GUY” » Columbia Records » 6.23.26 [📷: Columbia Records]

---