Before the Grammy Award-winning artist, Tyler the Creator, shot to fame, he witnessed his bouts of failure. His early jobs at FedEx and Starbucks gave him a sneak peek into the career path he wanted to settle on. He had the choice of either following an ambition of wanting to be more in life or settling on paychecks at the end of the month – he chose the former.
However, he couldn’t find any source of motivation or inspiration until he came across the lyrics of American rapper Pharrell Williams’ debut solo album, ‘In My Mind’.
It is understandable why Tyler connected with the line, ‘You Can Do It’. He spent a week and four days at his first job at FedEx; he found the work environment uninspiring and depressing because he couldn’t associate with the reality of old men pushing boxes with no ambition. He felt he could and needed to be more for himself than pushing boxes. When he moved on to his next job at Starbucks, Tyler spent two and a half years. He never found it financially rewarding, according to the things.
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Though he was just 15 years old when he heard the lyrics of the album, they connected with his goals and inspired him to passionately pursue his dreams. This was during a time when Interscope Chairman, Jimmy Lovine, ruled out the album as a complete failure. However, for Tyler, it inspired him to start The Odd Future, according to Genius.
The Odd Future is a group of aspiring Californian rappers, producers, and personalities who came together in 2007 to produce some of the most controversial music pieces in the early 2000s. The initiative was led by Tyler and Earl Sweatshirt, who pioneered a creative style of rap for the group.
According to an Instagram post made by Tyler to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of Pharrell’s debut album, the lyrics not only shaped his journey to become an artist but, also a successful entrepreneur.
Since he stormed the music stage in 2007, he leveraged his influence to create multiple brands and commenced Camp Flognaw, a music festival that drew 2,000 patrons in its first year. As his power grew with the release of multiple hit songs, the festival gradually developed, and now commands over 50,000 music fans annually. He has also capitalized on the same influence to build his brand as a fashion designer, media manager, director, and publisher, according to the hyper beast.
Entertainment critics and industry observers are of the view that Tyler has matured in the game and has evolved his versatile style of doing music. His 2017’s Flower Boy, and 2019’s IGOR, are adjudged some of his masterpieces. Since he emerged on the music scene over a decade ago, he has collaborated with some of the industry’s best.
During the early years of his career, he worked with the likes of Lil Wayne and Pusha T to catch the eye of industry legends such as Jay-Z. Additionally, he keeps getting relevant in the hip-hop game.
Tyler’s rise to fame is evident of the fact that failing at some point in life does not define the end of one’s career path. With the right inspiration and talent, one can emerge more significant and better at what they are passionate about. All his top five albums made it to Billboard, indicative of the impact that he has made on the music stage.
