Read on Twitter
Igor explained (a thread):
Igor is a story about love. The album is split up into two distinct parts. In the first half Tyler is falling in love, until his heart is broken, and the second half is the aftermath of this.
In the first track, Igors theme, Tyler provides context for the rest of the album. Tyler repeats the phrase riding around town frequently, especially in igors theme, because riding around town represents the emotional journey of falling in love.
He also repeats the phrase got my eyes open a lot and that represents being more aware and being able to move on.
The second track, earfquake is about Tyler falling in love, however it lays a lot of groundwork because it shows his fear of his love interest leaving him.
The second track, earfquake is about Tyler falling in love, however it lays a lot of groundwork because it shows his fear of his love interest leaving him.
I think expands on the idea of earfquake in that he is finally willing to admit he has fallen in love. It should be noted that at the end of earfquake he repeats for real this time, and in I think he finishes the sentence saying this time I think itâs for real.
Another cool parallel is that at the end of the track he counts 123 and at the beginning of I think he starts with 4. He also expands on the idea of being stressed about the relationship. Itâs shown in these bars when he is questioning his interests motives with him.
The next song is a snippet from an interview with Jerrod Carmichael, where he essentially explains the first part of the album. Tylerâs giving this guy everything he can possibly give even though itâs unhealthy. The interview ends my mentioning that there are always obstacles.
Running out of time expands on the idea of there being an obstacle, and that obstacle is time. Tyler feels like he is running out of time to get his love interest to fall in love with him.
There are also two more obstacles in the story for Tyler, his love interest has a girlfriend, and he wonât admit to his true sexuality, which is why Tyler refers to him as wearing a mask, as well as saying âliving in pretend.â
The next song, New Magic Wand, opens with Jerrod Carmichael again saying sometimes you gotta close a door to open a window. This is a metaphor for Tyler trying to get the woman out of the picture. This song is primarily about Tyler being jealous.
The âmagic wandâ is likely a reference to the photoshop tool, because Tyler wants to use his magic wand to get the woman out of the picture. He starts to get increasingly angry and even threatens to murder the two of them if the guy doesnât choose between Tyler or the woman.
A boy is a gun is a HUGE moment in the tracklist, as it is the turning point for Tyler. The magic wand turns into a gun in this song, and it represents the relationship becoming more dangerous. He is comparing his love to a gun because it is both good for him but also dangerous.
At the end of the track they have a fight and Tyler tells him to stay the fuck away from him.
In puppet, the song begins with Tyler still being willing to do anything for the man, but the song again has a turning point where Tyler is trying to gain control.
In puppet, the song begins with Tyler still being willing to do anything for the man, but the song again has a turning point where Tyler is trying to gain control.
A common theory is that Kanye represents Tylerâs conscious because he says âdid I wait too long?â while the chorus plays. At the end of the song you can also hear the line âcut me looseâ which is foreshadowing to the introduction of the Igor character.
On the song whatâs good, we meet the Igor character. The persona of Igor is what Tyler uses to get over his broken heart. On whatâs good we see this persona take over. In the chorus he talks about tearing himself down to rid himself of the pain.
On Gone, gone/thank you we get a past tense summary of the love triangle from Tylerâs perspective.
The following track, I donât love you anymore, is Tyler falling out of love and focusing on the next steps to feeling good in life again, and how he can cope with the heartbreak.
The following track, I donât love you anymore, is Tyler falling out of love and focusing on the next steps to feeling good in life again, and how he can cope with the heartbreak.
The final song, Are We Still Friends, is an excellent wrap up to the album thematically. An earlier quote from Jerrod Carmichael serves as the context of this song. It talks about hating wasted potential and Tyler feels like thatâs what he had. He feels like he couldâve had (1/2)
An amazing relationship with this man but that was taken from him. (2/2)
Overall, this is an album about heartbreak. Tyler does an excellent job all the way through keeping the story coherent and interesting, to create one of the most compelling albums I have ever heard.
Overall, this is an album about heartbreak. Tyler does an excellent job all the way through keeping the story coherent and interesting, to create one of the most compelling albums I have ever heard.
This was made from many many listens of the album, reading articles about it, and watching reviews of it. The links are below if you want to get even deeper. Thank you for reading! RTâs appreciated! Thank you for making a masterpiece @tylerthecreator
