Tyler, the Creator has released a short new song, “Lumberjack,” along with an accompanying video, which he directed under his Wolf Haley alias.
The track — which clocks in at just over a minute — opens with a lazy spoken-word bit that finds Tyler talking about plans for a snowy weekend in Utah over woozy synths. “Lumberjack” transforms when the drums kick in, and Tyler proceeds to peel off punchlines like, “Rolls Royce pull up, black boy hop out/Shout out to my mother and my father, didn’t pull out.”
The “Lumberjack” video is classic Tyler as well: A series of surreal vignettes as he reads old car magazines in bed, raps on top of a stack of suitcases, gets his nails done, and finds himself trapped in a blizzard.
“Lumberjack” marks Tyler’s second release of the year, following “Tell Me How,” which officially arrived in March, but appeared first in a Coca-Cola commercial released a month prior. At the time, “Tell Me How” marked his first proper solo release since 2019, although in the interim he collaborated with Westside Gunn, Freddie Gibbs and the Alchemist, Lil Yachty, and Brent Faiyaz
Tyler, the Creator’s most recent album, the Grammy-winning Igor, was released in 2019. At the end of that year, he dropped a pair of loose singles, “Best Interest” and “Group B.”
Anyone hoping Tyler The Creator is about to release a full jazz album may want to lower their expectations. The Odd Future founder has long incorporated jazz elements into both his music and production style. No matter which creative direction he chooses for a project, traces of jazz can be heard throughout much of his discography. Because of that, many fans have spent years wondering what it would sound like if he fully embraced the genre for an entire album.
Recent hints have sparked speculation that new music could be on the horizon. However, when an Instagram account suggested that a "new era" was approaching and claimed Tyler would dive further into his jazz influences, the rapper quickly dismissed the rumor. "not at all lol and do not get stuck on this idea please," he responded.
One reason fans began theorizing about a possible new project was a subtle update to Tyler's Instagram bio. According to Complex, the bio now says, "Satchmo, Sag Harbor," a phrase that appears to reference Louis Armstrong's famous nickname, Satchmo, as well as Sag Harbor, New York, a village known for serving as a refuge for Black families during the Jim Crow era.
While there is still no confirmation that Tyler will release new music this year, fans can look forward to the return of Camp Flog Gnaw. The annual festival is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles on November 14 and 15. As is tradition, the full lineup has not yet been announced, but Tyler's attention to detail and track record with the event suggest attendees will have plenty to be excited about.
We will continue sharing any developments involving Tyler The Creator as they emerge. In the meantime, fans remain hopeful that new music will eventually arrive as a follow up to Chromakopia and Don’t Tap The Glass. Check out his comments above and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
