See Love Flower and Fade with Tyler, the Creator’s “WILSHIRE”

Tyler, The Creator shows us how to tell a story with “WILSHIRE.”

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Listen: “WILSHIRE” – Tyler, The Creator

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There is a white picket fence in the front yard of every artist. There is a welcome mat eroded by shoeprints and footsteps, and a front door with a squeaking hinge that announces each enter and exit. With every song, an artist invites us here, hoping the guests will wipe their feet and close tbe door behind them.

Tyler, The Creator – Call Me If You Get Lost

Welcome to the trials and triumphs of artistry, completely inevitable. Hidden in Tyler the Creator’s sixth or seventh album (you decide) CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, is “WILSHIRE,” an eight-minute disclosure of love, Tyler unpacks the connection between what we can assume is himself and a lover, trouble is the girl is taken, by none other than his friend.

We have front row seats to the churning of Tyler’s mind. He describes an ill-fated attraction that is more than the magic of the candlelit moment: “I ain’t even wanna fuck ‘cause your presence was enough.”

The track sounds like a freestyle, clean production coloring the stream of consciousness. I counted six chords in the progression, looped over a lush synth and metallic drums. The structure makes sense, as Tyler recently took to Twitter to reveal the track was completed in “one whole take,” on a “shitty handheld mic.” “WILSHIRE” leaves you thinking, conjuring up images of the two cuddled in the apartment, ignoring the impending doom that lives outside the four walls. Tyler tells his story and manages to prioritize anonymity. As he later tells us, “I’m mad private with this side of my life ‘cause people are weirdos.”

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It’s his narrative.Hurt but vulnerable, tempted but strong, he says, “It’s morals I really have, it’s lines I could never cross, but you got something that make all them good intentions get lost.” Small spoken words bookend the verses. Tyler adds pieces to the story, writing with tongue in cheek. If it wasn’t for the honesty, you’d think he’s only pulling at heartstrings. He says things we’ve maybe heard before from people in his position, “You know, I got every damn car, multiple cribs, But it’s like, ‘No I want that,’ ha.” More than that, he admits maybe too willingly, “I’m a bad person.”

The story comes to an end. Tears flood the car that Tyler and his lover sit in: “Shit I can’t even look at you and think about bad words, That’s why I called and said we couldn’t end this on bad terms.” Leave all made-up scenarios and hoped-for plans at the door, this love affair is over.

There is pride in “WILSHIRE.” Tyler the Creator’s front door is wide open. Intentional and unguarded, Tyler gives us this piece of his life. As he tells his lover, “it’s just a story for the people outside of it, But I guess you’re just another chapter in the book.”

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