Recently, Tyler The Creator dropped off his ninth studio album, Don't Tap The Glass. So far, reviews of the project have been mostly positive, and it's expected to have a strong opening sales week. Reportedly, it's projected to move 215,000 album-equivalent units despite its Monday release, with over half of that being physical sales.
Amid the success of his latest release, the Hawthorne, CA artist hosted a pop-up party in New York City, where he gave a heartfelt speech. He revealed that he made Don't Tap The Glass while on his "Chromakopia" tour, admitting that it helped keep him sane.
"I'm so tired," he began, as seen in a clip shared by Complex Music on Instagram. "Mentally, physically, I'm f*cking beat. But making this sh*t on tour, this album, this 10-song, 30-minute thing ... Was giving me so much life on this motherf*cking tour ... I just wanted to make sh*t."
Tyler, The Creator Don't Tap The Glass
This isn't the only background Tyler has given fans about the album, however. Shortly after the release, he took to Instagram to reveal his intentions behind it. He claimed that it all started when he asked some friends why they don't like to dance in public.
"I asked some friends why they don’t dance in public and some said because of the fear of being filmed. I thought damn, a natural form of expression and a certain connection they have with music is now a ghost," his post read in part. "It made me wonder how much of our human spirit got killed because of the fear of being a meme, all for having a good time."
"I just got back from a ‘listening party’ for this album and man was it one of the greatest nights of my life. 300 people. No phones allowed. No cameras. Just speakers and a sweatbox," Tyler continued. "Everyone was dancing, moving, expressing, sweating. It was truly beautiful. I played the album front to back twice, it felt like that pent up energy finally got released and we craved the idea of letting more of it out."