Behind the scenes with Tyler, The Creator’s producer

We speak to Tara Razavi, founder of creative production company Happy Place, about her work with Tyler, The Creator on his latest album, plus what the role of a good producer entails

Over the last decade, Tyler Okonma – better known as Tyler, The Creator – has established himself as one of music’s most elusive and creative figures. Growing up as a skater kid in LA, the musician first found fame as one of the founding members of Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, the teen rap collective that established the careers of a handful of other stars including Frank Ocean, Earl Sweatshirt and Syd.

Since releasing his first solo album Goblin in 2011, Tyler has undergone an array of transformations from record to record. His debut album campaign marked him out as a blunt-force lyricist, reflected by a visual aesthetic that featured black-and-white camera work, demonic eyes and a particularly infamous scene in the promo for Yonkers where he eats a live cockroach.

By contrast, his 2019 LP Igor, which won best rap album at the Grammys, saw him remodel himself as a blond-wigged, Warhol-esque funk and soul singer. Along with being a rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, fashion designer and cartoon creator, Tyler also plays a big role in bringing the world of his albums to life, directing all of his own music videos under the alias Wolf Haley.