Tyler, the Creator has released an initially adorable, then later haunting video for “Earfquake” from his new album Igor that came out earlier today (May 17). Playboi Carti doesn’t appear in the video; it’s only Tyler and a surprising actress: Tracee Ellis Ross. The two play off each other’s awkwardness for a hilarious visual that might make you hesitant to step near a piano in the near future.
The best thing about Tyler is that his smallest movements and words are hilarious, even when he’s not trying to be. In “Earfquake,” Ross is a talk show host who introduces Tyler (his name is bleeped out when he speaks) to the quiet audience of a (presumably) late-night show. After an awkward and equally hilarious back-and-forth where Tyler simply responds “yes” when asked what exactly he does, he breaks into an intentionally awkward, microphone-swinging performance of the song from his new album on a silver stage.
What initially starts as an adorable, straight-forward performance eventually morphs into something crazier. When Tyler adds a piano to his performance halfway through, it erupts into a fire and Tyler gets some of his face burned off. Stepping in to clean up the rapidly growing fire is a nameless fireman that is, surprise, Tyler. Instead of tending to the flames, however, he decides to serenade the camera before walking off. The fire still roars behind him.
Igor is Tyler’s first album in two years. With its release came a specific set of instructions that the rapper tweeted out yesterday. One of them was to not listen to it with expectations. “This is not Bastard. This is not Goblin. This is not Wolf. This is not Cherry Bomb. This is not Flower Boy. This is Igor,” he wrote. The LP features the previously teased songs, “Igor’s Theme,” “Whatsgood,” “A Boy Is a Gun,” and “New Magic Wand.”
Take a look at the hilarious video up above.
