Tyler, The Creator on Rappers With One Big Hit: “A Few Years Later No One Cares About Their Existence”
The internet has allowed a rapper's "window" to never completely close, but according to Tyler, The Creator, the writing is often written in big bold print on the wall following the success of a smash single.
In a now-deleted tweet spree following the conclusion of his domestic tour alongside Vince Staples, Tyler put his career in perspective as compared to artists who have enjoyed far greater success on Billboard.
"I'm seven years in the game and it feels like I'm just getting started," Tyler wrote. "Crazy, most rappers have a two-year [career] span, especially with that big song everyone knows [and] then a few years later no one cares about their existence so they emulate the current sound desperately. So sad."
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While the fall from chart-topping grace doesn't happen to every artist—Post Malone was pegged as a "one-hit wonder" after "White Iverson" blew up and look at him now—Tyler's larger point, as it pertains to his own career path, passes the smell test.
Last year, for the first time in his entire career, Tyler had a song on the radio. This year, for the first time in his career, Tyler earned a GRAMMY nomination. Given the track record of so many of his peers, had either of those milestones come at the beginning of his musical journey, it's possible (read: highly likely) that instead of feeling like his career is just beginning, Tyler instead might be staring directly at his Plan B.
