Tyler, the Creator

Tyler Gregory Okonma was born on March 6, 1991 in Ladera Heights, California, the son of a Nigerian father with Igbo ancestry and an American mother of mixed African-American and European-Canadian descent. He never met his father and spent his early life living in Ladera Heights and nearby Hawthorne. At the age of seven, he would take the cover out of an album's case and create covers for his own imaginary albums—including a tracklist with song lengths—before he could even make music. At the age of 14, he taught himself to play the piano. In his 12 years of schooling, he attended 12 different schools in the Los Angeles and Sacramento areas. He worked at FedEx for just under two weeks, and Starbucks for over two years. Okonma took his stage name from a Myspace page he used to post his creative endeavors.

Okonma co-founded the alternative hip hop collective Odd Future in 2007, alongside Hodgy, Left Brain and Casey Veggies. They self-released their debut mixtape, The Odd Future Tape, in November 2008. On December 25, 2009, Okonma self-released his first solo mixtape, Bastard. The mixtape was eventually ranked 32nd on Pitchfork Media's list of the Top Albums of 2010. On February 11, 2011, Okonma released the music video for "Yonkers". The video received attention from several online media outlets. An extended version with a third verse was made available on iTunes. Okonma won Best New Artist for "Yonkers" at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. Okonma's thematic content in these first two solo projects led fans and publications alike to categorize him in the horrorcore scene, although he vehemently rejected his connection with it.

In early 2011, Okonma was gaining the interest of a number of figures in the music industry, including Steve Rifkind, Jimmy Iovine, Rick Ross and Jay-Z. Okonma and the rest of Odd Future eventually signed a deal with Red Distribution/Sony in April 2011. His debut studio album, Goblin, was released May 10, 2011. Okonma and fellow Odd Future member Hodgy Beats made their television debut on February 16, 2011 when they performed "Sandwitches" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. On March 16, Okonma and Hodgy performed "Yonkers" and "Sandwitches" at the 2011 mtvU Woodie Awards, being joined by other members of Odd Future during "Sandwitches". During an interview with Okonma for Interview, Waka Flocka Flame expressed his interest in collaborating with the Odd Future frontman to direct a music video for him. In early 2011, Okonma told fans through his Formspring account that his second album would be called Wolf and it was scheduled to be released in May 2012. Okonma also announced that Odd Future would establish their own TV show called Loiter Squad. On September 8, 2011, that the show was finally confirmed as a 15-minute live-action show composed of various sketches, man on the street segments, pranks and music made by Odd Future. Dickhouse Productions, the production partnership that created Jackass, was scheduled to produce the show.

Odd Future's television show Loiter Squad premiered on Adult Swim on March 25, 2012. The show ran for three seasons and featured guest appearances from celebrities, including Johnny Knoxville, Lil Wayne and Seth Rogen. In 2015, Okonma stated that the show "is no more". On February 14, 2013, Odd Future uploaded a video to their YouTube account, which includes L-Boy skydiving and stating that Wolf would be released on April 2, 2013. The same day, Okonma would reveal the three album covers via his Instagram account.

Through March and April 2013, Okonma toured North America and Europe. The first single from the album was released on February 14, 2013, titled "Domo23" along with the music video which features cameos from Domo Genesis, Earl Sweatshirt, Jasper Dolphin and Taco Bennett. On February 26, 2013, Okonma performed the songs "Domo23" and "Treehome95" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Wolf was released on April 2, 2013 by Odd Future Records and RED Distribution under Sony Music Entertainment. It featured guest appearances by Frank Ocean, Mike G, Domo Genesis, Earl Sweatshirt, Left Brain, Hodgy Beats, Pharrell, Casey Veggies and Erykah Badu. The album was produced solely by Okonma, except for the final track "Lone". Along with the lead single "Domo23", music videos were filmed for "Bimmer", "IFHY" and "Jamba". Upon release, the album was met with generally positive reviews and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 90,000 copies in its first week.

A series of three commercials for Mountain Dew directed by Okonma created controversy in May 2013, accused of using "racial stereotypes" and "making light of violence against women". In the spots an energy drink-loving goat character called "Felicia the Goat" is consecutively being "scapegoated" in a diner, in prison, and on the road. During the 60-second ad in prison, a battered white woman on crutches examines a police line-up consisting of several African-American men and one goat, while the goat antagonizes the woman. Syracuse professor and social critic Boyce Watkins stated that the ad was "arguably the most racist commercial in history." PepsiCo pulled the ad and apologized. Okonma released a statement claiming that the ad was not meant to "spark a controversy about race" and that "it was simply an, again, admittedly absurd story that was never meant to be taken seriously."

On January 31, 2014, Okonma was reported to be recording with Mac DeMarco.

On March 15, 2014, Okonma was arrested in Austin, Texas for inciting a riot after telling fans to push their way past security guards at his South by Southwest performance. Due to this incident, Tyler faced up to one year in prison and a $4000 fine. Tyler's lawyer, Perry Minton, argued that the riot charge was overblown and perpetuated misconceptions of his client, who has no previous arrests. These charges were later dropped.

On April 9, 2015, Okonma released the music video for the song "Fucking Young" to Odd Future's official YouTube channel. The video also included a short snippet of another song, "Deathcamp". Okonma announced on the same day that the songs will be featured on his upcoming album Cherry Bomb, set for release on April 13, 2015. Okonma announced via his Twitter account that the album would feature Charlie Wilson, Chaz Bundick and Black Lips member Cole Alexander. Two days later, Okonma performed the songs "Fucking Young" and "Deathcamp" for the first time at Coachella. During the set, Okonma notably criticized VIP members in the audience, of which many were celebrities, for their lack of enthusiasm.

Cherry Bomb was released digitally on April 13, 2015, through Odd Future Records, with physical copies of the album, featuring five different album covers, set to be released on April 28, 2015. The album features performances from notable artists such as Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Schoolboy Q. The album was supported by a world tour through North America, Europe and Asia, beginning at Coachella music festival on April 11, 2015 and ending in Tokyo, Japan in September 2015. Okonma cancelled the Australian leg of his Cherry Bomb World Tour following a campaign by the grassroots organization Collective Shout against the portrayal of women in his music.

On August 26, 2015, Okonma revealed that he had been banned from visiting the United Kingdom for three to five years, which forced him to cancel a string of tour dates supporting the Cherry Bomb album, including the Reading and Leeds Festivals. The reason for the ban comes from lyrics dating back to 2009. His manager Christian Clancy said they were informed of the ban via a letter from then-Home Secretary Theresa May. May cited lyrics from the mixtape Bastard as the reason for the ban, although Okonma had toured multiple times in the UK since its release. Okonma later claimed that he felt he had been treated "like a terrorist" and implied that the ban was racially motivated, stating that "they did not like the fact that their children were idolizing a black man".

On August 26, 2015, Okonma revealed that he had been banned from visiting the United Kingdom for three to five years, which forced him to cancel a string of tour dates supporting the Cherry Bomb album, including the Reading and Leeds Festivals. The reason for the ban comes from lyrics dating back to 2009. His manager Christian Clancy said they were informed of the ban via a letter from then-Home Secretary Theresa May. May cited lyrics from the mixtape Bastard as the reason for the ban, although Okonma had toured multiple times in the UK since its release. Okonma later said that he felt he had been treated like a terrorist and implied that the ban was racially motivated, stating that "they did not like the fact that their children were idolizing a black man." According to the BBC, it is believed the ban was lifted in February 2019, concurring with a scheduled performance in London to promote his fifth studio album, Igor. However, this show was forcibly cancelled by police due to safety concerns, the venue was claimed to be "overcrowded" and "too rowdy."

On April 8, 2017, Frank Ocean released a song titled "Biking" on his Beats One radio station "blonded RADIO", which features both Tyler, the Creator and Jay Z. Eight days later it was announced Okonma would write, produce, and perform the theme song for scientist Bill Nye's new show, Bill Nye Saves the World.

On June 28, the trailer for Okonma's TV show Nuts + Bolts premiered on Viceland. The show focuses on things Tyler, the Creator finds interesting or is passionate about, and explains how they are created. The series premiered on August 3, 2017.

On June 29, 2017, Okonma released the song "Who Dat Boy" featuring ASAP Rocky on a new YouTube channel, following many promotional countdown posts on his social media accounts. Later that night, he released the song on streaming services alongside a new song titled "911 / Mr. Lonely" featuring Steve Lacy, Frank Ocean, and Anna of the North. On July 6, 2017, he announced the title, tracklist and release date of his fourth album, Flower Boy, which was released on July 21, 2017. Several singles were released following up to the album's release date, including "Boredom" and "I Ain't Got Time!". The album was released via iTunes, Spotify, and other major music services. On September 14, 2017, Tyler, the Creator announced his third TV show to date, The Jellies. It premiered on October 22, 2017. Flower Boy received rave reviews from critics and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, giving Tyler his second Grammy nomination after contributing to 2013 Album of the Year nominee Channel Orange, but was beat out by Kendrick Lamar's fourth studio album Damn.

On March 29, 2018, Okonma released "Okra", amongst a string of freestyles and remixes. Okonma referred to it as a "throwaway song", stating that it was not going to be included on any upcoming album, and was not an indication of the sound of any future projects. On May 22, 2018, he released "435", continuing this string of singles. On July 23, 2018, Okonma and ASAP Rocky announced a collaborative project, WANG$AP, by releasing a music video for a remix of Monica's "Knock Knock" named "Potato Salad" on "AWGE DVD (Vol. 3)", a video compilation by AWGE, ASAP Rocky's creative agency.

In November 2018, Jaden Smith announced that he was in a relationship with Okonma, although Okonma himself has denied these claims.

On May 6, 2019, Okonma released two short video clips on his online profiles which featured new music. The videos showed him dancing erratically while wearing a long blonde wig, multicolored suit, black sunglasses, and a grill; he donned the same style for pictures on his social media and the music videos for the album's singles. He soon announced his fifth studio album, Igor, which was released on May 17. Igor was met with widespread critical acclaim and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming Tyler's first number-one album in the United States. The album also features the song "Earfquake", which peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. On December 23, 2019, Okonma released two songs, "Best Interest", a song that did not make the cut of Igor that was released with a music video, and "Group B". Igor won the award for Best Rap Album at the 62nd Grammy Awards.