On June 25, 2021 Tyler, The Creator released his his sixth studio album, “Call Me If You Get Lost.” The project received critical acclaim, earning Tyler his second Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and the spot as the headliner for Austin City Limits 2021, a wave of success culminating in a great tour across North America and Europe. “Call Me If You Get Lost” brought a new era for Tyler, The Creator.
No longer was he the melancholic, pink-dressed character Igor; no, now he was the overzealous Tyler Baudelaire — a moniker inspired by the French poet Charles Baudelaire. Upon release, it was immediately clear that “Call Me If You Get Lost” was Tyler’s most braggadocious LP yet, with tracks featuring Tyler and his co-host bragging about their lavish life style. The Baudelaire persona showed a large ego boost compared to the somber themes from “Igor” and “Flower Boy.”
On March 31, 2023, Tyler, The Creator released a deluxe edition for this album, entitled “Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale.” The original album featured 16 tracks with a runtime of 52 minutes 50 seconds while the deluxe increased that to 24 tracks with a runtime of one hour 17 minutes.
The new tracks include “EVERYTHING MUST GO,” “STUNTMAN (feat. Vince Staples),” “WHAT A DAY,” “WHARF TALK (feat. A$AP ROCKY),” “DOGTOOTH,” “HEAVEN TO ME,” “BOYFRIEND, GIRLFRIEND (2020 Demo) (feat. YG)” and “SORRY NOT SORRY.” The original project was full of hype and high energy tracks, but, although the deluxe edition does contain some songs with the same vibe, one track offers an incredibly genuine and heartfelt experience that set them apart from the rest of the album.
“Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale” opens up with the interlude “EVERYTHING MUST GO.” In this track, Tyler and DJ Drama introduce the listener to the “Estate Sale” by reminiscing on the events of the past two years, including the album release and the success of the tour. The next few tracks follow the typical sounds that Tyler has become known for. “STUNTMAN” is reminiscent of “CORSO,” while “BOYFRIEND, GIRLFRIEND” is more similar to “RUN IT UP (feat. TEEZO TOUCHDOWN.” Each of these tracks are great additions to the album but do not really add anything new to the overall experience, with the sole exception of the closing track.
The last song on the deluxe, “SORRY NOT SORRY,” closes off the album and the era with a moment of introspection. The track discuss Tyler’s regrets surrounding his personal relationships and himself. The lines “Sorry to my old friends, the stories we coulda wrote if our egos didn’t take the pen,” is in reference to his since-disbanded rap group, Odd Future. In 2015, Tyler announced that the group would be breaking up, and the many questions that followed this sudden news have been left unanswered. That lyric in this new track somewhat gives closure for their separation and serves as a heartfelt message to his old crew, whether they are still in his life or not.
Following that, Tyler raps, “Sorry to the guys I had to hide, sorry to the girls I had to lie to who ain’t need to know if I was by the lake switchin’ tides, too.” In these lyrics, Tyler is talking about his previous relationships, possibly alluding to the love triangle mentioned throughout “Igor.” A major plot point in that album is Tyler’s complicated back and forth relationship with a man and a woman, whose identities are only speculated to be his friend Wyatt and his now ex-girlfriend Reign. Once we reach the end of the track, DJ Drama closes the album by saying “Okay, cool. And like that, we really mean it this time. I guarantee another era is upon us, so once again, we gone.” This teases that there is more to come from Tyler, The Creator in the future, even while this era for him and his music comes to a close, and the music video for “SORRY NOT SORRY” only makes the end of the era more apparent.
The “SORRY NOT SORRY” music video features Tyler and all his personas and characters from his past albums — this includes everything from “Bastard,” “Goblin,” “Wolf,” “Cherry Bomb,” Flower Boy,” “Igor” and, of course, “Call Me If You Get Lost.” As the video progresses, the Tyler Baudelaire persona takes the main stage while his past iterations emote in the background. The music video end with Tyler saying “I got two words, f—ck em.” With the closing line, he then proceeds to kill Tyler Baudelaire and his other personalities, basically ending the decade worth of lore he built, ending not just the era of Tyler Baudelaire but everything from his past once and for all.
“Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale” at first glance comes off as a deluxe with a few decent outtakes from the “Call Me If You Get Lost” studio sessions. But, it is soon revealed to be a deep and insightful end to the past of Tyler, The Creator. With this part of Tyler’s story come to an end, hopefully we’ll have something new to look forward to soon.
