Tyler, the Creator seems incredibly inspired these days, as he’s not only dropping new tracks like “OKRA”, “Rose Tinted Cheeks”, and “435” but also freestyles that celebrate the work of his contemporaries. Earlier this month, for example, he dropped some rhymes over the title track to Kanye West and Kid Cudi’s Kids See Ghosts, and now he’s served up a reinterpretation of R&B crooner Jacquees’ “No Validation”.
On what’s been retitled “GELATO”, Tyler indulges in the sensuality of Jacquees’ original, delivering starry-eyed lyrics that evoke the central romance of last year’s Oscar-winning Call Me By Your Name. “Whats the deal/ Ain’t gone lie I’m feeling you/ You got me on tippy toe/ So who’s Oliver? Who Elio?” (Tyler previously shouted out the film’s star, Timothée Chalamet, on “OKRA”.) He also touches, as he often has in the past, on his own sexual fluidity, singing, “Tell me what’s the problem/ I just pop models/ Boy or gal these days/ Shit, it don’t matter.”
Sharing the track via Twitter, Tyler wrote, “yo so um here i like this song so i added a verse shout out to @Jacquees.” Hear “GELATO” below.
“GELATO” follows several new songs Tyler has shared since the release of last year’s Flower Boy. In addition to the aforementioned tracks, he previously freestyled over JAY-Z’s “4:44” and Trouble and Drake’s “Bring It Back”. He also appeared on Kali Uchis’ recent hit, “After the Storm”.