Tyler, the Creator reveals he turned down Jay-Z’s offer to sign him
TheGrio...
Tyler, the Creator’s Jay-Z story resurfaced this week after Revolt released a video of a 2022 DJ Drama interview where he explained why he said no.
Tyler, the Creator turned down an offer from Jay-Z to sign with his label when he was coming up, and he has no regrets about it.
The story resurfaced this week after Revolt released video footage of a 2022 interview between Tyler and DJ Drama on his Gangster Grillz podcast. In the clip, posted to Instagram by the Breakfast Club, Tyler described Jay-Z inviting him and his crew to one of his LA homes for tacos before pitching the deal.
“He wanted to sign us,” Tyler said. “I was like, no. I love your work. I don’t think you guys have what I have and could help me get to what I truly want. Not what we think we’re supposed to have as musicians or artists or the shiny plane. Like, I don’t want that.”
He added that at the time, all he wanted was to sit on Photoshop and make beats, and he felt that creative control was the only thing that mattered.
The interview also touched on how Tyler rarely comes up in top-five rap conversations despite his commercial success, including selling out 32,000-seat arenas in Sydney.
When asked whether he agrees he should be mentioned more in generational rap debates alongside Drake, Kendrick and J. Cole, Tyler brushed the premise off entirely.
“I think people who fixate on objective top fives are lame,” he said. “I’d rather hear people talk about what they like in love and their favorites instead of who’s the best based on numbers or hits.”
He also addressed being overlooked in conversations about LA rap specifically.
“I don’t get mentioned on the California thing, but whatever,” he said. “Is it because I don’t make the sound that sounds like California or Los Angeles? How are we measuring this list?”