There were a lot of people who wondered why Tyler, The Creator recently changed his longtime Twitter handle — going from @FuckTyler to @TylerTheCreator. However, anyone with any idea of how business works knew exactly what time of day it was. Nationally known advertisers can’t be associated with brands who blatantly ruffle feathers and that handle was no longer going to suffice. The Odd Future initiator recently confirmed as much in an interview with AfroPunk.
“My stock just went up because of that name change,” Tyler explained with a shrug of the shoulders. “Only idiots won’t understand that. I don’t even have to explain it.”
As the reporter played dumb for the question’s sake, Tyler elaborated, “How can I contact corporations, like ‘Yo, invest a bunch of money into me. I have a lot of really good ideas.’ Then, they don’t reply. I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, my name has this in it.’ That first impression is automatically out the window.”
Whether they realize or not, every artist is a brand. At some point in the escalation of a growing brand, there’s always a point where certain opportunities make that brand question their core morals. Those opportunities typically revolve around money and decisions get made around the bottom line, for better or worse. No matter how much of a rebel Tyler is at his core, he’s smart enough to know his brand needed to grow up. Good move.
Watch the full interview above.
