Tyler, the Creator has hit out at musicians who make “meme records” for “taking up space” in the industry.

The rapper – real name Tyler Okonma – did not mince words in his latest critique of the genre and the internet culture surrounding it. In a new teaser for the web series Mavericks with Mav Carter, the musician says, “There’s so many n***as out right now that aren’t musicians that are getting treated like musicians because they make meme records.”

“Publicly [they] will be like, ‘I don’t give a fuck about music. I just do this shit for money.’”

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He compares the phenomenon to the famous Spider-Man clone meme, saying, “When every publication is like, ‘Hell yeah, let’s put that out,’ you taking up space for n***as like me.”

Despite his comments, Tyler says that “I don’t wanna seem like a hater. Sometimes I have hater energy ’cause I just think I’m that good.”

Asked if his frustrations stem from how much he ‘cares about this art form’, the musician tells Carter, “I love this art form so much, bro.”

Reposting the clip of Tyler on X, rapper Russ commented, “Spot on. Making music solely to get rich is why the majority of the music sucks ass.”

The full episode will be released on YouTube later today (14 August).

Earlier this year, Tyler, the Creator chimed in on the AI debate, explaining why he was unphased by the technology as far as music-making is concerned.

“It might have its perks but I’m always ahead of even myself, so the AI will never catch up to me creatively,” he said. “It’ll only be a reference point of what I already did, not where I’m going because it’s not me.”

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