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Tyler, the Creator believed it first.

“borderline genius, and I think other people are starting to see that, too.”

PITCHFORK ON CHERRY BOMB · 17 APRIL 2015

Tyler called himself “borderline genius” on Tavis Smiley in 2015, as quoted by Pitchfork. Dated reviews show what critics heard in his music and where one heard him later.

Each comparison is something a critic wrote, dated, and linked where the review is online. It is not a claim about who shaped whom.

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PITCHFORK ON GOBLIN · 11 MAY 2011
“lush, Neptunes-inspired productions”
In Search Of… by N*E*R*D, 2001
PITCHFORK ON CHERRY BOMB · 17 APRIL 2015
“candy-colored jazz chords taken straight (sometimes blatantly so) from the Pharrell handbook”
In My Mind by Pharrell Williams, 2006
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DJBOOTH ON FLOWER BOY · 11 JULY 2017
“The Stevie Wonder/Roy Ayers influence takes precedence over Tyler’s chase of Pharrell’s shadow.”
Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder, 1976
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A 2018 review heard Tyler in Rejjie Snow.
PITCHFORK ON DEAR ANNIE · 20 FEBRUARY 2018
“channeling Tyler, the Creator and N.E.R.D. down to their throat-clearing ad-libs”
Dear Annie by Rejjie Snow, 2018