Tegan & Sara twin objects to The Creator's lyrics
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 17 May 2011
Everyone's banging on about hip hop collective Odd Future at the moment, particularly the group's Tyler, The Creator, who is either a genius or an idiot, depending on who you're asking. Most people seem to say genius, but there are plenty who find his lyrics offensive, what with all the homophobia and misogyny and that.
Sara Quin of Canadian pop-rock duo Tega & Sara last week posted an open letter to journalists, and anyone else calling him a genius, on her band's website, saying: "As journalists and colleagues defend, excuse and congratulate Tyler, The Creator, I find it impossible not to comment. In any other industry would I be expected to tolerate, overlook and find deeper meaning in this kid's sickening rhetoric? Why should I care about this music or its 'brilliance' when the message is so repulsive and irresponsible? There is much that upsets me in this world, and this certainly isn't the first time I've drafted an open letter or complaint, but in the past I've found an opinion – some like-minded commentary – that let me rest assured that my outrage, my voice, had been accounted for. Not this time".
She added: "No genre is without its controversial and offensive characters – I'm not naive. I've asked myself a thousand times why this is pushing me over the edge. Maybe it's the access to him (his grotesque twitter, etc). Maybe it's because I'm a human being, both a girl and a lesbian. Maybe it's because my mom has spent her whole adult life working with teenage girls who were victims of sexual assault. Maybe it's because in this case I don't think race or class actually has anything to do with his hateful message but has EVERYTHING to do with why everyone refuses to admonish him for that message".
Maybe grammar obsessed journalists just like the use of punctuation in his name. I don't know. But, hey, right to reply and all that. What does Tyler, The Creator have to say about this? Well, he tweeted in response: "If Tegan and Sara need some hard dick, hit me up!"
Is this not the plot of 'Chasing Amy'?
READ MORE ABOUT: Odd Future | Tegan & Sara | Tyler The Creator