Key Takeaways
- Tyler, The Creator directs and stars in a surreal, self-styled video for “Sugar on My Tongue.”
- The track blends electro-hop with themes of physical desire, continuing Tyler’s bold artistic streak.
- DON’T TAP THE GLASS marks a shift toward danceable, high-energy music, inspired by a variety of different styles.
On Tuesday (Aug. 12), Tyler, the Creator unveiled a new video for “Sugar on My Tongue,” the second track from his ninth studio album, DON’T TAP THE GLASS. Directed under his birth name, Tyler Okonma, the visual takes place in a tiled room and features the artist and a co-star in a sequence of suggestive interactions. The video concludes with a surreal nude scene that matches the song’s provocative theme.
Musical style and influences on DON’T TAP THE GLASS
In an interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, Tyler explained how the project incorporates elements from New Orleans bounce, Atlanta and Miami bass, and electro-funk. While he never labeled it a “dance album,” he said the tracks were designed for movement. “It's just some s**t that I would love people to dance to because it's music that I will want to dance my body to,” he stated.
For its part, the electro-hop-styled “Sugar on My Tongue” is a beautifully aggressive romp centered on physical attraction. The song continues Tyler’s history of using sexual imagery in his music, as heard in earlier tracks like “DOGTOOTH” and “BLOW MY LOAD.”
Tyler, the Creator details intent behind DON’T TAP THE GLASS
During the aforementioned sit-down, Tyler added that the album was a deliberate move away from the heavier subject matter of CHROMAKOPIA. “For this, man, I just [wanted] to get back to that, ‘no deep album cuts, no slow emotional s**t,’” he told Lowe. “I just want to be fun and say outrageous s**t and... inside jokes that me and my friends laugh at, and just talk big fly s**t. That was the goal. That was the main 100% goal.”
Critical acclaim aside, DON’T TAP THE GLASS is also winning from a commercial aspect. The project debuted at No. 1 with 197,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, making it Tyler’s fourth consecutive chart-topper. It’s a major feat, especially given that the album collected those units after only four days of chart activity.