Tyler, the Creator just hit the Grammys stage for the first time since 2020! The artist performed a medley of “Thought I Was Dead” and “Sugar on My Tongue,” and let me tell you, it was WELL worth the wait.
In addition to the two songs from his albums CHROMAKOPIA (2024) and Don’t Tap the Glass (2025), Tyler also included elements from “Like Him,” his collaboration with Lola Young.
The performance was divided into two sections: The first showed the 34-year-old wearing a bright green, exaggerated soldier uniform while he performed “Thought I Was Dead.” In the second section, Tyler was dressed in all red and was much more exuberant—including dancing suggestively in a stream of faux-gasoline.
The whole thing was pretty cinematic with an impressive gas station set, an actual car, a bunch of extras and dancers, and even an explosion. Making it even more like a movie? A cameo from actor Regina King, who played a gas station attendant giving Tyler a motivational speech.
See for yourself:
The two-time Grammy winner is up for Album of the Year for his eighth album, CHROMAKOPIA, which is also up for Best Rap Album. Meanwhile, his ninth album, Don’t Tap the Glass, is up for Best Alternative Album. In addition to those, he scooped up noms for Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Album Cover so...not too shabby!
That said, the artist has a bit of a complicated relationship with the Grammys. Back in 2020, after he took home the award for Best Rap Album for Igor, Tyler admitted that he would love to be recognized on a more mainstream level.
When asked how he felt about his win, he said (via Billboard), “On one side, I’m very grateful that what I made could just be acknowledged in a world like this. But also, it sucks that whenever we—and I mean guys that look like me—do anything that’s genre-bending, they always put it in a ‘rap’ or ‘urban’ category….I don’t like that ‘urban’ word. To me, it’s just a politically correct way to say the N-word. Why can’t we just be in pop?”
He continued, “Half of me feels like the rap nomination was a backhanded compliment. Like, ‘Oh, my little cousin wants to play the game, let’s give him an unplugged controller so he can shut up and feel good about it.’ That’s what it felt like a bit. Another half of me is very grateful that my art can be acknowledged on a level like this when I don’t do the radio stuff. I’m not played in Target. I’m in a whole different world than what a lot of people here listen to. I’m grateful and like ‘eh.’”
Honestly, fair!!
