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A Boy Is a Gun

"A Boy Is a Gun" (stylized with an asterisk in the end) is a song by American rapper Tyler, the Creator from his fifth album Igor. The song and music video centers around Tyler's alter ego, with some hints of feminism, hence the name "A Boy Is a Gun". The song is inspired by Une Aventure de Billy le Kid, a 1971 French film.

The music video is centered around Igor-Tyler's alter ego. It was set in a mansion. Igor is interested in a love interest, while the love interest is disinterested. Igor appears to have a mental breakdown and fights with the interest, ending the video. The song charted in the Billboard Hot 100, the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and the Canadian Hot 100.

Background and composition

Since day one, I’ve always wanted to make the prettiest shit that’s borderline boring,
or the hardest fucking shit, And I’ve been trying to mix those together since my first album.

Tyler Okonma, [1]

The song is inspired by the 1971 French western film, Une Aventure de Billy le Kid, translated to "a girl is a gun".[2] A girl is a gun was popularized by a clothing brand, By Way of Us, which printed the phrase in shirts. The phrase was more popularized when Playboi Carti wore it in his single Magnolia.[3] The video style is inspired by another movie, 2017's Call Me by Your Name, from which Tyler is a fan of.[4] On May 13, 2019, Tyler released a 28-second snippet on the song in social media.[5]The song was sampled from Bound, by the Ponderosa Twins Plus One, with vocals from Solange Knowles.[6] Tyler has history with the sample, co-producing Bound 1, by Kanye West.[7]

Music video and lyrics

The music video was directed by Wolf Haley, with an appearance by Tracee Ellis Ross.[8] The video is centered to Igor, Tyler's alter ego. Igor is placed in a mansion, walking around the balcony, when suddenly he runs in a maze-line garden and ends up in a bathtub.[9][10] He is spotted to be interested in a love interest, while the love interest is "disinterested" in him. After, Igor appears to have a mental breakdown, throwing clothes and running across the lawn, Igor also says, “take your hoodie off, why you hide your face from me?”.[11][1] In the music video, Igor is spotted to have some kind of "emotional turmoil".[9] Igor later invites the lover to dinner, though not successful. After the dinner, the characters fight, ending the video.[11]

Personnel

Music

Video

Charts

References

  1. ^ a b Lamarre, Carl (2019-09-16). "Tyler, the Creator Searches for Answers in 'A Boy Is a Gun' Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  2. ^ Morris, Ashley (2019-09-17). "Tyler, The Creator Releases Stunning Visual for "A BOY IS A GUN*"". EUPHORIA. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  3. ^ "How Tyler, The Creator's "A BOY IS A GUN" Flips A Feminist Idiom". Genius. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  4. ^ "Tyler, The Creator's "A BOY IS A GUN*" Video Explained | Song Stories | 24HourHipHop". 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  5. ^ a b ""A Boy Is A Gun" by Tyler, the Creator". Song Meanings and Facts. 2019-05-19. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  6. ^ "Tyler, The Creator Navigates A Love Triangle In The "A Boy Is A Gun" Video". Genius. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  7. ^ a b c "Tyler, The Creator's "A BOY IS A GUN" Samples Ponderosa Twins Plus One's "Bound"". Genius. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  8. ^ a b c Kim, Michelle Hyun (2019-09-16). "Watch Tyler, the Creator's New "A BOY IS A GUN*" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  9. ^ a b Reed, Ryan (2019-09-16). "Tyler, the Creator Channels Igor Alter-Ego in 'A Boy Is a Gun' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  10. ^ "Tyler, The Creator Becomes IGOR for New "A BOY IS A GUN*" Video -". mxdwn Music. 2019-09-16. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  11. ^ a b Yassin, Diana (2019-09-25). "Tyler the Creator's 'A BOY IS A GUN' tells a lavish story". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  12. ^ "Tyler, the Creator drops 'A BOY IS A GUN' music video". 16 September 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 Week of June 1, 2019". 1 June 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  14. ^ "Billboard Streaming Songs June 1, 2019". 2019-06-01. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  15. ^ "Tyler, The Creator Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  16. ^ "Tyler, The Creator Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.

External links