Tyga - Careless World: The Rise of the Last King

Right about now I’m watching Tyga drain perimeter shots with a surprised look on my face; looks like I’m forced to reckon with the YMCMB emcee as an actual player in the game. He was only a teenager when his breakthrough single Coconut Juice dropped, and in many ways I kept him mentally labeled as the Coconut Juice guy. (First impressions are hard to break.) But while I was sleeping Tyga was busy becoming a legitimate artist, developing a versatile game that’s on full display on his new album, Careless World: Rise of the Last King. He’s still not ready to join rap’s elite, his game is going to need a lot more seasoning, but he’s now officially a man amongst men. Or, it might be more accurate to say that he’s been a man for a minute now, Careless World has simply forced me to notice. ...Read the full album review

Fans can also check out Tyga's previous albums: Tyga - Hotel California | Tyga - No Introduction

My father was a large man, and he was not prone to merciful acts. Growing up we’d play driveway basketball and if I dared so much as drive to the rim he would swat my shot into the neighbor’s yard, or failing that, make sure I felt the hundred-plus pounds he had on me. This wasn’t basketball, it was rugby, and my skinny 13-year-old self wasn’t going to beat him at rugby – so I changed the game. Night after night I worked on my jump shot in secret until I could hit 18-footers with at least a measure of consistency. I’ll never forget the look on his face the first time we played and I let him have the post, knocking down shots from the perimeter instead. Suddenly, even if he still won every time, he was forced to reckon with me as an actual player; that first time it surprised him to have to take his son seriously on the court.

This is what my dad must have felt like. Right about now I’m watching Tyga drain perimeter shots with a surprised look on my face; looks like I’m forced to reckon with the YMCMB emcee as an actual player in the game. He was only a teenager when his breakthrough single Coconut Juice dropped, and in many ways I kept him mentally labeled as the Coconut Juice guy. (First impressions are hard to break.) But while I was sleeping Tyga was busy becoming a legitimate artist, developing a versatile game that’s on full display on his new album, Careless World: Rise of the Last King. He’s still not ready to join rap’s elite, his game is going to need a lot more seasoning, but he’s now officially a man amongst men. Or, it might be more accurate to say that he’s been a man for a minute now, Careless World has simply forced me to notice.

Not just anyone gets on a track with Nas, so if you’re looking for a reason to believe, look no further than King and Queens. Of course Tyga can’t top the lyricism of a suddenly resurgent Nas, but he sounds at home next to Wale and God’s Son on the track, which has the feel of a landmark moment for the young emcee. Beyond his mic skills, King also hints at Tyga’s more seriously minded side, a side that surfaces again and again throughout the album; after all, he did open the album with a MLK speech (which resulted in sample clearance issues that almost halted the album release, but that’s a moot issue now). Similarly, the somber and atmospheric Black Crowns finds him flexing an abstract rhyme style (“upon me to the coronation”) that also delves into some deep autobiography, and while the soulful Let It Show doesn’t quite connect, it does find Tyga going bar for bar with J. Cole. Well I’ll be damned, look who developed a jump shot.

Don’t get it twisted though. While Tyga’s more seriously minded than some might assume, we are still talking about an album whose biggest hit (so far) is minimalistic new school stripper anthem Rack City. While King & Queens may earn him respect, it’s Rack City that’s making him famous, and Careless World is chock full of turn the volume up, turn your brain off offerings. Muthaf**ka Up brings on his Young Money compatriot for a frenzied rhymefest that’s actually a little tame by Nicki’s standards, while Faded brings on head honcho Lil Wayne for an ode to…do I really need to tell you? And just in case all those heavyweight guest features have you in the mood to party, the predictably but enjoyably club-friendly Celebration and the Chris Brown-assisted For the Fame await. Just sit back, press play and enjoy – no brain required. 

The problem with Careless World though, and by extension Tyga, is that even after 21 tracks and over an hour of music, I still don’t really know who Tyga is. Is he the stripper loving, swag dripping player we hear on Rack City, or is the hip-hop philosopher king we get on Careless? Of course as a complex person he can be both those things, but as an artist there’s no unifying vision or style that ties them together; too often, like on I’m Gone, he ends up sounding dangerously like Drake. But I’ve learned my lesson, I’m not sleeping on Tyga anymore. The last time I took a nap on him I woke up and he was burying jumpers in my face.

Listen to More: Tyga     Written by Nathan S.