Tyler, the Creator addressed criticism over his “That Guy” freestyle on Kendrick Lamar’s beat, calling detractors clueless.
Tyler, the Creator is pushing back against criticism over his “That Guy” freestyle on Kendrick Lamar’s “Hey Now” beat.
He addressed the controversy during his latest interview with Nardwuar, defending the move as a staple of Hip-Hop culture. He also called critics out of touch with the genre’s roots.
The Grammy-winning artist didn’t hold back when addressing criticism of the track, which dropped on December 25 as a surprise holiday release.
“I saw someone say, ‘How Tyler just gonna take Kendrick’s song right after it comes out and do the same flow over the same beat.’ And I’m like, ‘Damn, that’s somebody else who did not grow up listening to rap or Hip-Hop,’” Tyler explained. “‘Cause if you grew up listening to rap or Hip-Hop, you know that’s normal… You should have to do a survey and show your ID before you could say s### on the internet — ’cause folks be saying dumb s###.”
Tyler the creator talks about free styling over the “hey now” beat. pic.twitter.com/4dcV3Putjv
— LOVE (@LoveIsback24) March 28, 2025
Tyler, the Creator dropped the freestyle, titled “THAT GUY,” on social media with the caption, “merry christmas. had fun with it,” after a fan had tweeted in November, “I want @tylerthecreator to freestyle on Hey Now so bad.”
Meanwhile, Tyler the Creator went viral earlier this week after Sexyy Red joined him to perform their collaboration “Sticky” during his CHROMAKOPIA Tour stop in Miami.
After the show, the two engaged in a barefoot foot race backstage, which was captured on video and quickly went viral.
They also recreated their infamous 2023 viral photo, posing with their backsides out and middle fingers up.
