Tyler Okonma

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Tyler Gregory Okonma was born on March 6, 1991, in Hawthorne, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. He is the son of a Nigerian Igbo father and an African-American mother who is half-Canadian and multiracial. He spent his early life living in Hawthorne before moving to Ladera Heights at 17. At age seven, he took covers out of CD cases and created covers for his own imaginary albums—including a tracklist with song lengths—before he could make music. He produced his first beat on FL Studio at age 12, and taught himself to play the piano at 14. In his 12 years of schooling, Okonma attended 12 different schools in the Los Angeles and Sacramento areas. In the eighth grade, he joined a drama class and was removed for being too hyperactive; in the ninth grade, he was not allowed to join band class because he could not read music. He attended Westchester High School, where he befriended Lionel Boyce in a theater class. Okonma worked at FedEx for under two weeks, and at Starbucks for over two years. He took his stage name from a Myspace page he used to post his creative endeavors. When he was 15, he had a YouTube channel named "bloxhead"; his first YouTube video was released on February 28, 2008. He posted videos until October 2009, when he stopped uploading to focus on his debut album, Bastard. The channel was originally titled "I Smell Panties" after his comedy hip-hop duo group with Jasper Dolphin.

In Their Own Story

Tyler co-founded the alternative hip-hop collective Odd Future in 2007, alongside Hodgy, Left Brain, and Casey Veggies. They self-released their debut mixtape, The Odd Future Tape, in November 2008. On December 25, 2009, Tyler self-released his first album, Bastard. It was eventually ranked 32nd on Pitchfork Media's list of the Top Albums of 2010. On February 11, 2011, Tyler released the music video for "Yonkers". The video received attention from several online media outlets. Tyler won Best New Artist for "Yonkers" at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. Tyler's thematic content in these first two solo projects led fans and publications alike to categorize him in the horrorcore scene, although he vehemently rejected his connection with it. In early 2011, Tyler was gaining the interest of a number of figures in the music industry, including Steve Rifkind, Jimmy Iovine, Rick Ross and Jay-Z. Tyler and the rest of Odd Future eventually signed a deal with Red Distribution/Sony in April 2011. His second studio album, Goblin, was released May 10, 2011. Tyler and fellow Odd Future member Hodgy Beats made their television debut on February 16, 2011, when they performed "Sandwitches" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. On March 16, Tyler and Hodgy performed "Yonkers" and "Sandwitches" at the 2011 mtvU Woodie Awards, being joined by other members of Odd Future during "Sandwitches".

Reader's Guide

Odd Future's television show Loiter Squad premiered on Adult Swim on March 25, 2012. The show ran for three seasons and featured guest appearances from celebrities, including Johnny Knoxville, Lil Wayne and Seth Rogen. In 2015, Tyler stated that the show "is no more". On February 14, 2013, Odd Future uploaded a video to their YouTube account, which includes L-Boy skydiving and stating that Wolf would be released on April 2, 2013. Wolf was released on April 2, 2013, by Odd Future Records and RED Distribution under Sony Music Entertainment. It featured guest appearances by Frank Ocean, Mike G, Domo Genesis, Earl Sweatshirt, Left Brain, Hodgy Beats, Pharrell, Casey Veggies and Erykah Badu. The album was produced solely by Tyler, except for the final track "Lone". Upon release, the album was met with generally positive reviews and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 90,000 copies in its first week. On April 9, 2015, Tyler released the music video for the song "Fucking Young" to Odd Future's official YouTube channel. The video also included a short snippet of another song, "Deathcamp". Tyler announced on the same day that the songs will be featured on his upcoming album Cherry Bomb, set for release on April 13, 2015. Cherry Bomb was released digitally on April 13, 2015, through Odd Future Records. The album features performances from notable artists such as Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Schoolboy Q. The album was supported by a world tour through North America, Europe and Asia, beginning at Coachella Festival on April 11, 2015, and ending in Tokyo, Japan in September 2015.

Did You Know?

• Tyler produced his first beat on FL Studio at age 12 and taught himself to play the piano at age 14.
• In his 12 years of schooling, he attended 12 different schools in the Los Angeles and Sacramento areas.
• He worked at FedEx for under two weeks and at Starbucks for over two years.
• His first YouTube channel was named 'bloxhead' and was originally titled 'I Smell Panties' after his comedy hip-hop duo with Jasper Dolphin.
• Tyler won Best New Artist for 'Yonkers' at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards.