Flower Boy

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* Alternative

***Scum Fuck Flower Boy*** (***Flower Boy*** for short) is the fourth studio album by Tyler, the Creator. It was released on July 21, 2017 by Columbia.

## Writing and development

With *Flower Boy*, Tyler decided to take a more personal approach compared to his previous album, *Cherry Bomb*, stating "For *Cherry Bomb* I purposely was like, I don't want to get personal at all. Like, I'm just going to make songs. And in this one I was like alright, let me write down every feeling." Tyler felt that the general response to *Cherry Bomb* was poor and he wanted to deliver an album that succeeded it well. The official title was originally thought to be *Scum Fuck Flower Boy* but was later confirmed simply as *Flower Boy* shortly prior to release. Tyler noted the works of Max Martin, Pharrell Williams and Justin Timberlake as musical inspirations for the album.

Recording began in late 2015. Like previous releases, the album was produced by Tyler himself. He decided to keep his rap verses short and to-the-point to give guest artists and instrumentation more of a focal point. Many songs on the album featured guitar playing by Austin Feinstein. The beat used on the song "I Ain't Got Time!" was initially made for Kanye West during recording sessions for West's seventh studio album *The Life of Pablo*.  After West declined it, the beat was sent to rapper Nicki Minaj who, after a month, also turned it down. "Glitter" was written for Justin Bieber; Tyler kept it after Bieber did not return any of his calls. "See You Again" was written for former One Direction member Zayn Malik but was later kept after Malik rejected the song twice. "Who Dat Boy" was rejected by rapper Schoolboy Q.

## Artwork and packaging

There are two versions of the cover: the main cover is a painting by visual artist Eric White and the alternative cover, in the style of a cassette tape, was done by Tyler himself.

Tyler got in touch with White in late 2016, after seeing White's work in his self-titled art book. The two had mutual admiration for each others' work; White was very impressed with Tyler's drawings and stated he had a natural sense of color after seeing his sketchbook. Tyler presented his ideas to White – he knew from the get-go he wanted a bee, his car and flowers in it – and White created compositions based on that.

Below is the booklet for *Flower Boy*. The published and final version differs from a version published by Tyler on Twitter. As explained in the foldout, Petra Collins took photos with Tyler for the booklet, but they could not be used, so many photographs were omitted or replaced with a different design. Also, some song titles and lyrics are slightly different. A 2010 photo by finnish photographer Sofia Okkonen is used on the page for "See You Again".

Cover - main version by Eric WhiteFoldout left sideFoldout right sideBooklet frontForewordForeword (original)Where This Flower BloomsWhere This Flower Blooms (original)See You AgainWho Dat BoyWho Dat Boy (original)PotholeGarden ShedGarden Shed (original)BoredomBoredom (original)I Ain't Got Time!I Ain't Got Time (original)911Mr. LonelyMr. Lonely (original)Droppin' SeedsDroppin' Seeds (original)NovemberNovember (original)GlitterCreditsCreditsCredits (original)
## Notes and references

1. ↑ "MEET ERIC WHITE, THE ARTIST BEHIND TYLER, THE CREATOR’S ‘SCUM F\*#K FLOWER BOY’ ALBUM COVER" *XXL*. July 7, 2017.
2. ↑ Sofia Okkonen Instagram. July 23, 2017.