I never envisioned that Tyler the Creator would write a holiday themed EP, never mind the fact that its about the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. However, in doing so he perfectly captures the feelings and themes of the approaching holiday season.
Starting off the this EP is the track "Whoville" which is more like an introduction to this EP. This song is strictly instrumental and although its only around a minute long, it successfully delivers the classic jazz infused holiday themes that we've become accustomed to. This song's light sounding piano leads into the second song on this project "Lights On" featuring Ryan Beatty and Santigold.
"Lights On" is song about traveling home for the holidays and doing whatever it takes to get there. Lyrics like "Like the snow, I'm coming no matter how far" and "The traffic is bad and my rental is slow, Im comin' home" show that no matter what, the singer will be there for Christmas.
The third track "Hot Chocolate" features Jerry Paper and is pretty self-explanatory. The song is about hot chocolate, and that you can drink it to make yourself warm in the cold winter. This is shown through lyrics like "It's getting' cold, chocolate/Too warm, chocolate/Its too hot, chocolate" and "It gets cold in the winter, cold in the wintertime." I really liked how the song transitioned into a different sound about halfway through because it brought a different dynamic to a relatively basic song.
The fourth song "Big Bag" sounds like a more traditional Tyler the Creator song, incorporating his quick witty flow, and an industrial sounding beat. The lyrics in this track play along ideas and memories that Tyler had as a kid of Christmastime "I was wrapping gifts age six with/The paper bandanas/Mom was always honest/I ain't never had a Santa Claus." The hook and chorus to this song "Big bag, fill em up with the produce" plays along ideas that Tyler is the Grinch and he is going door to door stealing toys and presents from little kids. "Roof to roof, I jump, I jump, I take, I take/It fills the void" I really enjoyed this song because it showed that Tyler can create a holiday song while still using his unique flow and style.
After "Big Bag", Ryan Beatty makes another appearance on this EP with the song "When The Gloves Come Off". This track is pretty instrumental aside from the occasional "yeah" coming from Tyler and Beatty. I absolutely loved the piano that was used to end this song because I felt like it added a Classical element to the Christmas vibes that Tyler was creating.
The final song "Cindy Lou's Wish" was exclusively instrumental. The song lasted for nearly a minute and uses different instruments to convey the sounds of the holiday season. I liked that Tyler used an instrumental song to end the EP on, however I felt that the song could have been longer.
Overall I was really impressed by Tyler's way of forming a holiday album without sounding too cliché or too "jolly". If this EP was on vinyl I would definitely buy it because everyone needs some holiday hits in their record collection, and Music Inspired By Illumination & Dr. Suess' The Grinch would be a perfect fit. This EP receives a festive 5 gold rings out of 10 lords a leaping.
"When the Gloves Come Off" features Ryan Beatty again, however this song is pretty instrumental. Beatty is only in the song for a few seconds to sing a few lines.
