‘Joe Budden Podcast’ Host Says Tyler, the Creator Has a Stronger Discography Than J. Cole

Lamar “Ice” Burney delivered a bold take about Tyler, the Creator’s status in the game.

During the October 31 episode of the Joe Budden Podcast, the co-hosts shared their honest thoughts about Tyler’s newly released project, Chromakopia. After sharing their generally positive reviews, Budden posed an interesting question to the crew: “What level of superstardom does Tyler fall in?”

Budden recalled a recent article that attempted to identify the next “Big 3,” which consists of Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole. The hosts seemingly agreed that Tyler wasn’t on the same level as Drizzy or K. Dot, which prompted Burney to share his polarizing opinion.

“He’s Cole,” the host said about Tyler (1:52:30). “I’ve said that before, and I got killed for it. I wasn’t even come do this, but y’all mentioned it. [Tyler is] who people say Cole is, to me. Especially before, when Cole was doing all his own production and all of this, this with no features… Tyler has done that. The things that we give Cole the credit for, Tyler has literally done all of those at the same or, maybe, at a much higher level.”

Budden said Cole has proven himself to be a much better rapper than Tyler, but said there were certain areas in which Tyler was a superior artist.

“I give Tyler points that I can’t give Cole, though,” he said before referring to Tyler’s music collective. “Star Crew. All of them. He’s got Frank Ocean… I saw the shift in how rap videos were directed when he hit the scene. Once that video (2011’s ‘Yoners’) hit, videos changed. I can’t give that to Cole. I [also] give Tyler more heart than Cole. I feel like Cole agrees with a lot of the Tyler takes, but Tyler says it, Cole won’t.”

Burney acknowledged that Cole has proven himself to be a solid rapper, but when it came to discography, Tyler took the W.

“Album for album,” Burney said.

The conversation came just days after Tyler unleashed his eighth studio album, Chromakopia, which included appearances by Daniel Caesar, GloRilla, Sexyy Red, Lil Wayne, and Doechii. Burney praised the project’s production, saying it strayed from the typical “distortion” sound that Tyler is known for.

“This felt like Tyler trying to step out, even though he’s a star,” he explained. “It felt more like a commercial step-out… It doesn’t feel like typical Tyler.”

Budden offered a bit of pushback, saying he understood the album’s storytelling and the ways it showcased Tyler’s maturity, but said Tyler was at his best when he was “hard rapping.”

“Once he gets into his Jaden Smith-production bag? Count me out,” Budden said. “I love who Tyler is as a person. I feel like he’s becoming the Odd Future version of me, somehow, just with some of his takes and stance[s] on hip-hop. So I love that.”