Tyler, the Creator Drops Surprise Album Don’t Tap the Glass With Pharrell, Busta Rhymes Samples and Easter Eggs Galore

Tyler, the Creator, is once again rewriting the rules of album rollouts. Just days after teasing something mysterious on social media and launching limited-edition merch, the hip-hop innovator dropped his ninth studio album, Don’t Tap the Glass, early Monday morning—leaving fans scrambling to piece together the cryptic clues he had been scattering for weeks.

Clocking in at 28 minutes and 30 seconds, Don’t Tap the Glass is a 10-track whirlwind that blends nostalgia, sharp lyricism, and high-concept soundscapes. The album opens with “Big Poe,” a track that not only features Tyler, The Creator’s signature storytelling but also includes a guest appearance from Pharrell Williams. Longtime fans will recognise the clever sample from Busta Rhymes’ 2001 classic, “Pass the Courvoisier Part II,” which brings a rich sense of musical lineage to the record’s start.

Other standout track titles include “Sucka Free,” “Stop Playing With Me,” and “Don’t Tap That Glass/Tweakin’,” which anchor the project’s mix of intensity, wit, and stylistic curveballs. Although the full list of collaborators has not yet been officially revealed, Tyler’s past work suggests that surprises are likely to continue surfacing over the coming days.

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What makes this release especially Tyler-esque is how it was foreshadowed—yet hidden—through layered clues. At a recent performance in Brooklyn, a camera zoomed in on a crate of vinyl records Tyler was flipping through. Fans, ever eagle-eyed, later realized one of the sleeves read Don’t Tap the Glass. It was the first breadcrumb in what became a series of cleverly embedded Easter eggs.

Even his live shows weren’t safe from the narrative. In New York City, fans were greeted by installations showcasing the album artwork, while Tyler, the Creator shouted out the album’s name to the crowd—without confirming a drop date. The actual reveal came Friday, when merch appeared on his Golf Wang website, followed by the album’s surprise arrival early Monday.

A New Chapter After Chromakopia

Don’t Tap the Glass follows the 2024 release of Chromakopia, which Tyler, The Creator dropped in similar surprise fashion. That album featured heavy-hitters like Childish Gambino, Lil Wayne, and Doechii, and is currently being toured globally. Tyler recently wrapped four sold-out nights in NYC and will continue across Asia with stops in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines through September.

As with all things Tyler, Don’t Tap the Glass feels like more than just music—it’s an experience, a puzzle, and a performance all at once.