In typical Tyler, The Creator fashion, the Grammy-winning artist, tastemaker, and eternal disruptor is back with another hot take—and this time, he’s coming for two pillars of modern culture: open access and podcasts.
In a recent interview with The Cut, Tyler didn’t just wade into the conversation around gatekeeping; he cannonballed right in.
“Love gatekeeping,” he said. “Everything is not for everyone, and that’s okay. People have to stop wanting to be invited into everything; it’s okay to not be into something, bro. It’s cool, it’s chill.”
It’s a sentiment that sounds countercultural in a world obsessed with transparency, virality, and “sharing the plug.” But Tyler’s not saying don’t enjoy things, he’s saying it’s fine to let some things stay niche, sacred, and untouched by the TikTok algorithm.
Take your favorite low-key restaurant, for example. You know the one with the great food or that perfect vibe you don’t want to lose to the influencer crowd?
“Certain restaurants that some people really love can get fucked up because someone makes a TikTok and now everything is sold out,” he explained. “This small thing they loved and enjoyed is no longer available for them to enjoy because everyone wants in on this new thing to feel like they’re part of something.”
And that’s where Tyler draws the line. He’s not hoarding culture out of ego; he’s preserving it from the trend machine. “Let me have my thing,” he said. “You might not look that fire in it.”
But Tyler didn’t stop there. He also dropped a bomb on the podcast industry, an industry that seems to be multiplying by the hour.
“Everybody with a mic is crazy. I just think that shit is gross,” he said. “I think we give a lot of people who aren’t smart and just want attention platforms to be loud and incorrect, and other stupid people follow them.”
That’s not to say he’s anti-conversation altogether. Tyler shouted out Deante Kyle and The Cutting Room Floor as examples of podcasts that are doing it right—thoughtful, skillful, and intentional.
But his larger point? Maybe we don’t need 10 million podcasts. Maybe we need more drummers. Or painters. Or, as he said, “electricians.”
So yeah—Tyler, The Creator is gatekeeping restaurants and calling for a podcast purge. But in a culture where everyone’s talking, posting, and oversharing, maybe he’s just saying what a lot of us have been thinking:
It’s okay for some things to stay small.
It’s okay to not go viral.
And it’s okay to just vibe quietly with the things you love.
Photo Credit: DepositPhotos.com
