💥DONT TAP THE GLASS! Shoutout to the golden age of hip-hop!

“You better lower your expectations, there’s not much concept here.” Before the album dropped, Tyler took to Twitter to crush fans’ hopes for a deep narrative. Unlike the intimate vibes of his last project, CHROMAKOPIA, DON’T TAP THE GLASS is all about that raw musical energy—beats that get your body moving.

This cover is a true throwback collage of rap icons from the ’80s to early 2000s—those Popeye arms nod to Ludacris in the “Get Back” video, the chunky rope chain and Gazelle glasses pay tribute to Run-D.M.C.’s Darryl McDaniels, the red hat/red pants/gold chain combo channels classic LL Cool J, and Tyler’s pose is straight out of 50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” cover.

“Don’t Tap the Glass” hits with double meaning. On one level, it’s about our phones—constantly tapping the screen keeps us from real life. On another, it’s about celebrity: Tyler sees himself as a fish in a tank, stuck behind glass while everyone watches. The boldest take comes from Tyler himself—the glass is fear, holding us back because we’re scared of being laughed at online. Break it, and you get your freedom to move and dance back.

Digging into rap icons’ style from the ’80s to early 2000s—what’s your favorite look from back then?