Tyler, the Creator accepted the Innovator of the Decade award at Variety’s Hitmakers occasion in Hollywood on Saturday night time, a second that prompted the often forward-leaning artist to pause and replicate on a 15-year run of inventive evolution.

The Odd Future co-founder and genre-bending rapper, now 34, appeared genuinely shocked by the respect, sharing his ideas in a speech that blended humility and gratitude.

“It made me think like, Yo, I don’t take the time out to look back at what I’ve done, for me, the folks around me, the last 15 years. For me, always looking forward — that’s where I sit comfortable at. But damn, it does feel good to hear the last 15 years you’ve been doing super-duper, awesome s###. I’m so grateful y’all have noticed things I’ve done,” Tyler, the Creator music/news/sabrina-carpenter-rose-mcrae-bigxthaplug-vairety-hitmakers-1236602349/”>instructed the gang.

The award was offered by Andre 3000, who recommended Tyler for his relentless drive and talent to spark creativity in others.

“If you can inspire others to want to purely make something, you have done a great deed. You can see his excitement, momentum and passion — it’s infectious. He cares about what he’s doing and innovating himself,” Andre said.

The recognition comes at a excessive level in Tyler’s profession. Within the final 12 months, he dropped two albums, Chromakopia in 2024 and Don’t Tap the Glass in July 2025.

Both information earned nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards. “Chromakopia” is up for Album of the Year, whereas “Don’t Tap the Glass” landed within the Best Alternative music Album class.

Tyler’s inventive attain continues to broaden past music. He’s set to seem within the upcoming movie Marty Supreme alongside Timothée Chalamet. The movie’s director, Josh Safdie, praised Tyler’s all-encompassing strategy to artistry.

“Tyler is a rare artist and creator in that everything he does is completely vertically integrated: There is little to no difference between a song and the larger picture, which is the album, or a bottle of cologne, or a T-shirt, or a music video he’s directing, or in this case, with me, a character that he’s developed,” Safdie mentioned.

The 2026 Grammy Awards will happen in February.

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