Tyler, The Creator
Inside the White-Tiled Fever Dream at the Center of “Sugar on My Tongue”
Tyler, the Creator has never been shy about testing the limits of taste — or latex — but his new self-directed video for “Sugar on My Tongue” might be his most unfiltered vision yet.
Set in a pristine, white-tiled room that feels equal parts nightclub bathroom, art installation, and fever dream, the visual unfolds like a twisted love letter to rave culture, BDSM, and that giddy head rush of a fresh crush. The first act plays it relatively coy: Tyler and a mysterious love interest trade flirtations and dance moves before the scene explodes into a euphoric, parents-are-out-of-town house party.
Then, things get weird. And by weird, we mean Tyler in a skin-tight black gimp suit, crawling on a leash, stripping down (mosaic in place, calm down), and eventually performing DIY oral surgery — on himself. In a move equal parts grotesque and absurdist, he slices out his own tongue, which, after being tenderly watered by his partner, sprouts into a massive, rideable muscle in the middle of the tiled floor. Erotic comedy? Comedic erotica? Somehow both.
“Sugar on My Tongue” dropped in July as part of Don’t Tap the Glass, Tyler’s sweaty, movement-obsessed follow-up to 2023’s Chromakopia. The album — his fourth to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — was born out of a mission to get people dancing without fear of judgment. “I thought, damn, a natural form of expression and a certain connection they have with music is now a ghost,” he wrote on Instagram. “It made me wonder how much of our human spirit got killed because of the fear of being a meme.”
For Tyler, that meant ditching the melancholy of Chromakopia and embracing pure silliness again. In a recent chat with Zane Lowe, he summed it up simply: “I just wanted to be silly again.” With “Sugar on My Tongue,” he’s succeeded — albeit with a visual that’s one part dancefloor fantasy, one part midnight body horror, and all Tyler.
The rapper-producer isn’t slowing down. He’s still on the road with his Chromakopia tour while doubling down on Don’t Tap the Glass in his live sets. And if the “Sugar” video wasn’t enough, Tyler will make his feature film debut this Christmas in A24’s Marty Supreme, starring alongside Timothée Chalamet and Gwyneth Paltrow, directed by Josh Safdie. A trailer drops tomorrow.
Watch Sugar on My Tongue here.
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