Tyler, The Creator reveals that people no longer dancing due to “the fear of being a meme” inspired his new album Don't Tap The Glass

Tyler, The Creator released his ninth studio album, Don’t Tap The Glass, on July 21, 2025, and delivered his shortest album rollout to date. According to Variety, the album was teased for only four days. Additionally, it was first confirmed through a merchandise drop on Tyler’s Golf Wang website, which featured vinyl, apparel, and branding with the album’s name.

During a show that same evening in Brooklyn, Tyler, The Creator shouted the album title onstage. The venue also included a physical installation replicating the album’s cover, further confirming its imminent release.

The album arrives less than a year after 2024’s Chromakopia, and runs just under 30 minutes. An Instagram essay shared after the release, detailed in Billboard’s July 21, 2025, coverage, Tyler, The Creator spoke about the project.

He revealed that the album was motivated by what he called a loss of natural expression caused by the fear of being filmed and turned into viral content. In a statement shared on social media

In his social media statement about the album, Tyler wrote that he spoke to some friends of his and asked them why they didn't dance in public.

“I asked some friends why they don’t dance in public, and some said because of the fear of being filmed. It made me wonder how much of our human spirit got killed because of the fear of being a meme, all for having a good time," he wrote.

Tyler, The Creator emphasized that Don’t Tap The Glass is meant to counteract this loss and inspire free movement. He noted that the album wasn't "made for sitting still," adding that it was made for "dancing. Driving. Running." He said that in order to try and understand the "spirit" of the album, he recommended "any type of movement," and that it needed to be played "only at full volume."

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Tyler, The Creator hosts a dance party pre-release

In his statement, Tyler, the Creator revealed that the night before the album’s release, he hosted a no-phones, no-cameras listening party attended by about 30 guests. As reported in Billboard, he played the album front-to-back twice and described the event as “one of the greatest nites of [his] life.”

“Everyone was dancing. Moving. Expressing. Sweating,” he said of the gathering. “It was truly beautiful.”

Tyler added that the experience felt like a release of pent-up energy and described the vibe as one of total freedom.

“A ball of energy that might not translate to every speaker that plays this album, but man did that room nail it.”

Though Don’t Tap The Glass arrived with little formal lead-up, it follows a stretch of sustained creative output. As Variety noted on July 18, 2025, Tyler, The Creator, had been teasing “something” for the Monday drop throughout the week.

In addition to the Golf Wang merch launch, Tyler concluded a four-night New York City run at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Friday, July 18, 2025, where he hinted at the new material onstage.

The album is Tyler, The Creator's first since Chromakopia, released in late October 2024 after a similarly brief announcement period. That project topped the Billboard 200, according to a Billboard report from July 21, 2025, and featured appearances from Doechii, Childish Gambino, GloRilla, and Lil Wayne. It was supported by the ongoing Chromakopia World Tour.

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Stop Playing With Me Video Features Clipse, LeBron James

The first music video from the album, Stop Playing With Me, dropped on July 21, 2025, alongside the LP. According to Pitchfork, the video was self-directed by Tyler, The Creator himself, and shows him dancing between two massive speakers, with the floor moving like a treadmill beneath him.

Guest appearances in the video include Pusha T and Malice of Clipse, as well as LeBron James and his business partner, Maverick Carter.

Stop Playing With Me is the fifth track on Don’t Tap The Glass and serves as the first official visual release from the project. The album also includes a sample of Busta Rhymes’ Pass the Courvoisier Part II.

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As of July 21, 2025, Tyler, The Creator remains on the Chromakopia world tour, which began in February 2025 and continues through September. According to a Pitchfork report, Tyler will likely debut new tracks from Don’t Tap The Glass as part of his current setlist.

Upcoming tour dates include Montreal and Toronto from July 22 to July 25, 2025. This will be followed by concerts in Newark, New Jersey between July 27 and July 28, 2025. Between July 31, 2025, and August 9, 2025, he will tour across festivals like Lollapalooza, Hinterland, Osheaga, and Outside Lands.

Tyler, The Creator will perform in New Zealand and Australia across Auckland, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth between August 18 to August 31, 2025. He will be touring East and Southeast Asia, in cities like Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, and Manila between September 9 and 21.

Lil Yachty and Paris Texas will join Tyler, The Creator on select dates.

Edited by Madhur Dave