There is indeed such a thing as good delusion, and artists—the good ones and the great ones, anyway—know its powers well enough to protect and cherish it at every turn. This sentiment was one of several takeaways from a recently released Tyler, The Creator video in advance of the artist’s latest Converse rollout, with Tyler joined by his team of collaborators for a London-set conversation about process and more.
Early into the London talk, Tyler, whose Chromakopia: The World Tour continues this week with shows in Glasgow before returning stateside, spoke about the importance of allowing yourself “to be open,” especially when it comes to being in a constant state of reception for new, possibly life-dominating ideas.
Deeper into the conversation, as seen below, Tyler was asked about the importance of that aforementioned “good delusion,” with Tyler underscoring its necessity and encouraging the person who asked about it to employ it in their own life.
“To make stuff, you gotta be delusional,” Tyler said. “And when you’re delusional, you need people around you that trust you.”
If one insists on operating with a perspective of instead saying “normal stuff,” a la “the sky is blue,” then a team is not required, as there is nothing to believe in.
“I’m delusional,” Tyler noted. “But I knew what I wanted to do since I was legit five years old.”
From there, Tyler pointed out a recent interview question he received from someone asking him what he would be doing if he didn’t make music. As Tyler made clear, there is no actual answer to this question, as his artistic journey has been a lifelong one.
“I can’t even, my imagination doesn’t even go that far,” he said. “Because this was the only thing I was supposed to do. Like, I was legit the 12-year-old delusional kid like ‘So I’mma get a Grammy’ and n***as was like ‘Shut up, Charizard just beat Pikachu.’ So, just be delusional!”
To add to that, consider this: If someone is questioning your state of art-enabling delusion, it’s quite possibly because they themselves forgot how to surrender to their own. Ignore them, feel sorry for them, whatever. But don’t give their criticism too much value. They’re probably just mad that you’re doing what they could never do.
Keep going. Keep being delusional. Make something great.
