Like Him

Album

Chromakopia

Label

Columbia Records

Genre

Progressive Soul

Media Type

AC

Duration

4:38

Composer(s)

Tyler Okonma

Entered Chart

Sep 11, 2024

Peak Date

Sep 18, 2024

Released

October 28, 2024

Tyler The Creator was raised in a single-parent household by his mother, Bonita Smith. His father, who is of Nigerian and Igbo descent, abandoned the family when Tyler was just a kid. In his song "Like Him," Tyler dives into the murky waters of that absence, examining what it's like to feel echoes of a man he never knew. The track is full of a particular kind of bewilderment, the kind that comes from noticing little pieces of himself - a chin here, a tilt of the head there - that feel oddly familiar even though he barely knows where they come from. "She said that I make expressions like him," Tyler declares, listing these eerie physical and behavioral traits he seems to have inherited: his shoulders, his chin, his posture. His mom doesn't just sit silently by; she opens the song with a few telling words about how Tyler is so much like his father, both in looks and in demeanor, and closes with an admission that her own poor decisions led to Tyler's father's absence. Bonita Smith speaks throughout Chromakopia, offering spoken interludes, snippets of advice, and a painful self-awareness. English singer-songwriter Lola Young's vocals serve as a haunting, ethereal counterpoint to Tyler's main vocals, emphasizing the song's themes of searching for identity and resemblance. Her repeated "Like him" and "Like what?" add a questioning, uncertain quality that underscores the song's emotional core. "Like Him" trended on TikTok as users shared clips exploring complicated relationships between children and their parents. Some TikTokers also used the track to make playful or nostalgic comparisons between athletes past and present. Tyler, the Creator had previously shown his admiration for Lola Young by DMing her, and when he asked if she'd contribute vocals to one of his songs, she instantly said yes. "When I first heard [Tyler's 2011 track] 'Yonkers,' it completely changed how I viewed music," she told Billboard. Describing the rapper as a "magic human being," Lola Young shared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon the unconventional way Tyler, The Creator reached out to her before proposing the "Like Him" collaboration. "He messaged me with a photo," she recalled. "It was a sticker of Busta Rhymes with no context. That's what he does every time he speaks to me." Laughing, she added: "I don't know if he does it to anyone else. It's odd, he's an odd guy."

Damn, nigga, every time I look at you, I swear to God
Nigga, you got that nigga feet
You got that nigga body
You got that nigga long arms, fingers and shit
Flat feet, big di-

She said that I make expressions like him
My legs to my shoulders and my chin like him
My waist and my posture like him
Like him
Like him, like him, like him

Mama, I'm chasing a ghost
I don't know who he is
Mama, I'm chasing a ghost
I don't know where he is
Mama, I'm chasing a ghost
Do I look like him? (Like, what?)
Like him (like, what?)
Like him (like, what?)
Like him

You gave me love and affection
Attention, protection
How could I ever miss something that I've never had?
I would never judge ya
'Cause everything worked out without him (like, what?)
Like him (like, what?)
Like him

Mama, I'm chasing a ghost
I don't know who he is
Mama, I'm chasing a ghost
I don't know where he is
Mama, I'm chasing a ghost
Do I look

(Huh?)
Like him
Like him

(Let it go) I decided to
Anything that lives inside of you
I would never ever lie to you, yeah
You ain't ever gotta lie to me
I'm everything that I strive to be
So do I look like him?
Do I look like him? (Like him, like him, like him, like him)
I don't look like him (like him)

It was my fault, not yours, not his, it was my fault
I'm sorry, you know?
It was my fault
Not him 'cause he always wanted to be there for you
And I'm sorry I was young
But he's always wanted to be a father to you
So I-I fucked up and I take ownership of that
Of my choices and decisions and I'm sorry for that
He's a good guy
So don't hold that against him because it was my fault
Just, you know? Forgive me