The Story Of How Tyler, The Creator Made His First Reggae Song
While Reggae fans were distracted by the main attraction at the 2022 Grammy Awards, Panamanian-born stalwart Filberto ‘Fil’ Callender triumphed. Though Callender himself didn’t submit any music for consideration, his contribution to Tyler, The Creator’s Sweet / I Thought You Wanted To Dance should be noted after the American rapper’s album Call Me If You Get Lost won Best Rap Album on April 3.
To the casual observer, Fil’s official credit as a writer on track 10 of the album may belie the nature of his involvement. Adding to this confusion, the sunny, piano-laden production of I Thought You Wanted To Dance could swirl unsuspecting reggae fans into a serious case of déjà vu. The latter half of the track samples the 1978 underground hit, Baby My Love, a playful ballad written by Fil, performed by his Jamaican showband The In Crowd and featuring Jah Stitch. This is only part of the story, of course.
Here’s a timeline of how one of hip-hop’s most celebrated stars came to breathe new life into a decades-old lover’s rock anthem.
Early 1970’s
After a productive three-year stint playing drums and guitar at sessions for Coxsone Dodd’s legendary Studio One outfit, Fil Callender decided to shift his attention to his own band, The In Crowd. In its first iteration, the line-up consisted of Fil, Egbert Evans, Llewlyn Chang, Sonny Wong, Robert Lyn, Mikey Chung, Clive Hunt, Toni Lewis and Mikey “Boo” Richardson. Though the group became top live performers at dances across Jamaica, Callender’s ambitions orbited around recorded music.
1975
Despite the In Crowd’s preference for performing live over recording original material, the band’s name ended up on a number of releases in 1975. For example, a single named “Milk and Honey” was issued under The In Crowd name but the only member involved in the song’s production was Clive Hunt. “Mango Walk” was also released this year and though it was a reworking of a Mandrill song, it marked greater creative authorship as it featured most of the In Crowd providing instrumental backing.
1976 – 1977
The release of “Born in Ethiopia,” a mind-bending tribute to the spiritual homeland, in late 1976 marked the first original recording by the group and it set the foundation for the band’s subsequent releases, “His Majesty Is Coming” and “We Play Reggae” the following year. All three tunes hit big amongst reggae fans in England and eventually led to the recording of a full-length In Crowd album.
At this point, the line-up had shifted dramatically and after members Sonny, Mikey Boo, and Robbie left, others such as Clevie Browne, Errol Walker, Wigmore Williams and Barry Bailey were welcomed into the fold.
1978
Phil Mattias, a producer from England, began an association with The In Crowd that snowballed into him becoming producer, manager, and publisher for the band. This collaboration resulted in the recording and release of the group’s debut album, His Majesty is Coming later that year.
It was Mattias, who encouraged Fil Callender to experiment with solo recording as a lead singer and this suggestion manifested itself in the form of “Baby My Love.” The romantic single enjoyed commercial success in the emerging lover’s rock scene in the U.K. and though it was originally released under Fil’s name, The In Crowd provided all the instrumental backing.
On Mattias’ handling of the release in this way, Fil reflected with Angus Taylor in 2014, “I thought he went too far with that and it created the impression that I left the group, coming out as a solo singer. That wasn’t the case at all. I’m still with the band. I’ve never left In Crowd.”
Early 1980’s
Following a record deal with Island Records and the release of their sophomore LP, The Man from New Guinea in 1979, the In Crowd stopped recording music as a group. Lack of support, resources and proper management are usually cited as the cause of this indefinite hiatus.
March 6, 1991
Tyler Okonma was born. It would be another 16 years before the California native would begin recording music under the moniker Tyler, the Creator.
January 20, 2008
Mango Walk, the 1975 song credited to the In Crowd, greeted viewers of the Breaking Bad pilot episode during a scene in which protagonist Walter White steals lab equipment from a high school.
August 20, 2013
Mango Walk made its second media appearance in under a decade as the video game Saints Row IV featured the track on its in-game 103.6 Four-20 radio station.
April 12, 2014
The In Crowd announced their intention to re-group and record new music for the first time in over three decades.
November 22, 2020
Lover’s Rock, the second episode of the British anthology film series Small Axe, featured Baby My Love prominently alongside other classic tunes from that era. The fictional series centres around the lives of West Indian immigrants living in London from the 1960s through to the 1980s.
June 2021
Tyler, the Creator released his sixth studio album, Call Me If You Get Lost, which was immediately met with critical acclaim. The Jamaica-originating “I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE” fit in perfectly among the multi-sourced sounds that gel with the globe-trotting theme of the album.
During a show in New York City, Tyler gave some background to how “I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE” came about. “I was watching this show on Amazon called Small Axe… and in [episode 2] there were a lot of reggae songs playing. Me, personally… not my favourite genre. But all the songs they played in this episode were so fire.”
“I’d come to find out that there’s a subgenre of reggae called ‘lover’s rock.’ A little bit more smooth, a little bit more R&B. There was a song they played on there and I was like, ‘Yo, this shit is sick!’ I got up outta bed, went straight to the computer, looped it, and started building shit around it. Next thing I know, it’s like 4 AM and I made my first reggae song!”
July 6, 2021
“SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE,” entered the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at #60 where it peaked.
July 10, 2021
Call Me If You Get Lost debuted at the top of the US Billboard 200 chart with 169,000 album-equivalent units sold.
November 23, 2021
Nominations for the 64th Annual Grammy Awards are announced. Call Me If You Get Lost is revealed to be vying against Donda by Kanye West, The Off-Season by J. Cole, and King’s Disease II by Nas for Rap Album of the Year.
April 3, 2022
During the pre-show ceremony, Tyler, the Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost prevailed.
In a 2013 interview, Fil bemoaned the lack of research and recognition endemic to Jamaican musical history. It’s a fair point; too often we overlook the people and the moments that contributed to the legacy of our art and culture. “Give credit where credit is due,” to put it succinctly.