Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), better known by his
stage name Tyler, The Creator, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, musician, graphic designer, music video director, and actor from
California. Born in
Ladera Heights, he rose to prominence as the leader and co-founder of the
alternative hip hop collective
Odd Future and has rapped on and produced songs for nearly every Odd Future release. Okonma also creates all the
artwork for the group's releases and said in an interview with radio presenter
DJ Semtex, that he designs all the group's clothing and other merchandise as well. After releasing his debut album
Goblin under
XL Recordings, in April 2011, he signed a joint venture deal for him and his label
Odd Future Records, with
RED Distribution and
Sony Music Entertainment. Following that he released his second studio album
Wolf, which was met with generally positive reviews and debuted at number three on the US
Billboard 200 selling 90,000 copies in its first week.