A tamale (Spanish: tamal, from Nahuatl: tamalli) — also tamal — is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa (a starchy dough, usually corn-based), which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. The wrapping is discarded before eating. Tamales can be filled with meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, chilies or any preparation according to taste, and both the filling and the cooking liquid may be seasoned.

Tamales have been traced back to the Ancient Mayans, who prepared them for feasts as early as the Preclassic period (1200-250 BC).

Tamales originated in Mesoamerica as early as 8000 to 5000 BC.Aztec and Maya civilizations, as well as the Olmeca and Tolteca before them, used tamales as portable food, often to support their armies, but also for hunters and travelers. Tamale use in the Inca Empire had been reported long before the Spanish visited the New World.

The diversity of native languages in Mesoamerica led to a number of local words for the tamale, many of which remain in use.

In Mexico, tamales begin with a dough made from nixtamalized corn (hominy), called masa, or a masa mix, such as Maseca and lard or vegetable shortening. Tamales are generally wrapped in corn husks or plantain leaves before cooking, depending on the region from which they come. They usually have a sweet or savory filling and are usually steamed until firm.

Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), better known by his stage name Tyler, The Creator, is an American rapper, record producer, actor and fashion designer from Los Angeles. He is best known 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 DJ Semtex that he designs all the group's clothing and other merchandise as well. He is currently signed to English independent record label XL Recordings, and his own record label, Odd Future Records.

Tyler Okonma was born in Los Angeles, California to a Nigerian father and a mother of African-American and white Canadian descent. He claims that he had never met his father, and spent his early life living in the communities of Ladera Heights and Hawthorne in southwest Los Angeles County. At the age of seven, he would take the cover out of an album's case and create covers for his own imaginary albums including a tracklist with song times before he could even make music. At the age of 14, Okonma taught himself how to play piano. In his twelve years of schooling, he had attended twelve different schools, in Los Angeles and Sacramento areas.

Thebe Neruda Kgositsile (born February 24, 1994), better known by his stage name Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper and member of the Los Angeles based hip hop collective Odd Future.

Kgositsile was born to Cheryl Harris, a law professor at University of California, Los Angeles, and Keorapetse Kgositsile, a South African poet and political activist. He grew up in the Los Angeles area and is in his senior year at New Roads High School in Santa Monica.

Earl and his group have been featured in mainstream magazines such as Spin, Billboard and The Fader as well as on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. His debut studio album, Earl, was self-released March 31, 2010 as a free digital download on the Odd Future website. Most of the album was produced by Tyler, The Creator. Earl was named the 24th best album of 2010 by Complex. Sweatshirt's rapping style is notable for its dark lyrical content, multi-syllabic rhyme schemes, heavy wordplay and double entendres.

Despite overwhelmingly positive reviews, various sources indicated that Sweatshirt had stopped making music with Odd Future. Posts from Tyler, The Creator's Twitter and Formspring accounts seemed to indicate that Sweatshirt's mother would not grant permission to release any of Sweatshirt's music, although Earl later expressed in an interview that his mother sent him to Samoa not because of his music or lyrical content but because of himself getting into trouble. Earl attended Coral Reef Academy, a therapeutic retreat school for at-risk boys, located outside of the Samoan capital of Apia.