“Chromakopia” is a true testament to Tyler, the Creator’s lyricism where he expresses genuine emotions to the surreal moments in his life. The Creator solely crafted rhythms, composed melodies, and sculpted synths to deliver his eighth studio album on all music platforms on Oct. 28 for listeners to enjoy his musical talent.
Since his first release, “Bastard” in 2009, Tyler, the Creator has been following a tradition whereby he releases a new album every two years. In 2023, instead of a full album release, the Creator dropped eight more songs to his previous album “Call Me If You Get Lost”, therefore creating the deluxe “Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale”. Although many speculated that he would create a full album prior to the 2023 release, he in fact did not, which led to many fans anxiously waiting another two years for the new album.
Surprisingly, the Creator teased new music on Oct. 16, and a day later, he announced the new album “Chromakopia” was releasing on Oct. 28 – hence breaking his tradition of a new album every two years.
This album was not made to impress anybody – it is a series of tracks that allow the Creator to share about what he has gone through himself. The Creator understands that not all listeners will be satisfied with this new release, but he will always appreciate all who listened to the album, as stated many times on social media.
In “Chromakopia” the Creator introduces a new protagonist of the album, Saint Chroma, a man with two horn-shaped hair with a emotionless mask who shares the Creator’s personal experiences, expressing his true feelings about real life struggles he has gone through in the past years, such as paranoia, relationship struggles, pregnancy scares, and the truth regarding his absent father.
In this album, the Creator’s mother, Bonita Smith, plays a huge role as she narrates the album and is featured in eight out of the 14 tracks. Smith hands out advice that the Creator finally starts to understand as he becomes older. Tyler, the Creator mixes a variety of sounds such as the exciting and traditional rap in “Sticky”, a classic emotional love song like “Darling, I” and a deep emotional roller coaster in “Like Him”.
“Chromakopia” is a game-changer to rap culture, and not all listeners will agree that this album deserves such a high rating. Fans expected and wanted something that would be similar to the Creator’s past albums – which he clearly stated he did not want on his Instagram story. Each and every track is a sensational journey, blending genres of music in a way that only the Creator can. The fact that the production is flawless and created by Tyler himself is essential to understanding the value of “Chromakopia.” By crafting the beats, melodies and lyrics into one fluid song, all while showcasing his growth as an artist, the Creator definitely solidifies himself as one of the best innovative musicians of all time.
The top-played song on the album, “Noid,” which was the first fully released song on the album, speaks about the paranoia feeling that the Creator gained as the fame started to weigh onto him.
In the music video, Chroma is seen being consumed by paranoia everywhere he goes, whether when a fan rushes up to him hysterically asking for a selfie, or even just driving and having to keep an eye on the rear-view mirror because he believes somebody is following him. In the chorus, the Creator samples a song by Ngozi Family, “Nizakupanga Ngozi,” whose lyrics translate to “When you come at my house / please be respectful / Because I don’t like talking too much / Talking too much breeds gossip,” implying that even around the people he does trust, he still wants them to be precautious with the conversations they have in case people are eavesdropping – which he mentions in the second verse.
The Creator makes music for his fans to enjoy and sing along to, but also uses his music to send a message. In “Noid,” the intent is to clear the vision for fans to understand that all celebrities are human, just like them, and need boundaries respected.
One song that listeners NEED to hear is “Take Your Mask Off”, another song that will hit home for many people, as it includes personal situations others may have experienced, such as a thug who does not want to be one, but does so just to fit in. The Creator also references a man who hides his queerness by becoming a priest and starting a family, and a stay-at-home mom regretting settling down and not being able to fulfill her real dreams since she got married.
The Creator hopes that everyone can find themselves and take their mask off in order to follow what they themselves are truly passionate about, especially since he was advised by his mom to “Keep that sh** one-hundred with you, with yourself.” As the melodic piano keys play along with the guitar chords, they transport the listener into wondering what whether there are situations in which they are not being themselves, and in doing so, Tyler, the Creator sparks a feeling in listeners that they should want to be true to themselves.
Many believe “Sticky” has to be mentioned as well, as it is one of the only tracks on the whole album that offers the traditional hip-hop/rap sound. It samples the horns from “Get Buck” by the iconic Young Buck. The chaotic anthem invites lyrics from GloRrila, Sexxy Redd and even the OG, Lil Wayne, who is often featured in The Creator’s albums. This song hypes up the album and gives it the little kick that every album needs to keep that strong exciting vibe; not to mention it is currently trending with a new TikTok dance. But really, all new listeners to Tyler, The Creator or the album in general, if the deep meanings are not for them, “Sticky” will be the song that sits them down.
Aside from the beautifully, impactful, and thoughtfully produced songs in “Chromakopia”, it is safe to say that this album is not the best one that the Creator has made. Each individual song has its own meaning and generates a new feeling to his fans as they travel through the album with its expressing lyrics, which is super impressive. But compared to his best work, “IGOR”, it fails to seamlessly connect each track to each other as one whole story and instead has tracks that get listeners to feel depressed then rapping their lungs out; for example the switch from “Like Him” to “Balloon”.
Still, at the end of the day, “Chromakopia” should not disappoint the true fans; the Creator successfully shows his magical talent in this form of art and paints a beautiful new production for his listeners to enjoy for the rest of their life.
