I’m a huge Tyler, The Creator fan. Although I jumped on the bandwagon back in 2019 with his release of “Igor,” I have been consistent since. I find his lyricism and creativity to be one of the best in the game and I really enjoy his music. On Monday, October 28, he released his 8th album, CHROMAKOPIA, which includes 14 tracks. With that, here are my top five most notable songs from the album.
1. “Darling, I”: 10/10. I love this song so much, it’s so beautiful. It reminds me A LOT of “I THINK” from his 2019 album, “Igor.” If it’s not a response to that song, it’s definitely a reinterpretation of it. It explores the love and loneliness he experiences and his flaws, like his lack of commitment, and how it impacts not only him but the people he loves. It is probably my favorite song on the record. Also, the incorporation of Teezo Touchdown in this was amazing.
2. “Sticky”: 9.9/10. THIS IS THE SONG RIGHT HERE. If this was released in the summer, dare I say, song of the summer. The extended list of features on this song is so cool and fun. I already love GloRilla and Sexyy Red, and to hear them, plus others, on a song with Tyler was so fun. It reminded me of a rap battle that you would do with your friends (especially because of the beat), but much better. Like the ultimate rap battle. I loved this song.
3. “Like Him”: 8.7/10. I really like the lyricism in this song. It goes through Tyler’s difficulties of not growing up and not knowing his father and the regret his mother has for keeping him out of his life when his father wanted to be in it. I think this song tackles a very difficult issue that people like Tyler go through and is a really good embodiment of the feelings you have when you go through not having a father in your life. Also, instrumentally wise, this song sounds beyond beautiful, like angelic.
4. “Hey Jane”: 9.2/10. This is such an important track on this album. He discusses his fear and feelings when confronted with becoming a father, ultimately saying he’s not ready to become one. It also proposes the alternate point of view of the woman in this scenario, where she says she is ready and she does want this child. She says she will keep the child, even if he doesn’t want to be in their lives. I really like Tyler’s take on dialogue for this song. I think the woman’s point that we won’t always be able to have kids and how Tyler will never understand what it’s like to be in her shoes, emotionally and physically, is so important to realize.
5. “I Hope You Find Your Way Home”: 5/10. This song pissed me off, unfortunately. This song kind of responds to “Hey Jane” and talks more about how he “almost had a mini-me, wasn’t ready… raising a child is not on my wishlist … I’m too selfish…” I agree. That is kind of selfish because if we go back to “Hey Jane,” it talks about how much she wanted that child because she was 35, to the point she was willing to have the child in secret and raise it alone in Europe. But here, it talks about the child in a past tense. I just feel like it’s sad for the woman who wanted a child. It’s not her fault he didn’t pull out (which he mentioned in “Hey Jane”) or use protection, and I feel like it’s sad she felt pressured to not have the kid she wanted. Even though I’m probably biased because I am a woman and I understand her point of view more than a man, like Tyler, would, I really sympathize with her, and this song just seems like a brag of paying off a woman you got pregnant to have an abortion she didn’t want. This song upsets me a lot and I wish it wasn’t the ending track on this album.