Being a Tyler, the Creator fan means a lot of things, but usually it means getting an amazing album and then waiting multiple years for new music and Tyler content. Finally, it’s that time, after three years since his last album, Call Me If You Get Lost,in 2021, Tyler, the Creator released his ninth studio album, titled CHROMAKOPIA,at 6 a.m. EST on Oct. 28, 2024. The anticipation for this album throughout Tyler, the Creator’s fanbase was unreal, and many fans took to social media to post their predictions of possible features on the upcoming album. Tyler, the Creator has been known for not revealing his features on the tracklist, leaving his fans to listen and find out who the features are themselves. This was a fun, almost guessing game, for me and my friends, who made lists and videos about our predictions to compare and contrast once we had heard the album. Some also may find it odd that the album was released at 6 a.m. on a Monday morning. While talking to celebrity journalist Nardwuar, Tyler, the Creator stated, “My reasoning is that I know people think because of the weekend you can listen to stuff and streams go up… but I think it’s a lot of passive listening. But I think if you put it out in the beginning of the week, listening on that commute to school or work, you really have that hour, thirty to really listen and dive in.” Regardless of why, I woke up early and decided to listen to the album while comparing my predictions and taking notes. Here’s what I thought about Tyler, the Creator’s CHROMAKOPIA.
Track 1: “St. Chroma”
This was the first song we heard as a single prior to the album being released, so I think it will always be one of my favorites from the entire album, as it introduced me to this new era of Tyler, the Creator’s career. Tyler’s albums are very conversational with the inclusion of skits and talking in a lot of songs. I really enjoyed this element of this track, as it felt like a premise to what the rest of the album would be. I absolutely adored the marching and chanting parts as well, and they were able to introduce sounds into the music and themes of this song. Lastly, Daniel Ceasar’s feature, proving one of my predictions prior to listening to be correct, was phenomenal, as his voice perfectly blended and harmonized with the backing vocals throughout the songs.
Track 2: “Rah Tah Tah”
The immediate difference in this song from “St. Chroma” solidified how much range this album would have. Although it’s upbeat and more of a hype song, I liked the juxtaposition of the lyrics to the beat. The words touched on topics such as true friendships, with Tyler even mentioning his previous rap group, Odd Future, along with his friend, Lionel Boyce, who he knew from drama school, and is now a professional actor. This song also bled into the next track, reflecting on Tyler’s paranoia with certain people and relationships in the industry by saying, “If my exe is spillin’ tea about me, don’t you drink that,” and, “I’m paranoid now ‘cause **** weird and really bums.” I felt that brushing it off with a casual tone over an upbeat sound may have deterred people from the lyrics, but I could hear layers of vulnerability throughout the song, which I really enjoyed.
Track 3: “Noid”
Like I mentioned, the previous track bled perfectly into this song, as the previous lyrics were about Tyler being paranoid about certain people and relationships while being a musician. This really reminded me of his seventh studio album, IGORI, with the amount of synths and alternative sounds. However, my favorite part of the song was the sampled Zambian chant by the Ngozi Family. It was definitely something I didn’t expect and added a different layer of culture in the music that was really interesting to hear. It was such a blend of genres that surprisingly worked so well together; something only Tyler, the Creator would be successful at doing.
Track 4: “Darling I”
This song, featuring Teezo Touchdown, yet another one of my predicted artists to be on this album, feels like spring. It reminded me of Tyler’s album from 2017, titled Flower Boy,due to the production, however it also reminded me of the era during his eighth studio album, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST. I think Teezo Touchdown and Tyler, the Creator’s voices blend so well together, and the lyrics about falling in love were pure bliss sonically, vocally, and lyrically. There were themes of physical and emotional intimacy, letting go to take a risk, and love that were opposite to some of the other meanings behind the first three songs. This song was a refreshing switch in tone from the previous tracks that made listening for the first time really intriguing and exciting.
Track 5: “Hey Jane”
This has to be the most lyrically interesting and unique song on the album in my opinion. The voice memo of Tyler’s mom saying, “Always, always, always wear a condom. Don’t trust–,” assured me that this song was going to take me on a wild ride. The first thing I thought of when I heard this song was the storytelling. This song reminded me of Tyler’s past song, titled “Wilshire,” from CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST,with how descriptive and chronologic the lyrics were. It felt like Tyler was taking us on this very honest and raw trip about a previous relationship he had. This song touched on a plethora of issues regarding secrecy, single moms, pregnancy, wealth, and overall a woman’s perspective on a relationship. My favorite part of this song was how Tyler was rapping and speaking from the woman’s perspective, using what she said to him instead of telling his own story. I thought this was extremely unique and hard to pull off, yet he made it work with his illustrative lyrics that embodied the story for me as a listener.
Track 6: “I Killed You”
This song felt like a revenge arc, cutting someone who deserved it out of your life, with emphasis on the lyric, “I killed you,” throughout the song. There were themes about black culture, and lack of education on heritage, which can warrant someone being cut from your life. This song was something I personally related to, as it reminded me of moments I had to cut people out of my own life, and in my mind, “I had to kill” them to rid myself from the negative energy they were bringing me. I really adored how Tyler could seamlessly tie in such a deep-rooted topic in a lot of black people’s lives into a feel-good song.
Track 7: “Judge Judy”
This song is one of my favorites sonically, as it reminds me of an old ‘70s song with a modern twist. Once again, Tyler’s lyricism and talent for painting a picture for his audience through his words is what made this song automatically one of my favorites. I loved his ode to his song, “Dogtooth,” with the lyric, “Your body count and who you **** is not my concern.” This song to me felt like the initial period of bliss, known as the “honeymoon phase,” of a relationship, when recounting how much he related to the girl and how much he genuinely liked her. I also really loved Tyler’s vocals during this song, as they sounded very intimate and more like singing than rapping in my opinion. There was even a point when I first listened and I thought he sounded like singer-songwriter Frank Ocean, which I freaked out about. As the features are not shown when you are listening, I almost convinced myself it was him, but after re-listening, I realized it wasn’t.
Track 8: “Sticky”
Out of all of the tracks, I think that this one was the most surprising, feature-wise. This upbeat, hip-hop song was a complete shift in vibes, with features from rappers GloRilla, Sexyy Red, and Lil Wayne. As I predicted, Sexyy Red was a pleasantly surprising feature on this album, and even though I don’t really listen to her music, I can admit that she added a lot to the song. The talent on this track was unbeatable, along with the energetic element of production. This song made me want to get up, dance, and scream – even at six in the morning. My favorite parts were the instrumentation and production, as it really reminded me of the marching band feel of Tyler’s songs from his eighth studio album, called “LEMONHEAD,” featuring 42 Dugg, and “JUGGERNAUT,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell Williams. I love hearing instrumentals and adlibs like this, so this song also moved to one of my top favorites.
Track 9: “Take Your Mask Off”
Yet another song featuring the immensely talented Daniel Caesar, this song was a complete lyrical switch that really caught me off guard; from such a fun song like “Sticky,” to then talking about serious topics such as marriage, struggling with postpartum symptoms, suicide, therapy, and keeping a facade. The trumpet in this song was beautifully paired with voice memos of Tyler’s mom layered over. The ending of the song truly made my jaw drop with the lyric, “Your respect won’t get given ‘til we postin’ your death.” This part of the song was so sharp in the way Tyler delivered it, along with his tone; it felt personal. The end of the song had a feel, with the quieter music and louder vocals, emphasis, and cadence in Tyler’s words where he was talking about someone that he didn’t like. I loved how bold it was.
Track 10: “Tomorrow”
Tyler’s ability to make undeniably catchy and beautiful songs while also singing emotionally vulnerable lyrics about his relationship with his mother and father, time, change, growth , etc, is almost as impeccable as it is challenging. This song felt like it touched a part of my heart with its powerful lyrics and raw voice recordings throughout. It felt like it hit me right in the chest. If I were to write a song about this very topic, his words would be exactly what I’d want to say and more. This song was beautiful in its vulnerability.
Track 11: “Thought I Was Dead”
I have to first mention the intro of this song, with its militaristic chant that states, “You don’t want to go to war with a soldier.” I thought it was a nice way to introduce the song, and I love how a lot of Tyler, the Creator’s songs feel like they have a concrete beginning, middle, and end, like a story. It’s something I look forward to in all of his projects, but I think it was so well done in this one specifically. This song featured rappers Schoolboy Q and Santigold, who added a lot to the song with the simple difference in sound and timbre of each other’s voices. This song also felt like Tyler was speaking on someone specific, especially in the lyrics, “White boys mockin’ this shit and y’all mad at me?” and “*****, you ain’t Coco Guaff, you can’t serve me,” calling out people copying his flow, while giving props to the talented tennis player Coco Guaff. I love how playfully yet harshly he can own someone, which was my favorite part of this song.
Track 12: “Like Him”
This has to be my favorite song on the album. I thought it was so beautifully made that it literally brought me to tears. The song opens with yet another voice recording of his mom talking about how he “has his [father’s] feet, body, long arms, fingers, flat feet, big di–.” It was such a deeply personal conversation with his mom that the fact that he included it in the song was almost disturbing. However, I think I really connected to this song and the theme of being just like your father – someone that may have hurt you and someone you may not want to be like. It reminded me of how every time my mom would tell me that I “look like my father,” I would get upset because I didn’t want to look like him, a man who has hurt me. Tyler displayed this feeling so perfectly that it honestly caught me off guard with how emotional it made me. It was like someone took this exact instance and niche situation out of my brain and put it into a song, which I am forever appreciative of. I also thought the feature of Lola Young was flawless, as her vocals were stunning and noticeable, but also subtle somehow.
Track 13: “Balloon”
Featuring artist Doechii, this song really caught me by surprise. Going from crying about my father because of the meaning of “Like Him,” to immediately dancing my butt off, was not something I expected. I think this song is perfect, and that this collaboration was made for both Tyler and Doechii. Their vocals and energy in this song were an ultimate pick-me-up while being complementary towards each other simultaneously. This song was for sure in my top five on the album, solely because of Doechii’s verse.
Track 14: “I Hope You find Your Way Home”
I wasn’t sure if there was such a thing as an ideal or perfect closing of an album until I heard this song. It felt like an old slow-dancing scene in an ‘80s film that plays in the background as the credits roll in over top. I completely loved ending this album on the note and tone of this song, especially with the fragility of the lyrics. Talking about growing from embarrassment, selfishness, and lack of maturity is a hard thing to do, but Tyler made it entertaining, with adlibs of him breathing, and a beautiful clip of his mom exclaiming, “I’m proud of you, bro. Like you just never cease to amaze me…” This was the perfect way to end the album and enter the era of CHROMAKOPIA.