Tyler, The Creator recently dropped his eighth album, CHROMAKOPIA, sparking excitement in the hearts of alternative hip-hop lovers, including me. The rapper and producer had shut down the possibility of an album releasing in 2023, breaking his tradition of releasing an album every two years, which he’s followed his entire career up until this point. In his music video for “SORRY NOT SORRY,” Okonma can be seen getting rid of each character from all his albums, signaling the beginning of a new artistic era and setting the stage for CHROMAKOPIA.Â
Tyler, The Creator has promoted this album in a way that’s distinctive from other albums. He typically releases snippets of songs on his socials and later publicizes two or three songs on streaming platforms, which is a pretty popular technique in general for album rollouts. Tyler changed it up by sending green trucks with the album’s name to different cities across the U.S. for fans to track down and take pictures with. In Los Angeles, he hosted a listening party the night before his album came out, and some cities have also received surprise 30-minute performances from him. Tickets to these shows were only a whopping $5.Â
Instead of a late Thursday night, T’s album came out early Monday morning. He believes that a listener can get more out of the album as you’re commuting to school or work rather than while you’re relaxing on a weekend. Once again, an attention to detail by The Creator.Â
I love to watch musicians be creative as they prepare for their new album’s release. It’s almost cinematic as they sprinkle teasers to their songs slowly leading up to the date and find ways to reach out to their fans. Tyler is playing this part well, garnering as much support for his album and giving his supporters opportunities to see him live.Â
Album day releases are almost like a holiday in itself for me. The tradition of staying up in anticipation and checking social media to see other fans’ enthusiasm. That first listen is always magical and filled with raw emotion. Making your own theories as you go from song to song about the general theme of the album and listening to the musician’s unraveled version of their heart makes you appreciate the work as it is. To go in with no expectations and an open-mind is essential, and I generally listen to an album multiple times before forming my final thoughts. Some take a couple replays to fully understand and immerse yourself in, which is the beauty of music in my opinion.Â
It’s an unfortunate reality that some people will listen to an album once or only bits and pieces before showing their hate towards it. An album I’d like to reference is Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, which by far created one of my favorite listening experiences. When it initially released and to this day, many people disliked it for its themes of generational trauma, toxic masculinity, and Lamar’s most prominent flaws. The album reaches a level of realism that many could not resonate with or put into perspective. Personally, it took many listens for me to recognize the message in its entirety, but once it was brought to light, this album proved to be life-changing in a way I cannot describe.Â
Sometimes it takes an equal amount of effort for a musician to produce their music and an attender to value it. The process is rewarding for both artist and listener. CHROMAKOPIA has been labeled as Tyler, The Creator’s own Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, which is not that big of a stretch as he explores his own insecurities throughout. There are still many details to uncover and an opinion to settle on, and I look forward to each and every listen.