Warning: this article may contain spoilers!
Wow. Tyler, The Creator never disappoints, and he proves this again with his newest album, CHROMAKOPIA. From experimenting with a new “identity” to the mind-blowing featured artists, the album is truly captivating. In these 14 tracks, he focuses on introspection, using music as a platform to express his true feelings.
In the cover art, music videos, and visualizers, Tyler is wearing a mask resembling his face. In past albums, he would create different characters for each one, but this marks the first time he has presented an album as himself.
According to All HipHop, Tyler felt he had to wear a mask to finally get these emotions off his chest. Throughout the album, he discusses many of his fears as he ages and explores their complexities. He does this by using more of his natural voice to hit different notes instead of altering it to be perfectly pitched. The rawness of his voice symbolizes the unfiltered, raw thoughts he is vocalizing.
The album opens with “St.Chroma.” The song begins with Tyler’s mother, Bonita Smith, saying, “You are the light. It’s not on you; it’s in you.” Following the words of encouragement, Tyler begins rapping in a whisper and slowly increases his volume.
This introduction transports listeners into Tyler’s inner thoughts about how he views himself as an artist. His words emanate confidence, as he has been very successful in the music industry by staying true to his sound and plans to continue on this path.
During “St.Chroma,” Daniel Caesar chimes in with chilling gospel vocals building up more and more as the track progresses. The song ends with a bang, leaving us excited to dive into the rest of the album.
One of my favorite songs from the album is “Noid,” which combines heavy rock sounds with hip-hop. He uses the talents of Willow and Thundercat for this track. Willow’s vocals create different harmonies in the song’s hook, and Thundercat contributes to the rock sound with bass.
In “Noid,” Tyler raps about his fear of the public and idolizing celebrities. In these past few years, it seems the public’s treatment of celebrities has worsened, with crazed fans mistreating their favorite singers. Tyler feels he is constantly being watched by everyone around him and is worried about being followed by fans, paparazzi, and the media.
“Darling, I” is another instant favorite of mine as Tyler discusses how he approaches love and relationships. He once again features his mother’s voice as she gives the advice, “Don’t tell no b*tch you love her. If you don’t mean it, don’t tell us.”
The song’s sounds are reminiscent of his past work in albums like IGOR, using synth and featuring Teezo Touchdown’s vocals in a pop style. Tyler indicated that he tends to fall fast and hard, but just as easily, he gets bored and moves on to the next person. In “Darling, I,” he reveals how he never sees himself settling down with one person and is finally learning how to communicate this to his love interests. He will never be monogamous and has accepted that he will never fit into the perfect family mold.
The 10th track of the album, “Tomorrow,” breaks Tyler’s tradition of having his 10th track be in two parts. A guitar opens the song, with his mother begging and questioning Tyler for a grandchild. Tyler discusses the impact that time passing has had on him and the challenges he has noticed about getting older. He also compares himself to the people around him as they begin to establish their own families, but he finds himself too tired to follow. He accepts that he’s aging and separates himself from his past identity, declaring he wants to be seen as the mature man he is today.
The album closes with “I Hope You Find Your Way Home.” This track is structured as a lyrical summary of the topics covered in CHROMAKOPIA. He wraps up his final thoughts on getting older, children, his reputation, and more. The bass, synth, and layered vocals dominate the song, creating a floaty, peaceful ending to the album.
His mother makes her final contribution, sounding like she is on the brink of tears as she expresses how proud she is of Tyler and motivates him to keep growing.
While the album’s sound doesn’t stray too far from his previous works, the lyrics are truly the main focus. Most of the songs pay tribute to past albums, such as Wolf, Cherry Bomb, and IGOR. He uses classic Tyler harmonies, synth, beat changes, neo-soul chords, and other familiar techniques. He uses his mother’s voice to guide most of his album, chiming in at multiple points to give Tyler advice and praise for the lessons he has learned. It was a cohesive album with chilling transitions between songs, like “Rah Tah Tah” and “Noid.” Additionally, CHROMAKOPIA ends in a perfect loop, with “I Hope You Find Your Way Home” blending back into the starting track “St.Chroma.”
When listening to this album, I agree with Tyler, the Creator’s suggestion of doing so distraction-free. There are many small details to focus on that are easy to miss, preventing you from getting the full effect of his words unless it has your full attention. Tyler even posted his favorite moments in the album on X so listeners could look out for them.
Debuting with 85 million streams on Spotify, CHROMAKOPIA has quickly become a fan favorite. According to Chart Data, Tyler dethroned Taylor Swift as #1 on the Global Spotify Top Artist.
Since his world tour announcement, tickets have sold out at multiple venues, as fans are eager to see him live. Lucky for me, I got tickets for the Orlando show, and I can’t wait to see this album come to life!