Have you heard of ‘Chromakopia’? Yeah, of course you have. World-renowed artist Tyler, The Creator’s eighth album took over the internet after he announced its release just weeks before it came out on the morning of October 28.
Basics + numbers
‘Chromakopia’ dominated the top tracks of Spotify and Apple Music that Monday and continues to garner an impressive amount of streams- over 85 million on Spotify by its first day, and over 67 million on by the second day. Which, like, no surprise. As of this week, “Noid”, the track he released prematurely, has gained over 40 million streams on Spotify, with every other song gaining at least 10 million streams so far. All in all, it’s looking good for Tyler and the unique promo seems to have done its job.
Features
A lot of people were speculating from Tyler’s music video announcing Chromakopia that each of the hooded figures marching into the shipping container in the video represented people who would be featured on the album. A LOT of people were very confident that one of those people was Frank Ocean, based on the outline of his face under the mask and the fact that Tyler and Frank had been seen together. I personally was never convinced, and unfortunately, I was right– no Frank Ocean on the album. However, there’s still quite a few features to be excited about:
- Daniel Caesar on “St. Chroma”
- Teezo Touchdown on “Darling, I”
- Childish Gambino (although not credited) on “I Killed You”
- Childish Gambino (again not credited) on “Judge Judy”
- Glorilla, Sexyy Red, and Lil Wayne on “Sticky”
- Daniel Caesar and LaToiya Williams on “Take Your Mask Off”
- ScHoolboy Q and Santigold on “Thought I was Dead”
- Lola Young on “Like Him”
- Doechii on “Balloon”
Some people think this album has pretty weak features, and I don’t completely agree considering it features quite a few people (and also my personal favorite Daniel Caesar), but I was a bit disappointed to not see some names that have been on his past albums, like ASAP Rocky (and Frank, of course…).
Vinyl Exclusives
Did you know… that Playboy Carti is featured on ‘Chromakopia’s vinyl version of the song “Thought I Was Dead”? There is also an exclusive track called “Told Me/Turned Out Fine.” I’m actually crying knowing that I can’t stream these special songs.
Listening Party + Surprise shows
Tyler, The Creator hosted an LA-only listening party on October 27 at the Inuit Dome, the night before the album was released. He did not sing the songs but he certainly put on a performance, and he also gave some heartfelt speeches. Tickets were only 5 dollars and I’m still angry I couldn’t secure one. However, so many people showed up, including celebrities like Kim Kardashian and North West, Steve Lacy, Kendall Jenner, and many more. After all, it’s LA. However, this wasn’t Tyler’s only surprise show–he hosted a small surprise Halloween pop-up show in Boston, and also another surprise show in Atlanta where he performed the actual songs.
The tour
Tyler also announced a massive 2025 arena tour following the release of CHROMAKOPIA. Lil Yachty and Paris Texas will be opening for him, he will be performing in the U.S, UK, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and he just added a lot more concert dates. All tickets for the tour have officially gone live as of now and are on average around 300 dollars.
In addition to his tour, Tyler is also putting on Camp Flog Gnaw this year in November, featuring himself and a plethora of other well-known artists.
Reviews
Reviews for CHROMAKOPIA have been coming out quite mixed. A lot of people find it a bit all over the place, saying it contains a confusing message. But doesn’t that sound like something Tyler would want people to feel? Every review is different and resonates with the album in different ways, but they often recognize the grandeur, complexity, and vulnerability of it all. Personally, I don’t think this album will top most of his others for me, but I’m still getting to know it and that might change. After all, we knew it was going to be high-concept and potentially even hard to understand. I still like the album so far. My personal favorites are “Darling, I”, “Judge Judy,” “St.Chroma,” “Take Your Mask Off” and “Like Him”. I appreciate how vulnerable he is in this album and how it still manages to sound new and exciting. No matter what you think, one thing’s for certain– this man knows how to make music and continually shake up the industry.