On Monday, October 28, 2024, Tyler, The Creator released his new album “Chromakopia.” He started the roll out for the album two weeks ago and had fans on edge for the whole fortnight. Releasing snippets of songs on Instagram, announcing tour dates and putting a single out, Tyler really had everyone on their toes for this album. This album utilizes very beautiful beats and a storyline about Tyler not listening to his mother’s advice to create a great vibe of love and sympathy for the listener.
At 6:00 a.m. EST, Tyler finally released this album. From the two intro songs, hooking the listener in with heavy synth loops and hard, ear-shaking 808s, to the soft melodic songs in the middle, the production and passion behind this album is very substantial.
Track 1, titled “St. Chroma'” is a very hard hitting intro talking about how rich Tyler is and how he is still trying to figure out this new life of luxury. This song transitions into track two, “Rah Tah Tah,” another hard hitting hook track talking about Tyler’s luxury life. He states in this song that he would not ride in certain vehicles because they simply don’t cost enough for him to drive. Track two’s outro repeats the word “paranoid” transitioning into track three titled “Noid.” This is a very deep cutting track about how Tyler’s life is affected by fame and wealth. He talks about how he can’t trust anyone because he feels like everyone is using him and after him. Tyler states “Privacy? Huh, Yea right, I got a better shot in the NBA,” which is him saying that as a celebrity you have a better chance of being a professional athlete than avoiding the paparazzi.
Track three abruptly stops and goes into track four titled “Darling, I” the first of four ballads. This track starts with his mom telling him to not tell girls he loves them. Tyler avoids this advice to talk about how he told plenty of girls that he loves them, and plans to continue to do so. He relates his love for women to his love for cars, stating that he likes to have more than one option, and says that sometimes that is not the best for him emotionally. Track five is about one of these women he is talking about. “Hey Jane” is an emotional track resembling Tyler having a conversation with a girl he got pregnant. In this song he tells the girl that he’ll do whatever she needs him to do, and will support her through everything. She responds by telling him she might move and raise the kid on her own, or maybe not keep the baby, although she does want to have a kid and is scared she might not be able to in upcoming years due to old age.
Track six is another sentimental track. Titled “I killed you” this song is about Tyler’s relationship with his hair, and also the black community’s relationship with their hair; “killing it” and cutting it. Continuing on the theme of love songs, number seven titled “Judge Judy” is about how Tyler does not care about girls personal lives when he goes on a date with them. He also references that the girl he is with named “Judy” gets cancer that spreads to her brain, and she sends him a parting letter when she dies. Similar to other albums, Tyler is very transparent in these love tracks, letting the listener really feel what he is feeling and think what he is thinking.
Track eight titled “Sticky” is another hard-hitting, party type song. With features from Sexy Redd, Glorilla and Lil Wayne, mixed with hard 808s, this song is perfect for radio and party situations. From the melody to the flow of the rappers on the track, all parts of this song make you want to dance and jump around.
“Sticky” goes into the next song titled “Take Your Mask Off,” which is about people putting on a mask to fit into society. This song goes in depth following four different people. The first of the four is a gangster rapper who Tyler calls out for growing up in a middle class home in the suburbs and getting a drama/acting degree. He says that the persona of a gang member is to cover up the internal sadness this person has and comes from a lack of validation in their childhood. Verse two is about super church pastors, and how they do not practice how they preach. Talking about how the pastors take money from the church, and are very hypocritical of their preaching. Verse three is about a mother that gets the life she always wanted, but instead of being happy like she thought she would, she is sad. She has all these possessions, a rich husband and children, but she doesn’t have time to think to herself or be able to do her hobbies. Verse four is from the perspective of Tyler telling other rappers that they can’t be their real selves in the industry, not being able to express themselves and making music and clothes that they don’t like. He also talks about how he has grown up from his past and can feel himself getting older and more mature.
Growing on the theme of maturing, “Tomorrow” is a deep dive on the futuristic worries of Tyler. The song starts with his mom asking him to have a kid because she wants a grand kid, and a chorus about growing older. Tyler talks about how he notices himself gaining weight, getting wrinkly skin, his face become clear with age and how his friends are starting to have kids already. This is a very sentimental track on growing up and trying to figure out life.
The last hard song on the album, titled “Thought I Was Dead” is a song charged with a heavy beat and insane lyricism. From Tyler spitting multiple verses to a feature from LA rapper Schoolboy Q, this song is very exciting to listen to. Everything about it is very fun and it is a great track to play anywhere there is a fun gathering of people.
“Like Him” is a song from the perspective of Tyler where he shows his mom comparing him to his father, a person he despises. This song is an emotional roller coaster showing the effects of a parent not being in his life and the effect on him of his mom not letting his dad see him. He talks about how he hated his father, but then got mixed emotions when he found his mom was keeping his father from seeing him. This is a very sad ballad and really helps show the perspective of Tyler growing up without a father.
“Like Him” abruptly switches to the upbeat tone of “Balloon,” a fun track that has a very bouncy beat. With a feature from new artist Doechii, Tyler and her both rap on this silly beat to make a very fun song.
The outro track “I Hope you Find your Way Home” is a beautiful melodic track continuing the story of “Hey Jane” explaining what happens after the events in the song. Tyler talks about how he believes he was not ready to be a father and is grateful for the way the events in his life happened. He talks about himself maturing from events that have happened in his life and learning from things such as racially motivated things being said to him, growing musically and artistically, and also how he is figuring himself out as he is growing older. This track ends with a beautiful, jazz like synth break, ending the album in a very emotional and seemingly mature way.
Overall, this album is very good, and will most likely be in contention for album of the year this year. I rate it 4.5/5 stars because of the lyricism, music, and meaning behind the album.
Disclaimer: This album has an Explicit (E) label, which indicates content may not be appropriate for children.
