On October 28, 2024, Tyler the Creator dropped his seventh studio album CHROMAKOPIA, adding another stellar project to his discography.
This album was released on short notice to his listeners. Fans of Tyler the Creator were not expecting any new music from him this year because Tyler himself said he would not release anything in 2024. This all changed on October 16 when a preview for the song ST CHROMA was released on his Youtube channel along with a release date and an album cover revealing the name of the project: ‘CHROMAKOPIA’.
The following two weeks were filled to the brim with news regarding the album since he only gave time for a two-week rollout before the album was supposed to drop. All of these announcements released on his Youtube channel were accompanied by high-quality videos that gave fans insights into what content the album held.
The album opens with the song “SAINT CHROMA” which sets up the album in a beautiful way by showcasing a softer, melodic side mixed with rough grimy sounding instrumentals that create a beautiful contrast, displaying the multilayered message of the album.
The next few tracks remind listeners of his older albums such as Goblin or Bastard, with their in-your-face beats and edgy lyrics. However, in the track “Noid,” where Tyler talks about the stress and hardships of constantly being in the public eye, the vibe switches to a more melodious, sweet sound that is present in the next three tracks.
In the next few tracks, Tyler starts to get personal with his life experiences. On the track “Hey Jane,” Tyler talks about having a child under the wrong circumstances. Not wanting to become his father who abandoned him at birth, Tyler decides to keep the baby. Tyler, having big goals and aspirations, also does not want to give up on his dreams but understands that he has to stand up and be a father to his child. All of this however takes a strain on his girlfriend Jane who loves Tyler deeply and does not want to hold him back but also knows that she will forever regret not having the child. She keeps the baby but it creates a rift between her and Tyler that may never be closed.
For the next couple of songs, Tyler does not want to address the things going on in his life, and would rather bury them under material distractions that he knows will not change what he feels inside. He reveals what he truly feels on the inside in the song “TAKE YOUR MASK OFF” where he expresses his deepest emotions that reveal how he feels about the events happening in the album, and in his real-life career, like being LGBTQ in the rap community.
Throughout the rest of the album, Tyler is still struggling with his feelings. He ends the album acknowledging that he still has a long way to go, but is better off than when he started.
The features on this album are unique in the sense that they serve big purposes in small ways. The longest verses people get are when they do the choruses, like Daniel Caesar on “ST CHROMA” and Teezo Touchdown on “Darling, I.” But other than that, artists barely get any words, like Lil Wayne on the track “STICKY.” Baby Keem on the song “LIKE HIM” only gets one word in and nothing else before his feature ends. Even though these amazing artists do not get full verses, their short but sweet contributions to the album make a much bigger impact because of how masterfully their minuscule time on the album has been woven into their respective tracks.
CHROMAKOPIA is another outstanding body of work that deserves its place in Tyler’s discography.
