One of my favorite albums of the year was dropped in late October. It seems wild that a few short weeks ago, the world didn’t have “CHROMAKOPIA” by Tyler, the Creator.
This almost surprise album was teased by Tyler Okonma, popularly known as Tyler, the Creator on Instagram on Oct. 16, with the album dropping on Oct. 28.
I really appreciated that this album was released with little promotion. I feel like many artists tease their albums six or more months in advance and do so much promotion that I am sick of hearing about them when the actual album drops.
This album has no skips from start to finish. The album opens with “St. Chroma,” where we hear Tyler’s mom, Bonita Smith, saying:
“You are the light/ It’s not on you it’s in you/ Don’t you ever in your m—–f—— life dim your light for nobody.”
Tyler’s mom is at the heart of this project. Her voice and advice are sewn throughout the album, illuminating the theme that light and power come from inside.
Throughout this album, Tyler is discovering himself. He seeks understanding in his life and within himself. He is successful in many ways, but he explores the ways he feels he has failed.
In the song “Tomorrow,” Tyler struggles with the idea of getting older.
“Yeah what’s gotten into me? Nah, that ain’t the energy / That version of T that you knew is a memory.”
In this line and throughout the song, he talks about not having children of his own and not feeling ready to settle down but feeling pressure to flip that switch.
“My homegirl, her knot tied, she like thirty-two / They sharin’ pictures of these moments, s— is really cute / And all I got is photos of my ‘Rari and some silly suits.”
One of the most impressive things about this album is that Tyler wrote, produced and arranged the entire album himself.
I love the way Tyler produces. He makes the entire album feel like a cohesive entity rather than individual songs.
The only single from this album was the song “Noid,” so it was the only song I knew on the first listen-through, and my jaw dropped at the transition from “Rah Tah Tah” to “Noid.” “Rah Tah Tah” ends with the repeating line:
“I’m paranoid now because **** weird and really bums.”
The last second of the song ends with Tyler saying, “I’m,” while “Noid” opens with a beat drop and the word “paranoid.”
“CHROMAKOPIA” also induces some of the best features I have ever heard.
This album features 11 confirmed artists besides Tyler. The song “Sticky” features three artists alone.
GloRilla, Sexyy Red, Lil Wayne and Tyler, The Creator create a song where every verse is unique with the artist’s own styles featured, while the production comes together to create a masterpiece.
This is one of the more controversial songs on the album. I have seen a lot of online discourse saying it is one of Tyler’s worst songs, and I could not disagree more.
One of my favorite features is in the song “I Killed You.” This song features Childish Gambino. Although it is not explicitly stated in the song’s title, you can hear him on the background vocals.
As someone who has loved their vocal combination since “RUNNING OUT OF TIME” live at Coachella, I was excited to hear him layered in the background.
Overall, this project was a life-changing advancement in music, as Tyler’s projects normally are. If you haven’t given it a listen yet, where have you been?
Freeman can be reached at [email protected].
