Chromakopia is the 7th studio album from Tyler, The Creator. In typical fashion for him, it dropped with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it rollout.
The album dropped 12 days after it was announced, only just leaving enough time spare to release a single and put out details of an upcoming world tour.
In Chromakopia, Tyler, The Creator gives us an idea of where he’s at in life, considering all he’s accomplished, his fears and his hopes for the future.
It’s a long way from his last project. In 2021’s Call Me if You Get Lost he flaunted his lifestyle and wealth at every given opportunity. Chromakopia feels like the other side of a double-edged sword with tracks like Noid, where he expresses the paranoia he feels from being a public figure.
‘You are the light’
The first words spoken on the album are by Tyler’s mother, who states, ‘You are the light; it’s not on you, it’s in you.’ Chromakopia features multiple voice notes from Tyler’s mother that he says are ‘lessons she taught him while growing up that he’s later grown to appreciate’. These lessons help to explore the more mature themes that the album displays.
The intro track St.Chroma starts the album off with a bang by introducing the masked persona seen on the cover. The chorus is the highlight here, with R&B singer Daniel Caesar providing phenomenal vocals.
Tracks such as Rah Tah Tah with its menacing production and Thought I Was Dead show the chaotic side of the project, giving a break from the general introspectiveness that most of the other songs bring.
Sticky is undoubtedly the anthem of this project, with Tyler recruiting Lil Wayne, GloRilla and Sexyy Red to create a song that will make you want to turn the volume all the way up.
The track Balloon has a fun instrumental that is reminiscent of something from a video game or a Pixar movie, accompanied by an outrageous feature from Doechii and an unashamed verse from Tyler.
‘I hope you take your mask off’
The highlight of the album and one of the highlights of Tyler’s career comes in the form of Take Your Mask Off, where he brings his penmanship to a different level to expose people—including himself—that wear masks pretending to be someone they aren’t in life, hiding their true thoughts and feelings.
Another highlight for me was Darling, I, a fun vibey track with an instrumental reminiscent of Wharf Talk from Tyler’s deluxe edition of Call Me if You Get Lost
The album can get very introspective at times with songs like Hey Jane where Tyler raps about an unplanned pregnancy from both sides, The theme of children is again touched in the outro, I Hope You Find Your Way Home and Tomorrow in which Tyler debates if he should stop doing music to start a family
Tyler talks about the absence of his father on the track Like Him, one of the hardest hitting moments happens here when Tyler’s mother admits that she blocked Tyler’s father from being in his life.
I wouldn’t say this is a flawless album though; the two track run in the middle with the songs I Killed You and Judge Judy feel uninteresting, with the latter just being a sexual slog in which he lists off fetishes and kinks.
Overall, Chromakopia is a great album that shows off a side of Tyler, The Creator that we haven’t seen before. He isn’t scared to be open and honest, giving a window into his life from a perspective that very few other artists would be comfortable sharing.
Featured image credits: @feliciathegoat/Instagram
Writing about nick-nacks and doohickeys
