CHROMAKOPIA Review

CHROMAKOPIA shakes Tyler, The Creator to his core

By Dylan Barbee

Courtesy of @feliciathegoat on Instagram

Release Date: October 28th, 2024

Over a year since his deluxe album The Estate Sale accompanied his 2021 album Call Me If You Get Lost and a series of tweets addressing how he wouldn’t be dropping new music in 2024, Tyler, The Creator has surprised fans with CHROMAKOPIA. 

The album rollout featured the music video release of the introduction track “St. Chroma” and an Instagram post revealing the album’s title and cover. The thought-provoking music video for “Noid” was released several days later. Since Tyler, The Creator is notorious for taking on new altar egos through each one of his albums, it was no surprise to see the artist debut a new look, featuring a mask and his hair cut down the middle — there will be more on this later. 

The 14-track album takes on a very introspective tone as the 33-year-old artist realizes the adult issues he now finds himself facing as a respected artist. Vocals from artists like Daniel Caesar throughout and Childish Gambino on the heartwarming song ”Judge Judy” as well as the production-led “I Killed You” build up this reflective and at times chaotic but energetic tone as Tyler goes through this midlife crisis. Other notable artists featured on CHROMAKOPIA include Lil Wayne, Doechii, Sexyy Redd, GloRilla, Teezo Touchdown and Schoolboy Q. The album progresses with words of advice from his mother on either end of each track, one of my favorite touches.

“You are the light,” Bonita Smith, Tyler, The Creator’s mother said on “St. Chroma.” “It’s not on you it’s in you.”

On CHROMAKOPIA, it is apparent that the once impish teenager who blew up off the internet by trolling people and making offensive songs takes his mother’s advice that he once took for granted now to heart. Tyler is realizing that he is growing up and much of this advice is now applicable to his everyday lifestyle. Especially since Tyler is in his 30s, themes like marriage, having kids, questioning whether or not he is fit to be a parent and even his mortality are all prevalent throughout CHROMAKOPIA. 

To preface, there are many songs on this album that I feel like I can talk about for hours. However, I am choosing to focus on the ones that stuck out to me most during my memorable first couple of listens. 

The song “Darling, I” is arguably the catchiest song on the album. In the song, Tyler puts a lens on a polygamous lifestyle, accepting that sometimes relationships don’t work out with people but there are so many other people and things to keep falling in love with in life. “Darling, I keep fallin’ in love,” Tyler and Teezo Touchdown sing in unison during the chorus. Although the chorus is easy to gravitate towards, the verses and ending are significant as Tyler hopes that his exes can move on and find love too.

Unplanned pregnancies and parenthood are topics that Tyler puts a scope on throughout much of CHROMAKOPIA. For instance, “Hey Jane” takes on two different narrators; Tyler and the now mother of his child Jane as they discuss whether or not to keep their baby. The title references the underground abortion “Jane networks” from the 60s and 70s and takes on the same name as a reproductive healthcare company located in New York City. The song unpacks the anxieties and hesitancy of either raising a child together, alone or not at all. I feel like this is such an impactful song, especially considering the discussion around abortion today.

Another song revolving around the idea of parenthood is “Like Him”. This is the most compelling song on the album due to its symbolism of a unique shift in who Tyler is as a person. For instance, the song is about what it is like to be raised by a single mother and wondering why his father is not in his life. On Tyler, The Creator’s 2013 album Wolf, the song “Answer” has a similar tone but it is a hate letter to his father for leaving him and his mother behind. 

On “Like Him” Tyler processes as he learns that his mother is responsible for him not knowing his father because she chose to keep them separated from one another. We hear this at the end of the song in an absolutely gut-wrenching audio clip of his mother explaining her decision and how his father has always wanted to be in his life. Throughout the song, we hear Tyler curiously wrestle with whether he wants to know his father or not. “Mama I’m chasing a ghost, I don’t know where he is, Mama I’m chasing a ghost, do I look like him?” Tyler harmoniously sings on “Like Him.”

For me, this is one of the most important songs in Tyler’s discography as the most quintessential reason behind Tyler’s rebellious personas was him thinking his father abandoned him. Now to hear the truth, his once hateful stance against his father has now turned into a somewhat understanding one. 

However, just because he has the ability to reach out to his father now, he chooses not to because throughout his life his mother was the one who was always there for him and they have built a strong trustworthy relationship together. Lyrics like “I would never judge ya, ‘Cause everything worked out without him,” and “I would never lie to you, You ain’t never gotta lie to me, I’m everything that I strive to be,” touch on Tyler’s relationship with his mother through this heartfelt discussion before he exclaims “I don’t look like him,” regarding his stance on his relationship with his father. Honestly, “Like Him” is one of the most beautifully crafted songs by Tyler and that’s without even mentioning the harmonious production flooding behind the storyline. 

The song “Tomorrow” expresses Tyler’s desire to make his mother happy by giving her grandkids juxtaposed to his fear of the inability to find someone to marry as he ages.“I’m gaining weight, I’d rather rest, The thought of children brings me stress,” Tyler sings. The synth-filled production style towards the end of the song brings back memories of his critically acclaimed  2017 album Flower Boy. 

There are also a handful of energetic songs on CHROMAKOPIA that somewhat stand out when placed between such introspective commentary. Songs like “Rah Tah Tah”, “Sticky” and “Thought I Was Dead” are entertaining breaks between serious topics but these are songs I wouldn’t go to first on relisten. Tyler pays homage to Los Angeles and Odd Future through an upbeat West Coast sound.

CHROMAKOPIA is an album where Tyler, The Creator reflects on both his past life and present while picking apart his own flaws as a human being and the flaws amongst the current state of the music industry. The album rollout and the masked character on the album’s cover all come together on the centerpiece song of the album “Take Your Mask Off.”

I think the mask symbolizes inauthenticity, representing people who lack the emotional maturity to take accountability for their flaws,  unable to keep it real with themselves as well as others around them. As for his hairstyle, I think it represents the cutting into the center of who Tyler, The Creator is as a human being. “I hope you find yourself, I hope you take off your mask,” Tyler, The Creator and Daniel Caesar sing together on the chorus of “Take Your Mask Off”.

Tyler, The Creator’s past projects focused on crises revolving around certain elements of his identity such as family relationships affecting his mental health on Wolf, coming to terms with his sexuality on Flower Boy, and confronting his idea of love on IGOR. I feel like CHROMAKOPIA is the first crisis that Tyler goes through revolving around who he is as a person at his core and what he wants out of life.

CHROMAKOPIA represents Tyler at his true self, taking off the mask that represents his life of fame and reflecting on the roots of what makes Tyler who he is today. 

Overall, CHROMAKOPIA is a near flawless body of work and Tyler, The Creator’s most mature album yet. Compared to his latest projects like Call Me If You Get Lost where the artist takes on a boastful tone about his life of luxury and IGOR where Tyler is an emotional wreck after experiencing a love triangle in which he gets the short end of the stick, I think CHROMAKOPIA is where he is finally composed through a crisis. Is he confused about where he goes from here? Sure. But like any adult, he will find a way forward. He will move on carrying his CHROMAKOPIA state with him. 

Rating: 9.5/10