By Tessa Nacke
Tyler, the Creator, two-time Grammy award winner and music extraordinaire, released his eighth studio album ‘Chromakopia’ on Monday.
‘Chromakopia’ features 14 original songs, each with a significant meaning behind its creation.
“This is the first album where everything I said is true,” Tyler said at a pop-up show in Atlanta. “It’s so honest, I had to wear a mask of my own face to get that [out].”
Tyler began teasing this new album via his Instagram on Oct. 17, releasing a snippet of ‘St. Chroma’ for his fans to obsess over. This began the frenzy of theories as many fans tried to guess the features, vibes and overarching theme of the album, including famous names such as Baby Keem, Frank Ocean and Daniel Caesar being thrown into the mix on social media
A day later, Tyler officially announced his album. People (me) were ecstatic.
As fans began prepping for the album to be released, Tyler kept releasing snippets on Instagram and TikTok. He released ‘Noid’ on Oct. 21 and ‘Thought I Was Dead’ on Oct. 26.
These snippets came to a head when Tyler hosted a listening party at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, just hours before the official release of the album.
Interestingly enough, the album was not on a ‘conventional’ release date — being released early on a Monday morning rather than Friday at midnight.
For the first time in a while, I was actually excited to wake up on a Monday morning!
After jumping up and down for joy, I settled in and began my first listen while driving to school. And, to no one’s surprise, it was a masterpiece.
The album is 53 minutes long and has an amazing versatility of production, lyricism and a perfect amount of grit to keep the listener hooked. While all the songs are introspective and unique, everyone has their favorites (me included). Below are some of my favorites, as well as honorable mentions that feature an interesting backstory.
Noid
“No cameras out, please, I wanna eat in peace (Paranoid).”
As the third song on the album, Tyler employs themes of franticness and paranoia, using the song to explain how being a public figure makes him paranoid. This is actually an interesting debate that’s been extremely relevant in celebrity culture, with artists such as fellow artists Chappell Roan and Camillia Cabello recently bringing awareness to the pervasiveness of their fans and paparazzi.
The music video that accompanies Noid furthers this theme with actress Ayo Edebiri acting as a fan. One frame features her frantically gesturing her phone at Tyler, with the frame switching to her holding a gun. This imagery brings up the notion that parasocial relationships can be dangerous for both parties.
Darling, I (feat. Teezo Touchdown)
“Cause honestly (Psh), T is not perfect, So how can I get everything from one person?, I’m at the altar, but I’m still searchin.”
Darling, I is the fourth song on the album and can be encapsulated into one word—groovy. Featuring the buttery vocals of rapper Teezo Touchdown and a vibey bassline, this song is all about love. The song opens with a warning from his mother to never tell anyone you love them unless you really mean it.
Tyler spends the rest of the song exploring this theme of love, and how he falls in love with so many different aspects of so many different people.
This song is my third favorite on the album, just for the overall grooviness and vibes that it gives off.
Sticky (feat. GloRilla, Sexyy Red & Lil Wayne)
“Better find a mop, it’s gettin’ sticky in this … ”
The eighth song on the album is my second favorite and has the most features out of the songs on the album. Each feature shines in its own way, with GloRilla and Sexyy Red bringing a gritty type of rap that has listeners giving their best stank face.
The glorious combination of 808’s, trumpets and backing vocals (stickyyy) makes the song extremely hype. By introducing bold genre-mixing production, Tyler unapologetically explores the idea of self-esteem and identity throughout complex relationships (Spoiler: it’s a sticky situation).
Take Your Mask Off (feat. Daniel Caeser & LaToiya Williams)
“And I hope you find yourself, And I hope you take your mask off … You ain’t gotta hide from the truth.”
The ninth song on the album explores themes of sexuality, authenticity and growing up. The theme of masks is extremely prevalent in this song, pleading with the subjects of this song to stop pretending and ‘take their masks off.’
While the subjects of this song include a thug, a preacher and a single mom, this song also explores Tyler’s own mask and how he tries to hide himself under it.
This song is beautifully composed and honestly makes me consider the masks I have in my own life. Tyler does a fantastic job with how he presents his music, always pushing the envelope with new themes, vocals, and production styles for his listeners to chew on.
Thought I Was Dead (feat. ScHoolboy Q & Santigold)
“Why am I filled with this hate? Got freedom in every way … Y’all wanna take what I got, but y’all do not got what it take.”
This is by far my favorite song on the album due to its empowering theme and compelling trombones, glitchy bass and innovative synths. This song just makes me want to get up and dance.
The eleventh song on the album, Tyler brings back the hard-hitting lyrics and drums. He brings up mentions of old entertainment groups he used to be a part of, such as Loiter Squad and Odd Future. By bringing up these groups, he not only recognizes his past but refutes it by talking about his future.
Tyler has had such an interesting career, and this song sort of reaffirms that by proving to his audience, including his haters; although they ‘thought he was dead,’ he always comes back stronger.
Conclusion
Tyler also announced the Chromakopia World Tour, which will take place in cities around the United States, Europe and Australia.
If you are a Tyler fan or not, no one can deny his creative genius. From the quality of production to the tear-jerking message, each song on the album has the potential to be your new favorite.
If this article doesn’t have you marching to the beat, Tyler’s album definitely will.
