Tyler The Creator dropped his long-awaited CHROMAKOPIA after a three-year wait from his last album, Call Me If You Get Lost. The three-year wait was worth it, and he has dropped a classic.
Tyler The Creator started the album rollout with a teaser of the intro song “ST. CHROMA” right after announcing the album to be released on Oct. 28. He proceeded to release a full single for the album by the name of “NOID” which was a great single to release to promote the album. He also promoted a tour of CHROMAKOPIA and a limited edition vinyl on his website.
The album starts with “St. Chroma,” that includes loud synths and army boot marching. It also features Daniel Caesar with background vocals. This song is the best choice for an intro to the album as it creates a space that enters listeners into CHROMAKOPIA. The next two songs “Rah Tah Tah” and “Noid” showcase Tyler’s rapping capabilities on exotic beats. The ending of “Rah Tah Tah” fades into “Noid” with him rapping about his paranoia.
The next song “Darling, I” features rapper/singer Teezo Touchdown. In this song, he sings about falling in love. It is a sentimental song and is widely seen as one of the best on the album. The next song “Hey Jane” follows the story, and it is the writing of letters between Tyler and a girl he is in love with. “Hey Jane” has beautiful storytelling. On the 7th track, it follows a similar theme of love. “Judge Judy” is another song about a relationship with a woman. He also takes the perspective of the woman where he talks about judging others in different ways.
After “Judge Judy,” Tyler reveals more of his rapping abilities with features from GloRilla, Sexyy Red, and Lil Wayne on “Sticky.” All rappers on this song have great rapping performances with loud and strong beats. However, in the next song, he dramatically transitions back to soft singing and rapping on “Take Your Mask Off.” He and Daniel Caesar join in singing similar to a choir. Tyler also has a deep message of how people hide their true selves and how it can be hurtful to their characters.
The mood of the album then completely switches back to a rap scene on the 11th track. “Thought I Was Dead,” has one of the best beats of the album and has ScHoolboy Q as a feature. In the song, Tyler raps about his disappearance and past feuds. He switches up the tone once more to a somber song about his dad who left his family in “Like Him.” Tyler explores the idea of his missing father and life without a father. This song is heartbreaking.
After multiple full listens of the album, my favorite song was “Hey Jane,” which was the somber, love song exploring the thoughts of his lover. My least favorite song though was “Balloon.” This song is kind of loud and obnoxious with constant screaming. It also has a terrible feature from Doechii.
I have decided that this album is a solid 8/10 as it has a consistent measure of good songs from start to finish. It also explores deep themes, like love and worrying about what comes next. I highly recommend listening to this one for those who rap music.
