Tyler, The Creator gifted listeners an early holiday present with a surprise album, “CHROMAKOPIA” on Monday, Oct. 28.
The album marks his seventh solo record. With this brand new album being announced just a couple of weeks ago, fans had very little information on who or what the album was about — considering Tyler stated he wouldn’t release any music in 2024.
Monday morning, he posted on his social media platforms urging fans to listen to the album before going on social media or looking at reviews to ensure fans could develop their own opinions.
The album has 14 tracks, featuring artists such as Childish Gambino, GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne, creating a strong set list for listeners to enjoy.
Tyler has many songs on the album with no features besides some background vocals — like “Judge Judy” and “Tomorrow.” Tyler’s mother, Bonita Smith, is also featured on the album as a guiding voice for her son as he expresses his internal struggles. She even opens up about some of Tyler’s most defining moments in life.
This album is a very different take than Tyler’s projects, with several slow songs for listeners to focus on what he’s saying and read into a bigger message. The story of the album deals with the nature of maturity and wanting to settle down but thoughts of self-doubt or knowing he can find better stop him from doing so.
“Hey Jane” goes through a conversation between Tyler and a woman only known in the song as “Jane.” They talk and Tyler opens the conversation about how he got her pregnant and is scared but willing to support her.
Tyler then tells the story from Jane’s perspective and she opens up to him about being a mom, feeling guilt and fear but also letting him know she can raise the child by herself if need be and he shouldn’t feel guilty.
The song ends with Jane saying “T, no matter the decision of day, I just want us to be cool either way/ No pressure.” This shows a mutual understanding, but the question of what happens next still lingers.
Another great track on the album that conveys so much emotion is “Noid.” The single came came out on Oct. 21 just a week before the record’s release to promote the album.
Due to the topic of the song being how paranoid Tyler is, the song created a lot of buzz. He sings about driving around town, being on the phone, being in his own house and being followed by paparazzi. The repeated outro of Tyler saying “Leave me alone, what you want?” and lyrics talking about his shadows keeping watch emphasizes how on edge he is.
Even though this album takes more dark turns, there are still songs that hype up listeners like “Sticky,” featuring GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne. It’s one of the most upbeat songs on the album with very diverse features that allow any fan to connect with some of their other favorite artists or even connect with an artist they don’t know that well.
Tyler has written about a lot of who he is as a person and a lot of his personal experiences — and when it comes to his emotions he doesn’t hold anything back as a lyricist. For “CHROMAKOPIA,” he once again deals with the ever-lingering thought of maturing, growing old, starting a family and even the death of people in his life and himself.
With “IGOR” being my favorite project by him, I enjoyed the storytelling and pacing this album delivered to my ears. I highly recommend listening from start to finish and forming your own ideas about the stories and themes and seeing how you can connect and relate to the music.
