Tyler, the Creator’s, or Tyler Gregory Okonma’s, eighth studio album, “CHROMAKOPIA”, was released Oct. 28, a Monday as opposed to the traditional Friday with music releases as said in an interview with Nardwuar. In the interview, Okonma says “I think we should put music out again on Tuesdays instead of Fridays, for some reasons,” stating that passive listening is more common as people play it during the weekends. By releasing it during the weekday, it allows people to listen to the music during their commute or when they can actively listen instead of passively listening. It is also to note that all the production on the album was made by Tyler, The Creator.
Promotion for the album was done by Tyler, the Creator releasing a teaser for the opening St. Chroma on Oct. 16 followed by the single, “NOID”, five days later on the 21 and lastly, a snippet of “Thought I Was Dead” on the 26 before the release on the 28.
The 14 track album starts with St. Chroma, a song that begins with Tyler’s mom telling the listener that they possess a light that should never be dimmed for anyone. The theme carries on with the song speaking about a fire and a light inside and whether you can feel it.
The second track, “Rah Tah Tah”, pops with energy and confidence with the production assisting the style of the track allowing it to seamlessly transition into the next track. “NOID” starts off where “Rah Tah Tah” ends, with Okonma being paranoid about not being to being able to do things because he’s always being watched by the media and paparazzi, with a line for his mom saying “Don’t ever trust these mother—-’ accountants” reinforcing the theme of paranoia. The zambian sample on track makes this track unique.
“Darling, I”, sounds like a track with the themes of Igor. The fear of commitment in a relationship and the limits of monogamy.
“Hey Jane” talks about a pregnancy scare with a girl, Jane, and Tyler is horrified because he simply isn’t ready for children and sympathizes with Jane as she has to deal with the physical burden of the child ending his part by saying he supports her choice no matter what. In Jane’s half, she’s saying she might keep the child because of her age and that this might be the last chance she gets to have one, Jane says it was an accident but that its not his fault and she can raise the child alone as they both were single parent children but Jane is still scared either way.
“I Killed You” talks about his heritage by using hair as symbolism like in the beginning, he mentions hot combs, blowouts and waves
“Judge Judy” is about how Okonma met a girl named Judy and they had a relationship and one thing he kept saying was he won’t judge Judy for what she doesThe song follows a slower melody with some background vocals from Donald Glover.
Sticky makes use of strong features from GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne that play powerfully into the track.
“Take Your Mask Off” speaks of personal acceptance with oneself and taking off our mask to be ourselves. The track has a more upbeat tone that helps the theme of the song when it comes to finding yourself.
“Tomorrow” carries a similar theme to “Hey Jane” involving the fear of children. It opens with a snippet from Tyler’s mom asking for a grandchild while Okonma battles time as he gets older as he still feels like he is not ready for kids while the people around him are having children.
“Thought I Was Dead” has a more louder and proud sound than the mellow, tender tracks from before. The track’s catchy lines and instrumental help it stand out from the others.
“Like Him” is a difficult topic for some individuals as it speaks to how his mother compares him to his father who he doesn’t know being a single parent child. Being compared to him makes Okonma feel like he’s chasing a ghost of someone he doesn’t know. Okonma’s mom at the end speaks presumably to Okonma saying that she’s sorry and that it was her fault instead of Tyler’s, she says that his father is a good person and not to blame him because he wanted to be there but he couldn’t.
“Balloon”, a turn around from the heavy theme of Like Him, makes itself known with its beat and sample. Tyler’s lyrics of him being a pig and Doechii’s parts follow nicely after Tyler’s with some interesting lines, but are still good.
“I Hope You Find Your Way Home” is the conclusion of the album wrapping everything up in a way that’s pleasant. Okonma touches on the subject of having kids saying that he isn’t interested, but still seeing it as an option.
Mark Keppel senior Nathan Hong, when asked about CHROMAKOPIA amongst its standing with Tyler, the Creator’s discography said, “Right now I’m feeling it is like 4th after ‘Igor’, ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’, and ‘Flower Boy’. Because after feeling it, I can see it has bangers and goofy songs to help ease the tension of the serious things hence why the balloon feels so weird.” If someone should listen to the album, Hong said, “I think it is worth listening to with all the messaging and some bangers and things like that. The messaging of the album is nice, it’s really helpful.”
