CHROMAKOPIA is the latest album from California rapper, singer, and producer Tyler, The Creator, following his last work Call Me If You Get Lost and it may be one of his best yet.
This record is also one of great change for Tyler’s career. CHROMAKOPIA is his first album to not have had a two-year waiting period beforehand. Tyler instead kept fans waiting a full three years before release. Furthermore, this is the first album of his not to feature a two-part track in the style of Gone Gone/Thank You or Sweet/I Thought You Wanted To Dance. Yet these changes in no way have hampered the sheer breadth and color of creativity displayed in this work. Tyler has proved yet again that he is a veritable chameleon of music, taking and mixing together little aspects from across the world of music into his own distinct aesthetic and musical style.
In many ways CHROMAKOPIA is a combination of Tyler’s musical past, with aspects of Flower Boy, Igor, and Even Wolf all very present here. This approach to the album’s composition makes it feel like a celebration of his career and the place he has reached within music.
CHROMAKOPIA has also reeled in the most day 1 streams of any album in his discography and is the biggest album at the moment with 85 million streams.
The whole album kicks off with the emphatic St. Chroma , which builds with a chant of the album title along with softer production. The track features the help of singer Daniel Ceaser as the track builds with gospel inspired chants and singing. The following Rah Tah Tah, is a more traditional true-blue banger, one of the best ways possible to pump up the energy for the rest of the album to follow. While the next track Noid might seem at first similar to Rah Tah Tah it proves itself to have more inventive production, beat work, and themes. Noid seems to be a chronicle of Tyler’s paranoia regarding his only growing fame and the effects it has on his mental health, paired with the anxious sounds of the very electronic production and the excellent chorus sample it makes for one of the best tracks on the album.
Darling I is a warm and summery track which discusses Tyler’s struggles with love throughout his life and is paired along with the sweetest and catchiest melodies to be found on the whole record. Hey Jane, is perhaps the greatest moment of storytelling present on the album, with lyrics painting a genuinely captivating picture that makes for one of the best experiences on the album, it’s something best experienced blind.
Truth be told the record takes somewhat of a slow period during the tracks I Killed You, Judge Judy, and Sticky. This slow period only really helped by the great storytelling present again on Judge Judy and the evolving chorus of Sticky. Take Your Mask Off, is another beautifully produced and executed track, an ode to the truth that lies within yourself and being true to the real you, perhaps the best song on the entire album, it is essentially flawless. The following tracks Tomorrow, Thought I Was Dead, and Balloon don’t have much to mention in the specific aside from their continued establishment of Tyler’s production abilities and skill at creating unique soundscapes. Returning to more noteworthy tracks, Like Him, is a reflection on Tyler’s distant connection to his father which comes shortly before the heartfelt and conclusive final track of I Hope You Find Your Way Home, a concrete and worthy conclusion to the record.
CHROMAKOPIA stands as a testament to Tyler’s abilities and talent thus far displayed within, melding together his talents of production, rapping, and singing. While it is definitely not my favorite work of his to date, it is without a doubt another very solid addition to the catalog of one of hip-hop’s modern greats.
Final Scoring: 9/10
