Tyler, The Creator recently released his eighth studio album, Chromakopia. Its unique beats, style and Tyler’s lyrical genius make this album a masterpiece that deserves your time and respect.
The album cover features Tyler’s new alter ego, Saint Chroma, wearing a military uniform, a flesh-like mask molded to his face and Tyler extending his hand as if reaching for something.
It is well known that Tyler uses personas to express feelings he would usually have trouble sharing. It is no wonder that he needed to form a new alter ego for this album as it is arguably the most vulnerable Tyler has been with his fans. Chromakopia discusses multiple issues Tyler has recently been facing surrounding his identity.
The album’s beats paired with the vocals alone make it good. However, Tyler’s vulnerability expressed through his lyrics and tone is what makes Chromakopia stand out as one of his best. Delving into the deeper meaning of each song elevates the album into a full emotional experience.
Chromakopia has 14 songs, collectively lasting exactly 53 minutes. The first song, “St. Chroma,” is an excellent opener, setting the tone for the rest of the album. Its unique marching and chants act as a beat for the beginning of the song, opting out of the traditional instruments we would usually expect.
More importantly, the song sets the trend for Bonita Smith, Tyler’s mom, to appear throughout the songs through clips of her conversations with Tyler. “St. Chroma” starts Tyler’s journey of self-discovery by telling him to never dim his light.
Songs like “Rah Tah Tah,” “Sticky,” “Thought I Was Dead” and “Balloon” discuss Tyler’s success as a musical artist. He relies heavily on his success for his identity which is important, as Tyler shares through his songs that he is still figuring out who he is and what he wants.
“Darling, I,” “Hey Jane,” “Judge Judy” and “I Hope You Find Your Way Home” deal with Tyler’s love life. They deal with how Tyler does not want a long-term relationship. He sings about how he doesn’t want a wife, doesn’t want a monogamous relationship and doesn’t want kids. The songs see Tyler pushing back against the traditional heteronormative expectations that society has for him.However, he recognizes in songs like “Tomorrow” that he is growing old. He is going into his mid-30s and he can start feeling it. He reflects on his life and notices that while his friends are getting married and having kids, he just has “Photos of; [his] ‘rari and some silly; suits.”
The overall album is amazing because Tyler takes his listeners along his hectic journey of self-discovery.
The most vulnerable songs, “Take Your Mask Off” and “Like Him” are some of my favorites given the emotion he puts into them. He acknowledges in “Take Your Mask Off” that he doesn’t know who he is. Since he started publishing music at 19, he had to put on a mask to cover the fact that he desperately needs therapy, has low self-confidence and is selfish.
In “Like Him,” you hear Tyler talking to his mom about his absent father. He thanks her for being there with him but keeps asking if he looks like his father. Tyler pleads more and more desperately as the song progresses, resulting in his mother responding. She tells him, “It was my fault; Not him, ’cause he always wanted to be there for you.” Essentially, Tyler’s mom kept Tyler away from his father who wanted to be a part of his life.
Tyler showed a lot of vulnerability as he shared everything with his more than 50,000,000 monthly listeners.
Chromakopia is an amazing album that goes past merely the good beats and pleasant-sounding vocals that listeners may expect. I think that Chromakopia meets that expectation and exceeds it as Tyler shares intimate information about his life.
Overall, I give the album an 8.5/10 due to its unique beats, fantastic vocals and enthralling story.
If you have one hour to spare during Thanksgiving break or the weekend, I highly recommend you listen to it.
