Tyler, The Creator released his newest album, “CHROMAKOPIA”, on Oct. 28, 2024. Since then, it has received an overwhelming number of streams, with multiple songs having reached the Billboard Top 100. With Tyler, The Creator’s reputation for storytelling in his albums, will “CHROMAKOPIA” live up to those standards?
The opening track, “St. Chroma,” was posted as a teaser before the album’s release, immediately going viral on TikTok and effectively gaining traction for the album. This track dives into the atmosphere of storytelling Tyler is known for. The voice of his mom opens the track with, “you are the light.” This, however, is only the beginning of his mom’s feature on the album. She is featured on multiple tracks, guiding Tyler through the album and highlighting the closeness of their relationship.
One of the most unique qualities about this album is the fact that it was not released on a Friday like the majority of albums. Instead, Tyler decided to release it on a Monday. In an interview with Nardwuar, Tyler stated “If you put it out during the week, that commute to work or school, you really have that hour or thirty minutes to really ‘dive in’ and really listen.” Tyler emphasizes his originality in doing this, which sparked interest in this album for many listeners, given that there wouldn’t be any competition for other albums since most albums are released on Fridays.
The biggest plot twist on this album was the track “Like Him ft. Lola Young.” In his prior albums, Tyler has always talked pretty poorly about his dad due to him not being around in his life. In this track, he reflects on his dad and talks about how it has affected him in his life. “Mama I’m chasing a ghost, do I look like him?” In the closing minute of the track, Tyler’s mom speaks about his Dad, which really shocked many fans. “He always wanted to be there for you, and I’m sorry I was young, but he’s always wanted to be a father.” Closing the track like this is a deep pain for many Tyler fans, as listeners feel sympathy for Tyler because after all this time Tyler has felt like his dad never had any interest in being there for him, which is reflected in some of his prior albums. However, it turns out that’s not the case at all. This adds to the storytelling of the album by deepening his story and how this instance with his father reflects on his previous projects he’s released.
As a whole, Tyler, The Creator released another beautiful album that has reflected on himself as a person and it is clear his music is changing as he gets older, which shows his growth as a person and as an artist. This is by far one of my favorite projects from him and I can’t wait to see what he has in store for the future.
