Written by written by @bryce
Intro
Tyler, The Creator, is a multi-media artist that’s always been known to use his talents for pushing boundaries and telling vivid stories. He’s always been known for his unique production style combined with his clever lyricism in his music, but he’s no stranger to other art forms. He’s a film director, a fashion designer, and understands how to make a very dense and thorough aesthetic by bringing all of these different mediums together.
His latest album, “CHROMAKOPIA“, is a perfect example of this. “CHROMAKOPIA” feels like a deep cut, peeking right into his psyche. This album uses all of Tyler’s talents to create a perfect representation of the themes he wants to convey, showcasing what seems to be Tyler having a midlife crisis. Tyler has used his music to show vulnerability many times before, but this time it feels different. It feels like he’s not just sharing art inspired by his emotions, but just laying his emotions bare for all to see and learn from.
Production
Sound and production wise, you already know that “CHROMAKOPIA” is great, it always is with Tyler. It feels like a combination of him exploring new things from his influences, while also bringing back sounds reminiscent of his past works. For example, tracks like “Rah Tah Tah“, or “Thought I Was Dead“, have a very aggressive and loud sound, like they’re straight out of the Odd Future days, something like “Goblin” or “Wolf” almost.
“Judge Judy” feels like an exaggerated representation of the mellow and chill sounds of “Flower Boy“. “Darling, I” feels like a cut straight off of “Call Me If You Get Lost“, it’s got the beautiful layered vocals and melodies that really remind me of something like “WUSYANAME” or “SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE“. And maybe it’s just me, but “St. Chroma” and “Noid” really bring me back to “IGOR“, with the kind of unpolished and messy sound with the raw synths, and punchy sounds.
I think where we see the craziest production from Tyler this time around is on the track “Sticky“. It starts simple with a whistled melody, but as the track progresses it just gets more and more layers, growing bigger and messier to make one glorious instrumental that I can barely wrap my head around. To me it feels like he took some inspiration from artist JPEGMAFIA, it reminds me a lot of the track “JPEGULTRA!” that we got a few months ago.
An expression of feelings
Tyler has always been one of my favorite lyricists because I think he’s incredible at crafting metaphors. Just listen to “GONE GONE / THANK YOU” to see what I mean. However, this album feels different. Our character, St. Chroma, wears a mask. This is seen in the album cover, music videos and other promotional media, it’s heard in the lyrics and the song titles, but Tyler’s not hiding behind it.
This album is very direct with it’s subject matter. The front half of the album is a very strong and direct expression of his feelings, and it tackles a lot. The stress of accidental pregnancy and parenthood, distrust of family and others around you, aging and wondering if you’re spending what little time you have wisely, and the duality of fame and the struggles that come with it, and more.
I always go back to this one line in the albums opener, “St. Chroma“, as I feel it best sums up what Tyler is saying with this album. He says, “I just need this time to myself to figure me out-out, do I keep the light on or do I gracefully bow out?” I feel this really rolls together Tyler’s internal conflict on all the before mentioned subjects into one simple expression. This album is self-therapy for Tyler, like in the track “Darling, I” where he says “Nobody could fulfill me like this music shit does”.
An acceptance of feelings
As we enter the back half of the album we start to see Tyler gain a deeper understanding of his feelings, and begin to accept them. It starts with “Take Your Mask Off“. It’s a song where Tyler raps from the perspective of a few different people, a gangster, a preacher, and a single mother. Sharing the circumstances that they’re in, and their outward expressions of themselves, but then he takes off their metaphorical “masks” revealing their struggles. In the 4th verse though he talks about himself and the issues that he’s struggling with, coming to realize that he needs to tackle them head on.
“Tomorrow” features him debating between settling down and starting a family or continuing to pursue his music career, and ends with him acknowledging that as time passes people, including himself, change, and he needs to express his feelings and “air out” his paranoia and feelings, expressing them publicly instead of keeping things bottled up. We see this on the track “Balloon“, which feels like a weight being lifted off his shoulders as he decides that his lifestyle is valid, and he doesn’t need to be ready to settle down yet.
It all comes to a head with the final track, “I Hope You Find Your Way Home“, a track that once again has Tyler seemingly fully accepting and standing by his feelings on the issues tackled in the album. Something else that’s very interesting is the song ends with chanting very similar to how the album opens. This suggests that the album can be looped directly back into the chanting that starts St. Chroma, representing that Tyler is willing and able to face his emotions, feelings, and hardships again and again.
The human experience
But as I listen to “CHROMAKOPIA“, I find it’s super power to be how it helps other people. By being so direct with the portrayal of his feelings and mental state, it helps listeners directly relate and draw comparisons to their own experiences. Since the release of “CHROMAKOPIA” Tyler has shared many Instagram comments on his story with listeners sharing their experiences. Users would talk about how effective “Tomorrow” was at representing the pressures of life, and how there’s no definitive way to tackle those pressures, or how “Hey Jane” helped them feel validated in their reaction to facing similar situations of accidental pregnancies.
“Like Him” is an incredibly personal song about Tyler’s desire to find closure in learning more about his absent father, something that almost anyone with absent parents can relate to. And again this can all be credited to how genuine and authentic Tyler is here. This transparency helps us better understand and connect with Tyler’s journey, but allows listeners to connect with their own experiences, reminding us of our shared humanity.
Outro
In “CHROMAKOPIA“, Tyler, The Creator yet again transcends a typical hip-hop album. He made something that’s more than just an album, by pulling listeners into his own struggles and vulnerabilities he shows that absolutely nobody, not even someone that’s seemingly on top of the world like himself, are immune to the pressures of self-doubt and personal growth. By being so intimately personal, it creates a shared space for reflecting on life’s challenges, helping listeners know that they’re not alone.
As we listen to the album and see Tyler gain a better understanding of himself, we see that “CHROMAKOPIA” stands as a testament to Tyler’s growth as an artist and as a person. But I believe that in something bigger than that, it stands as a testament that anybody can face their fears, trials, or hardships head on, and grow too.
Thanks for reading! If you haven’t yet, I hope I’ve convinced you to give “CHROMAKOPIA” a listen. If you’re a big fan of Tyler, The Creator, I’d also recommend checking out “Tyler The Creator’s Igor: A Narrative deep dive“, a 5 year anniversary album review / analysis of “IGOR” just like this one. If you like this content, why not sign up and help the community grow? I appreciate you stopping by, and make sure to give my favorite track off the album, “Hey Jane“, a listen. Later!
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