Sweet nostalgia, a midlife crisis and hopeful progression perfectly encapsulate Tyler, the Creator’s latest album, “CHROMAKOPIA,” which was released Monday.
American rapper and record producer Tyler Okonma — better known as Tyler, the Creator — mostly produced, arranged and wrote this unexpected 14-track project.
Three years after his critically successful album “Call Me If You Get Lost,” the rapper rolled out the new era of Tyler in a distinct way, notably breaking away from the industry standard of releasing music on Friday. Despite this unconventional release, he hosted a last-minute listening party at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles Sunday night.
“St. Chroma,” the name of the album’s protagonist, opens up to Tyler’s mother, Bonita Smith, boldly stating, “You are the light / It’s not on you, it’s in you,” while mentioning you should never “dim your light for nobody.” The track follows with chants of “Chromakopia” followed by the sounds of marching, “ahs” and “woos” before Tyler whispers his raps.
As the verse continues, the rapper appears to gain confidence and boldly states, “I ain’t never had a doubt inside me / And if I ever told you that I did, I’m f–kin’ lyin’,” before joining Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar in an impressively magical chorus that smoothly transitions to a heavy bass and beat background.
This aggressive sound transfers over to the next track, titled “Rah Tah Tah,” which is familiar and nostalgic to longtime fans who know Tyler for his chaotic style that often manifests in his rapping style and accompanying production. The final line “I’m paranoid now” gets cut short and the next song follows.
“Noid,” short for paranoid, starts with Tyler and American singer WILLOW singing the lyric “Paranoid” with glitchy, electronic sounds that slowly fade away to drums and electric bass guitars, amplifying the rapper’s soulful voice. Zambian musician Paul Ngozi then joins Tyler in the chorus and brings a unique, diverse sound to the piece.
“Noid” was the first commercial single of the album, accompanied by a music video that showed how St. Chroma — played by Tyler — is consumed by paranoia from his fame and attention from fans, one being played by actress Ayo Edebiri. The video showed how he isolates himself to ease his negative feelings and imaginary fears of people trying to harm him.
Other songs touch upon reflections of love, responsibility and individuality, including, “Darling, I (with Teezo Touchdown),” “Hey Jane,” “I Killed You (with Childish Gambino)” and “Judge Judy (with Childish Gambino).” The thought of tackling these ideas as one matures is at the forefront of the album.
“Sticky,” the eighth track, changes the pace and tone of the album but remains rich in content. Rappers GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne each have their own verse in the song, all of whom bring their individual rap flair to this jumbled yet catchy song.
Tyler shows that he isn’t afraid to reference his past works in his new projects while playing around with the bounds of genre. He embraces the truth about personal flaws in “Take Your Mask Off” with Caesar, touches on deciding to start a family while putting a music career on the back burner in “Tomorrow,” calls out the current hip-hop culture vultures with rapper ScHoolboy Q on “Thought I Was Dead” and discusses forgiveness on “Like Him (with Lola Young and Baby Keem).”
“Balloon,” the penultimate track, provides a new perspective on the rapper’s work ethic through an optimistic, carnival-esque beat. Rapper Doechii elevates the song with her one-of-a-kind rap style while reminding listeners to persevere through hardships and continue to be authentic.
The album closes out with “I Hope You Find Your Way Home,” which continues the story previously set in “Hey Jane.” Tyler explains why he isn’t ready to start a family and accepts the current path that he’s on, while still “shinin’.”
Even though this album was unforeseen, it was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise that discusses issues many people face. Tyler encourages listeners to be authentic to their true selves without being hindered by our biggest critics: us.
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