On Oct. 28, Tyler, The Creator released his eighth studio album, “CHROMAKOPIA.” The album showcases his craft while staying true to what fans might expect of him. It shows not only how far Tyler has grown as an artist, but also who he is as a person now. Tyler has had a long and diverse music career striving for this type of production, and with the extended time he has had to work on this project, he has finally reached that point.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Tyler has set down roots in LA and become a well-known rapper, record producer, director, fashion designer and owner of the record label, Odd Future Records. He began his career as a member of the rap collective Odd Future with members like Frank Ocean, Earl Sweatshirt and Syd Tha Kyd who all went onto solo careers after the group disbanded. Once Tyler began his solo career, he started releasing albums that conveyed an identity of where he was at in his life. His early albums, “Goblin” (2011), “Wolf” (2013) and “Cherry Bomb” (2015) showcased his alter egos and inner demons while being young and chaotic. “Flower Boy” (2017) and “Igor” (2019) represent self-discovery and the navigation of love in his life, which are more of his vulnerable projects.
Tyler’s two most recent projects continue the development of his alter egos and expand on the maturity he has developed. “Call Me If You Get Lost” (2021) is one of Tyler’s more traditional rap-style albums, with the help of DJ Drama in the production, but it still shows his journey of maturing and being at the point of his life where he can escape, travel and live in luxury. At 33 years old, Tyler picks up on his road to maturity in “CHROMAKOPIA,” showing that he is not living in luxury anymore, and is at a crossroads of where to go with the rest of his life.
The title of the album, “CHROMAKOPIA,” is a metaphor and compares the production to a cornucopia, nodding to the variety of instrumentals and melodic changes throughout the album. Tyler combines various vocals and types of music, like jazz elements, to bring together an album where every song is different, showing the mastery of the sound he has been striving for his entire career. Tyler also stitches each song into the next seamlessly, using fluid and clean transitions to prevent the listener from knowing what’s next.
The album is introduced with lines from his late mother, Bonita Smith, who raised him in LA. In the first song, “St. Chroma,” Smith tells listeners that they are the light and to not dim that light for anyone. Everyone in their youth has a form of “light” within them, and Tyler begins this project with his mother telling him to not lose his light in adulthood. He continues his story of navigating getting older in the third song “Noid,” expressing that becoming an adult brings paranoia for what the future holds. Lastly, the ninth song of the album, “Take Your Mask Off,” references the horror of adulting. Tyler mentions that when you have matured it is time to let down your front, or the “mask” you are wearing, and accept who you are.
Even though Tyler’s newest project in three years brings him to a new point in his life, he never forgets his roots of LA and pays homage to his fans. He held his listening party in LA the night before the release on Oct. 27 with 17,000 fans in front of green shipping containers. He also showed appreciation to his die-hard fans by releasing a limited edition double vinyl with an exclusive feature from Playboi Carti. Tyler has once again brought rap fans an emotional and eye-opening album about growing pains. Fans can only wait for another release to see how Tyler will deal with his odd future ahead.
