by Jaiden Bocachica-Sanders
Tyler, The Creator, a rapper/singer known for his unique style of music, is often counted out, or left out of certain organizations or radio stations due to how different his music is. He also is considered “weird” because of his antics outside of music. Tyler writes, produces, and arranges his own music. He is widely respected for inspiring many people by being one of the best rappers, while still having his own style and having fun. All of his albums have a certain theme, or even personality, attached to them. In his largest project, ‘IGOR’ he paints a narrative of being in love with someone who is already in love with someone else. In another one of his most popular albums, Flower Boy, tells the story of Tyler’s love, friendships, and loneliness, while addressing problems with social inadequacy.
Tyler’s latest album ‘CHROMAKOPIA’ has been heavily anticipated by social media platforms and many Tyler’s fans. The album is overall about Tyler’s struggles with self-identity and falling victim to social standards. He opens this album with “St. Chroma, featuring Daniel Caesar. This song is about Tyler’s roots, the places he’s been, and the places he aspires to go. It goes from an eerie, creepy kind of anthem, to a chorusful, nostalgic feeling. Tyler then transitions into a less sing-songy, straight rap song. His lyrics describe his lavish lifestyle, and mocks people in his industry for being too serious, while still not being as good of a rapper as him.
With the next song, Tyler proceeds with the most important song so far, “NOID,” which is expressing a rushed feel, almost as if someone is watching your every move, hence the name, being short for paranoid. Tyler raps about his fear for many other things that others may not find worth worrying about, and showing the way he thinks. He shows how he tries to keep introverted, and stay to himself, because he is scared social standards will creep up on him. He describes how aware he is of his surroundings. The instrumental slowly speeds up to keep the listener on edge, just as the lyrics intend. Tyler backs up this track with “Darling, I,” where he expresses how love and attraction can distract us or lift our spirits from the depths of anxiety and depression. He brings Teezo Touchdown, using his voice to really emphasize the chorus. This is essentially the turning point of the album, where the mood & style changes.
On the 5th track of ‘CHROMAKOPIA’ Tyler starts the second part of the album with “Hey Jane,” where Tyler addresses his love life from when he was younger, and apologizes for the things he’s done, but refuses to change. Right after this song Tyler places “I Killed You,” where he tries to deny his love, blame it all on “Jane,” and make up excuses for his loss. On possibly the most important track on the album, “Judge Judy,” he talks about another woman he met that he “loved,” although it was only lust. What he didn’t know, however, is that he was leading himself into a toxic relationship. He also didn’t like her personality at all, but didn’t fully process it until he was already “trapped” in the relationship. Therefore, he chooses not to “Judge Judy” He also sneaks Childish Gambino onto this song in the chorus.
The next song, “Sticky” featuring Lil Wayne, Sexyy Redd, and Glorilla. This song is about expressing culture and breaking free from normality and realism. It doesn’t stand with the key songs of this album, but due to the many popular features on the song, it has become the most mainstream. The next song, “Take Your Mask Off” uses an analogy of a man hiding his real life with a worse one to look ‘cool’ or as if he had something to prove. He also uses a homosexual man hiding his sexuality as another story. This is a great song about expression and defying social standards. Tyler proceeds with “Tomorrow,” which quite literally talks about tomorrow and his goals as well as his uncertainty for the future to come. ‘Thought I Was Dead’ was more about lavish lifestyles and how rich people can be irresponsible and arrogant and that Tyler doesn’t want to be categorized with them. The third to last track on Chromakopia speaks of Tyler’s relationship with his family. “Like Him” is a song of him “asking his mother” of his similarities to his father, who was absent in his childhood, saying “Do I look like him?” and “Momma I’m chasing a ghost (His Father) I don’t know who he is.”
“Balloon” is mostly about Tyler not being interested in his love life, and that he can take care of himself. There is a feature from Doechii, but it is not very important to the song. Finally, Tyler’s last song, “I Hope You Find Your Way Home” talks about Tyler forcing himself to fit in with other people such as other celebrities and lovers. This is a great way to end the album, because it really feels like the end. The emotion and tone put into all his songs really put the song in its place inside the album. Like all of his albums, it is a full musical loop.
All of the songs on Chromakopia, in order, perfectly transition into each other, and the last song goes right back into the first, symbolizing a cycle that is impossible to escape, unless you put all of your worries (his songs) away, and just be you. Overall, I give Chromakopia a 9.25/10, because of its uniqueness and it’s true meaning and storytelling, through not only lyricism, but also production and tone. This is a serious candidate for album of the year, next to the lights of Future, J. Cole, 21 Savage, Sabrina Carpenter, and unfortunately, Beyonce and Taylor Swift.
