Music lovers across the world eagerly awaited the release of Tyler, The Creator’s eighth album, CHROMAKOPIA, on October 28, 2024. But despite having spent the latter half of his life within the public eye, garnering both admiration and resentment throughout his simultaneously beloved and notorious career, the artist born Tyler Gregory Okonma, now 33, has maintained a surprisingly reserved personal identity. CHROMAKOPIA marks a new point in his artistry as well as his public persona. Throughout his most vulnerable project thus far, Tyler grapples with the tension between nurturing his musical passion and finding something beyond his creative endeavors as he ages.
The sounds of CHROMAKOPIA feature neo-jazz-like instruments and percussion. Funky bass lines reverberate out in pulsing tremors to accentuate the steady drum beats underlying the album. Tyler’s singing, ranging from hushed whispers to melancholic hums to screams of dejection, adds yet another layer to the enthralling musical landscape. The album’s featured guests, including Daniel Caesar, Frank Ocean, and Okonma’s own mother, Bonita Smith, serve to further elevate the album. CHROMAKOPIA showcases Tyler, The Creator’s work in the most personal period of his career, highlighting his growing maturity as an artist and a human being.
The opening track is “St. Chroma”, which begins with the voice of Okonma’s mother, reminding him: “Don’t you ever … dim your life for nobody”. This sentiment is later reiterated by the voice of guest artist Daniel Caesar, asking, “Can you feel the light inside?” Tyler’s understanding of his self-worth is a recurring theme throughout the track list, but it is only half of the double-edged sword slicing apart the album’s concepts. The proceeding songs “Noid” and “Darling, I” (featuring Teezo Touchdown) explore the sense of alienation festering within Tyler as a result of his ever-heightening success. In “Noid”, Tyler muses over the dangers of fame and celebrity, while “Darling, I” explores his seeming inability to maintain a long-lasting relationship with anyone but himself. Tyler addresses this again directly in “Hey Jane”, structured as a conversation between “T” and a woman named “Jane” about a positive pregnancy test and the possibility of parenthood.
As the album nears its final few songs, “Take Your Mask Off” (again featuring Daniel Caesar with LaToiya Williams) reflects the initial message of finding pride in one’s identity. Within its verses, Tyler addresses those who hide their true selves away, whether it be gang members attempting to prove their manhood, mothers who sacrifice their dreams for their children, or closeted men who deny their sexuality. In the closing track, “I Hope You Find Your Way Home” Tyler ultimately leaves the struggle between his pride and maturity without a clear winner. Between boasts about his success and self-respect, Tyler’s haughty mask slips as he admits he wasn’t ready for the turmoil of adulthood, while musing if he ever will be. CHROMAKOPIA ends with the only things Tyler seems to have left, a few loving words of support from his mother and the wavering cries of his music.
In the weeks before the album’s debut, a rapid onslaught of promotional material was released to accompany it, including Okonma donning an emerald suit and closely-fitted near life-like mask for the album cover and his live performances as well as bright green semi-trucks bearing the album title emblazoned across the side traveling the country. By far the most exciting announcement to come from the leadup to CHROMAKOPIA‘s release was the unveiling of CHROMAKOPIA: THE WORLD TOUR. Tyler, The Creator, alongside musician Lil Yachty and Hip-Hop collective Paris Texas will be traveling around the globe in Spring and Summer 2025, including a stop here in Phoenix, Arizona. So, if you’re one of the millions of listeners who helped CHROMAKOPIA smash records across numerous charts, you can sing your heart out alongside Tyler, The Creator at the Footprint Center on the 12th of March 2025.
