Chromakopia review

 Better late than never, right? (Sorry Rob)

Chromakopia is an interesting album to me. Not only is it interesting because of the layers upon layers of themes and messages within the lyrics, but because it's a style of music I've really only recently given a chance. I only really started listening to contemporary rap and hip-hop near the tail-end of last year, and even then it was very little of it. But this album in particular has been crucial in letting me understand why people enjoy the genre so much, and why it's so popular in our modern day. I'm yapping entirely too much, I should just start the review already... after a bit of background on the album, of course.

Chromakopia is the 8th studio album released by the one and only Tyler, The Creator, known for eating mayonnaise and getting interviewed by Nardwuar. It released on October 28th, 2024, and had 2 singles release alongside it in the form of Noid and Sticky, the latter track featuring GloRilla. The album released to near-universal praise, getting an average of around 4 stars with critics from The Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and NME, and getting an average of 85/100 from 17 critics from Metacritic.

Most of the songs in Chromakopia are either about Tyler's personal struggles, or about him appreciating advice he got from his mother, Bonita Smith, as he got older. He sings about how he struggles with anxiety in Noid, and claims to be the biggest rapper in LA in the song Rah Tah Tah. It'd be near impossible for me to list all the themes in the album without making your eyes glaze over, so I'll just let you all listen and figure them out for yourself.

The album seems similar to others created by Tyler, just with more emotion, less holding back, and of course more developed instrumentation and vocals. I must admit however, I haven't listened to much Tyler, The Creator, with only really listening to a few songs from his Igor album as of writing. It does seem rather different from other hip-hop albums though, delving into much more personal topics than most big-name albums dive into, with most others choosing to delve into money and women while focusing on the "vibes" of the song.

 

 

 I feel like this album is gonna be talked about in classes a few years from now. It pierces through the environment of toxic masculinity to be unabashedly genuine. It talks about things that men just don't talk about, or even really think about. It embraces advice from Tyler's mother, talks about his anxieties and fears, grapples with ego and unwanted pregnancies. It's like a beefy 5-layer burrito in terms of just how much stuff there is inside of it.

 

The target audience is hard to pin down exactly. Some of the songs, especially Hey Jane, feel like they're only meant for Tyler himself, and we're all just listening in on his conversation. On the other hand, songs like Sticky and Like Him could be for everyone, with really catchy beats and lyrics that anyone could either relate to or find catchy. But enough about what the themes or whatever are about, is the album even any good?

Without a doubt, yes. This album is good. Maybe even one of the best.

 This album has some of the highest highs I've heard from an album, the instrumentation accompanies Tyler's vocals incredibly, the featured artists all compliment and contrast Tyler in absolutely astounding ways. The album is just banger, after banger, after banger, after banger, and my only complaint about the album is that there isn't enough of it. Is it the best work by Tyler? I dunno. But I know that this will be a generational album, even if I'm the only one talking about it in the nursing home when I'm old and decrepit, I'll pester those nurses until they listen to the damn thing. Everything I've talked about above contributes to the album, and it wraps it all together like a succulent 5-star meal. But like, for your ears.

 

Everyone I've talked to agrees that this album is at least good, if not incredible. and everyone who says they don't like it, I don't talk to. Even though Tyler and his fan base are known to shitpost a lot, he's capable of making works of art, and they respect and engage with that. To understand what I mean, Tyler posted this 2 years before this album came out. This man is a treasure.

 

I've rambled on long enough, but in summary, this album may be one of the best I've ever listened to. With complex, overlapping themes, incredible music, and an absolute gem of a man behind it, this album helped me branch out from listening to divorced dad rock. As always, this was Chase, and I hope you enjoyed reading this essay as much as I enjoyed writing it.