Chromakopia is the latest installment in Tyler, The Creator’s discography, and by far one of the most interesting. It was released on October 28, 2024, and received mixed reviews. However, since then, it has been the number-one album on Billboard 200.
Tyler teased the album just 11 days before it was set to release with a short music video with the words “Chromakopia” appearing at the end. Then, he officially announced it would be released on Oct 28th while he released merchandise and a single that would later be on the album. With such an unexpected release, due to Tyler usually releasing an album every 2 years, fans went straight to speculating about who would be on it; expecting to hear Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, Steve Lacy, and even Kanye West on this album.
Being a big Tyler fan, I listened to it and fell in love with the album the moment it dropped. After 3 weeks of listening to the album my favorite song quickly became “Thought I Was Dead” (feat. ScHoolboy Q & Santigold). The song had me bobbing my head with the hard-hitting 808s and trumpets played throughout the song. People took to TikTok to voice their different opinions on the album, whether it was because of the letdown of the features or the dissatisfaction of some of the other songs.
While many features that were expected to be on the album didn’t answer fans’ prayers, the features that were on the album were still very good. Tyler brought on many big artists, such as Daniel Caesar, Doechii, GloRilla, LaToiya Williams, Lil Wayne, Childish Gambino, Solange, Lola Young, Santigold, Schoolboy Q, Sexyy Red, and Teezo Touchdown. Bringing a diverse group of artists to this album made it shine and stand out from other albums released around the time.
At first listen, a couple of songs caught my attention as they didn’t match the overall vibe of the album that was brought with the first 3 songs (St. Chroma, Rah Tah Tah, and Noid). The songs are: I Killed You, Judge Judy, and Tomorrow. These 3 songs were a switch in vibe mainly because of the instrumentals of these songs. “I Killed You” had a very different beat. At times, it sounded almost offbeat, however, as I listened to the song, I realized the unusual sound was what made it unique. “Judge Judy” had an interesting beat and the voice of Tyler changes in this song, making for a very distinct and off-putting vibe throughout the song. “Tomorrow” was a somber and melancholy song from beginning to end.
The differences in each of the songs make for a very different listen from his past albums, most closely resembling his early album “Cherry Bomb.” Chromakopia’s diversity in beats, lyrics, and subject matter is what makes Chromakopia a great listen- an album everyone should listen to.
