Tyler, The Creator is one of the biggest artists of the last 10 years, debuting in 2009 with his mixtape, “Bastard”, Tyler's career has always been surrounded byin controversy, he became so controversial that he was even banned from Australia. His status from all those years ago has heavily changed, seeing that his new album Chromakopia has had his highest opening sales of over 200k, achieving number 1 album on the Bbillboard hot 200., and Aa tour has also been confirmed for the album which, ironically, will have its Australian branch in August 2025. Throughout Tyler, The Creator's career he has utilised personas to tell his stories, whether it be the world building of the Wolf Hailey trilogy, the heartbreak of IGOR, or the insecurities of Sir Baudelaire. Chromakopia is a rarity among Tyler’s discography, as it serves as an honest look into Tyler, The Creator's thought process on fame, the current state of the music industry, and most importantly parenthood.
The opening track, St Chroma, establishes Tyler’s thought process, with one of the most important features being the opening monologue by Tyler's mother introducing the core motif of light. The concept of light is carried through the name of the album, Chromakopia, with the word ‘Chroma’ meaning the purity of light. The idea of “light” can be interpreted as the spotlight of fame or the idea of the “dimming of light”, as in wearing a mask to hide who you truly are.
The album's more clear and sensitive theme is parenthood, where the ideas of neglect and abortion becomes heavy topics in tracks like, NOID, Hey, Jane and I killed you, in which Tyler recalls the story of Jane. Beginning the story with NOID, in which Tyler talks about being paranoid, about being “ trapped” by lovers who are after his wealth.
Then progressing to Hey, Jane, which draws inspiration from Kendtrick Lamar's album Mr Moral, in which Tyler and Jane discuss the fact that Jane is pregnant and it is most likely Tyler's child. The introspective track details Tyler’s insecurities of being an absentee father like his dad, and Jane goes into detail about wanting to keep the child out of fear of not being able to have children for much longer due to age. This track is one of Tyler's most personal to date.
This story is finalised in I killed you in which Tyler talks to the baby mentioned in Hey Jane. The finale of the story is that Tyler and Jane made the choice to not keep the child, which gives clarity to the title, I Killed You.
Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia is his most commercially successful album while stylistically being his most alternative album since his alternative R&B album IGOR. It utilises a range of unique samples, having this album be almost as much jazz, alt R&B and soul as it is hip hop, with R&B superstar Daniel Caesar being one of the most prevalent features on the album (appearing multiple times with moving vocal performances on St Chroma and Take Your Mask Off).
Chromakopia is an album that took me multiple listens to appreciate and understand thematically and stylistically. I would rank it among my favourite albums of 2024 standing besides albums like Mikas Laundry by Matt Champion and Scrapyard by Quadeca. I would rank Chromakopia as one of Tyler's best studio albums and his most introspective work since 2017’s Flower Boy. As a whole I give Tyler, The Creators 7th studio album Chromakopia a 9/10 and a must listen for anybody who loves looking at themes and stories within their music.
Back to home page