Tyler, the Creator, a well-known American rapper, recently released his eighth studio album “Chromakopia,” which quickly gained popularity and became an instant success within days of its release.
With 14 tracks and a 52:54 run time, the album has had listeners raving since its late October release.
Not only has the album reached the top of the charts, but it also is being stained into people’s minds – causing fans to go wild and stream his music on almost every platform, securing Tyler’s standing as an influential figure in today’s music industry.
Tyler’s success was no surprise, as he won the ‘Grammy Award for Best Rap Album’ in 2020 for his fifth studio album ‘IGOR,’ and again in 2022 for his seventh studio album, “Call Me If You Get Lost.”
The album opens with the song “St. Chroma,” which features Daniel Caesar. It discusses how Tyler has handled being in the spotlight and his personal growth throughout his career.
The song starts with his mother talking directly to him, telling him that he is the light. “It’s not on you, it’s in you” she says.
The first time I heard this voice note from his mother I was instantly pulled into the song, it showed just how much his mother believes in him, and how she wants him to keep his head up high, ignoring what others may say about him or his work.
From there, the song goes on to talk about Tyler’s self-belief, further amplifying the sense of importance for having self-confidence for himself and for the listener. He touches upon how he became the rapper he is today through witty lyrics as well.
It is truly a beautiful piece of music and is most likely one of the best album openers of his career. From the very first note, it set the tone for the rest of the album with exciting melodies and emotionally relatable lyrics.
My personal favorite on the album is the fourth track, ‘Darling, I.’ The song explores Tyler’s longing for an emotional bond with someone, even as he struggles with issues of commitment.
The song starts with his mother offering him advice on relationships, telling him the importance of honesty, and how he shouldn’t tell someone he loves them if it isn’t true.
Tyler’s vocals throughout this track are soft and almost angelic, although Tyler adds some rap elements to it.
When Tyler’s tone changes from the soft and angelic singing to the fast and striking rap, it gives the listener a jump of excitement. It changes the whole vibe to the song while showing us how Tyler feels about his commitment issues. The rapping elements give the song a more serious vibe, while the soft and angelic parts make Tyler seem more easy and relaxed.
The track also features Teezo Touchdown, an American rapper who released his debut album ‘How Do You Sleep at Night?’ last September. The mix of their vocals together is truly beautiful and makes this song a million times better.
While listening to the song, a certain verse caught my attention. Tyler sings “But when that grey hair finally come, at least I felt something if I ain’t find the one,” referring to his struggles with commitment. He goes on to express how no person could bring him the same level of happiness and joy that music does, and he feels as if he’ll end up alone.
Tyler really opened himself up in this song, but especially in this verse. Throughout the song, Tyler feels as if being in love is a bad thing, but this verse shows how even if he never finds “the one,” he’d be grateful to have at least experienced something.
Another song that has people all over the world pressing replay is the twelfth track on the album ‘Like Him’ which features Lola Young.
Almost instantly, the song was trending on all platforms and being streamed everywhere, making it the biggest song on the album.
The song starts with another voice message from his mother, who begins comparing Tyler to his father. The message is suddenly cut off before Tyler’s voice begins softly singing the first verse of the song.
The line, “Mama I’m chasing a ghost, I don’t know who he is” is repeated throughout the song, referring to how Tyler never got to know his father, due to his absence, making his father almost like a stranger to him.
Later on when Tyler sings, “How could I ever miss something that I’ve never had” we can see Tyler begin to realize that maybe it was better without his father around. He tells his mother he would never judge her, giving us his perspective on the issue and how he doesn’t blame his mother for it.
Near the end of the song, Tyler changes the lyrics from “Do I look like him?” to “I don’t look like him.” pushing away the thought of resembling his father, as Tyler embraces his own identity.
The song is a total masterpiece, showing us Tyler’s struggle with his opinion on his father’s absence and how it affected him as he grew up, as well as his struggles with his own identity.
“Chromakopia” dives into so many different stories, going through Tyler’s life and how he made it to where he is today. It gave us a deep understanding of his thoughts and feelings when it came to these situations, and Tyler made himself completely vulnerable when opening up about these things.
The album helps others open up and relate to the struggles that Tyler expresses throughout the tracks, providing a way for people to escape so they can feel heard and understood.
