Over the last several years, Tyler Gregory Okonma, referred to as Tyler, the Creator, has become one of the biggest names in hip-hop. His unique style combines various genres of music, such as jazz, R&B, and even soul, with traditional hip-hop alongside introspective lyrics about his past and the issues he’s faced. Tyler’s last four albums, “Flower Boy”, “IGOR”, “Call Me if You Get Lost”, and this year’s “Chromakopia” have been considered one of the greatest album runs in recent years, with “IGOR” winning a Grammy Award in 2020. “Chromakopia” was first teased on Oct. 16, 2024, with the single, and first song of the album, “St. Chroma.” The album, announced a day later on Oct. 21, is a collection of deep lyrics and melodic sounds that surpass the last three albums and is worth a listen.
“Chromakopia” released to immense hype and praise. The album debuted with over 85 million streams on Spotify alone, the eighth biggest for a hip-hop album ever on the platform. It’s passed over 200 million streams since and over 200,000 sales of the album. It sits comfortably with 80-90% scores nearly everywhere.
Upon first listen, some fans of Tyler compared “Chromakopia” to rapper Kendrick Lamar’s 2022 album “Mr. Morale the Big Steppers”, due to its subject matter as Tyler’s most open, vulnerable, and honest album. Tyler is no stranger to deep subject matter, with many of his previous albums touching on Tyler’s childhood, specifically the fact that his dad was pretty much absent for all of it.
“Chromakopia” opens with, and features several spoken word segments from Tyler’s mother, touching on various topics related to the song, such as “St. Chroma”, which begins with her telling Tyler that his light (his creativity, style, and uniqueness) is in him, and he should never dim it.
Another track, “Darling, I” has Tyler discussing his inability to commit to relationships, with him repeatedly saying “Darling, I keep falling in love.” The following track, “Hey Jane” continues the subject of relationship problems, with him dealing with the pressure of his girlfriend getting pregnant. These two tracks demonstrate this album’s strength really well. Nearly every song on “Chromakopia” touches on some issue, whether personal or wider, but the music is still well-produced, catchy, and listenable.
One of the other things that Tyler, The Creator is most known for is his online persona, the character that is Tyler, the Creator, a character that often extends beyond the hip-hop sphere. Taking a break from the slower, more reflective music before, track 8, “Sticky”, takes a more traditional hip-hop route while still keeping Tyler’s style. A day before “Chromakopia” was released, Tyler posted a comment on Instagram, stating that there would be no features, only for multiple tracks to have features, with “Sticky” alone containing threee.
Following “Sticky,” the album continues its deep discussions on Tyler’s personal life, and even modern-day, online hip-hop culture, with the song “Thought I was Dead,” a chant-like track discussing how artists are treated online when they go inactive for longer periods of time.
The third-to-last track, “Like Him,” is one of Tyler’s best and deepest across his entire discography, and it’s where some of the “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” inspirations shine through, with the track feeling a lot like Mr. Morale’s “Mother I Sober”. It’s a partial piano ballad that continues Tyler’s reflection on his absent father, as well as his mother’s role in that. The track is incredible lyrically and works very well as the main introspective track on the album, but, similarly to “Darling, I” it doesn’t falter sonically.
Another praise that “Chromakopia” deserves is its visual flair. Tyler’s work isn’t new to this. A lot of his albums have something going for them visually, be it the goofy music videos for “IGOR”, or the now-famous cover art for “Flower Boy”. The deep, greens, grays, instantly-iconic “Chromakopia” font, and the accompanying music videos all being filmed in the previously-mentioned color scheme make for a unique visual experience as well.
Overall, Tyler, The Creator’s 2024 album, “Chromakopia”, is some of his best work ever. It sits up there not just with his last three albums, but as one of the best albums released this year. It’s a mix of catchy, slow, and introspective songs that culminates with a beautiful final track, “I Hope You Find Your Way Home.” Overall, “Chromakopia” gets a 9/10.
