Brandon’s Reviews:
Rah Tah Tah: “The biggest out the city after Kenny, that’s a fact now,” could not be more true. This track is bold, it’s in your face and it’s unapologetic. Tyler wants you to know who he is and what he’s about, and he lays it out here in its entirety. From its aggressive production to its even more serious delivery, this whole track is reminiscent of some of Tyler’s older work while still holding true to the Chromakopia style. It’s definitely a standout for me, and has a completely different tone than most of the rest of the album.
Darling, I: Tyler, The Creator’s struggles with his sexuality and relationships have long been a topic of his work, and this track is no different. For a long time at this point Tyler has expressed his struggles with commitment, and this song just reinforces that. He wants love, he wants a life but he can’t let himself have it. It’s a moving song and the background vocals by Teezo Touchdown elevate it to new levels.
Sticky: This is my personal favorite off the project just because it’s so fun to listen to. GloRilla and Tyler is not the collab I expected, or the one I needed, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t happy to hear it. The progression of this song is masterful, and the way that the brass doesn’t even come in until Lil Wayne’s verse is a subtle bit of craftsmanship that I think is so often overlooked when doing big feature songs like this one. Highly recommend this track, it’s got infinite replayability.
Like Him: I love this track for the production alone. Every line of synth paints this picture in your head that already tells you everything you need to know about this story without even needing to hear the words. But when you do hear the words, they will get to you. It’s a thought provoking story of a boy becoming someone he doesn’t even know, being compared to a father that he can’t see. This is a highlight for so many reasons, and it’s one I think people will revisit often.
Trent’s Reviews:
St Chroma: The anthem of burning passion, “St. Chroma,” is the album’s powerful opening chant that asks if you can feel the light within yourself. If you can feel the fire driving you toward greatness. “Don’t you ever stop bein’ who you are and dimming your light for none of these motherfuckers[…]” Chromakopia finds Tyler heeding his mother’s words for better and worse as he grapples with life at 30.
Noid: The consequence of a star that shines so bright is that everyone wants to look, some even hope to see it fall. And yet, with Noid’s sporadic structure, prominent guitar riffs and fierce lyrics, Tyler makes it clear he’s not the kind of star who grants wishes, and he’s not burning out anytime soon.
Judge Judy: The most disarming song on the album, what starts as a sexual exploration of Tyler’s relationship with a woman he calls “Judy” takes a tragic turn, “[s]he wrote me a letter[.]” From there, we learn of Judy’s terminal illness, and how she hopes he’ll live life as his truest self, without self-judgements, a sentiment he lives by in the later tracks.
Thought I Was Dead: Chromakopia’s war cry, “Thought I Was Dead,” is Tyler’s most audacious and unapologetic. Now having matured and evolved from the younger mindset that shaped his controversial past, he refuses to be ‘killed’ over old tweets, t-shirts and lyrics, no matter who or what tries to bring him down.
Balloon: The hypnotic penultimate track, “Balloon,” provides some much-needed levity after the emotional catharsis of “Like Him.” Tyler’s half serves as a climactic reflection of who he is now, the truest version of himself who still has questions, but lives without regret. However, it’s Doechii’s verse that recaptures the ferocity from earlier tracks and elevates it to the highest peak, making this my personal favorite from Chromakopia.
Overall: Chromakopia is Tyler at his most stylistically free, a personal expression that not only maintains its mainstream appeal but catapults Tyler’s popularity to new heights, going as far as to dethrone Taylor Swift’s No. 1 spot on the Global Spotify Top Artists chart after 699 days as the top artist. Many songs on this album reveal far more than what I would consider typical for a musician of his talent level.
Each song offers a unique peek into his life and his views on the world on such a deeply introspective level. Chromokopia seamlessly blends all of Tyler’s fears, desires, pain and joy into one cohesive narrative that leaves his future ambiguous, but full of incredible potential. The production which he also did himself is some of the most progressive and intentional I have heard in recent years, and it’s clear that he had not only a strong vision for this album but the ability to execute it as well.
That package deal is rare, and it’s something that really only comes once in a generation. The ability to not only imagine, but to put that imagination into a song and do it so successfully and at such a large scale is something that at this point only Tyler can do, and we are extremely excited to see what he puts out in the future.
