On October 28th, Tyler Okonma, also known as Tyler, the Creator, released his eighth studio album, ‘CHROMAKOPIA’. The album was dropped with the premise that Tyler was disregarding his previous theme of taking on an alter ego for each album, and that this album would be more raw and more true to himself. While this album does still have a “character” associated with it, ‘Saint Chroma’ is much more representative of Tyler than others have been. The songs on this album sound fairly similar to music he has made in the past, but the content of the songs is much more revealing of Tyler’s life and the things he has been through. Songs like ‘Like Him, I Killed You’, and ‘Tomorrow’ discuss much more serious topics relating to Tyler’s life such as; his relationship with his seemingly absent father, his struggle with the texture of his hair, his appearance, his conflict with bringing his musical career to an end and starting a family. The album contains 14 songs and spans 53 minutes while featuring artists such as Daniel Caesar, GloRilla, Sexyy Red, Lil Wayne, and Doechii. All of the songs on the album are broken down below.
‘St. Chroma’ – A song about Saint Chroma’s dedication to fulfilling his dream of becoming someone big and his belief in himself that he believes got him there. This song contains background vocals of a woman, presumably Chroma’s mother, speaking and telling him to believe in himself, and returns to the idea of feeling the “light inside” multiple times.
‘Rah Tah Tah’ – A drastic switch from St. Chroma, this song takes on a much more IGOR-esque tune. Chroma raps much more aggressively in this song, talks about cars, money, the belief that he is different from anyone else the person he is singing to has been with, sex and a myriad of other standard famous people stuff. One of the more upbeat songs on the album, this song is definitely a fun listen.
‘Noid’ – One of the songs released before the album, Noid is about Chroma feeling constantly paranoid, likely as he relishes in his fame. Lyrics such as “notice every car that’s drivin’ by,” “loop around the block, eyes glued to the rearview,” and “someone’s keeping watch, I feel them in my shadow” emphasize this paranoia and yet another vocal appearance from the woman representing his mother relays to Chroma that he should not trust anyone, even people like accountants, because she believes they will all try to benefit themselves off of him.
‘Darling, I’ – This song starts with Chroma’s mother telling him to never tell a girl he loves her. He then sings about how he keeps falling in love over and over, claiming that monogamy is not for him. He describes his lack of monogamous feelings as “a problem [he] can’t shake.” He then continues to tell of a girl he considers a “gold mine,” describing how he feels he could settle down and start a family with her, until he becomes infatuated with a new girl. He encourages the listener to explore and experience new things as well, even saying things such as “I don’t own you” and “it’s not fair just to be stuck with me.”
‘Hey Jane’ – This song is essentially a conversation between Saint Chroma and the girl he unexpectedly got pregnant, despite his mother telling him to always wear a condom at the beginning of the song. He continues to tell the girl how lucky he is to be in this unfortunate situation with her, telling her that although he is afraid, he will stick through the pregnancy with her. The second half of the song details her response, considering keeping the baby, and making it clear to Chroma that she doesn’t expect anything from him.
‘I Killed You’ – This song does not start with a message from Chroma’s mother, and instead begins with Saint Chroma singing instantly. The song details the struggle many Black people face feeling comfortable with and managing their naturally textured hair. It emphasizes the fact that society makes Black women especially feel negatively about their hair, and how they feel the need to “kill” their natural texture.
‘Judge Judy’ – In this song Chroma talks about a girl that he found himself incredibly attracted to very quickly, and the many activities they enjoyed together. The song details them exploring with each other, and the chorus consists of him telling her he won’t judge her for her interests. There is a verse in the song where Chroma just talks about how much he liked her and how well they got along, which is quickly followed by him announcing that she wrote him a letter apologizing for not communicating with him, letting him know she has passed away, and thanking him for accepting her and keeping her joyful as she neared her last moments.
‘Sticky’ – One of the most controversial songs on the album, fans are torn between loving and hating this song. This is definitely one of the more upbeat songs on the album, with features from GloRilla, Sexyy Red, and Lil Wayne. This song is about embracing the artists’ success, having fun despite the hate they receive from audiences and being prepared for the messiness or stickiness, that comes with being famous.
‘Take Your Mask Off’ – ‘Take Your Mask Off’ encourages the audience to stop forcing themselves to fit in with the groups they believe they have to be in, and to be true to themselves instead. The first verse of the song discusses a gang member who only partakes in those activities in an attempt to receive validation from their peers, despite their comfortable upbringing. The song also touches on stay at home mothers, encouraging them to step outside of their comfort zones and reclaim their lives for themselves. Overall, the song intends to convince listeners to prioritize themselves and their desires. The voice of Chroma’s mother also returns this song, telling Chroma to “keep that s*** one hundred with [him].” The end of the song seems to be Chroma addressing himself and criticizing his own behavior, and trying to convince himself to take his own mask off.
‘Tomorrow’ – This song starts with Chroma’s mother asking him for a grandchild, telling him she only needs one. Chroma then begins talking about how his mother is getting older and how he wants to fulfill her desires, but the idea of having children stresses him out. He begins to talk about his friends; how they’ve begun to settle down, his conflicting feelings about his behavior, trying to procrastinate committing to settling down and starting a family.
‘Thought I was Dead’ – The album’s eleventh track is essentially Chroma talking about how he deals with scrutiny from his listeners, claiming that people focus too much on his past despite the growth he has undergone. He complains about the annoying qualities that people involved in the industry have and how he believes he is better than them despite their similarities.
‘Like Him’ – Starting with his mother telling Chroma how much he reminds her of his father, this song details Saint Chroma’s conflict with his absent father and his resemblance to him. Later in the song, Chroma explains that he is “chasing a ghost” by trying to win his father’s love and affection, missing it despite never having had it. The end of the song reveals that Chroma’s mother is actually the reason for his father’s absence, and that his father wanted to be there for him.
‘Balloon’ – Another upbeat song, Balloon consists of Chroma talking about how hard he works and his preferences for the real things in life, and his lack of desire for fake things and fake girls. Doechii then comes into the song, essentially mimicking the end of Chroma’s verse in a way that is true to herself, which is exactly what Chroma described himself as wanting in the first part of the song.
‘I Hope You Find Your Way Home’ – The closing song of the album, this song does just that. Containing callbacks from multiple songs on the album, the song tells of Chroma’s reasoning for feeling unprepared to have a child, his feelings of being different than everyone around him, in a positive way. The song ends with a woman talking about how proud she is of him, and how he never ceases to amaze her.
Overall, this album was well anticipated and did not disappoint. I would rate CHROMAKOPIA as a whole an 8.5/10.
