CHROMAKOPIA, Tyler Okonma’s (Tyler, The Creator’s real name) eighth studio album, is a breaking point in traditions. However, this did not happen by mere coincidence; Tyler had planned this release from the start.
How CHROMAKOPIA Came to Be
From Nov. 11 to Nov. 12, 2023, after three years without the famous Tyler-founded festival (started in 2012), Camp Flog Gnaw, returned with an astounding setlist of artists that represented California’s mainstream and underground music scene, from “The Hillbillies” (Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem), Beabadoobee and SZA to Fuerza Regida, Balming Tiger, Turnstile Cuco and much more. Throughout this festival, roughly 40,000 people were in attendance. One of these people was Nardwuar, the Human Serviette, a famous music journalist who has interviewed various artists, from grunge to hip-hop, and became known for having deep, almost familial, knowledge of his interviewee.
Nardwuar and Tyler have a deep relationship, and Nardwuar has interviewed Tyler since his early days as an artist. Their most recent interview was the same. The two embraced each other with laughter and excitement and the interview began. However, one question from the nearly 30-minute interview stood out to people the most. When asked about the release of music, Tyler said that he misses the days when music was released on Mondays. He felt that there was too much passive listening to music at parties and clubs. Sure, you notice the song and you’re experiencing it, but you lack the true envelopment in the artist’s message and appreciation of every aspect of the song or album.
So, on Oct. 28, 2024, CHROMAKOPIA was released to the public. In addition to the Monday release date, Tyler also broke one of his traditions. Looking back on his entire discography, all of the release dates for his albums were in odd-numbered years. 2011 was Goblin, 2013 was Wolf, 2015 was Cherry Bomb, 2017 was Flower Boy, 2019 was IGOR, 2021/2023 was CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST (with the deluxe version coming out in 2023), and finally CHROMAKOPIA in 2024. Yet another break in tradition.
Opinions on Returning Themes
When CHROMAKOPIA was released, it was immediately met with success and excitement from critics and fans alike. It was praised for its unique take on parenthood and maturity as we grow into ourselves. Songs like “Like Him” and “Hey Jane” explore such topics.
But some say it was a repetition of Tyler’s earlier works which came across as nostalgic for some. “I think the whole album for me was like a melding pot of all of Tyler’s past projects and all the different styles he’s kinda played with throughout his career,” said Jay Rishel, the Instructional Specialist for freshmen at Ida. B Wells High School. “We can hear echoes of Flower Boy in the synths, the traces of maturity/growing from CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, and heavy bass juxtaposed with airy vocals from Daniel Caesar and Donald “Childish Gambino” Glover of CHROMAKOPIA that reflected the dichotomy of pretty and ugly from the IGOR album.”
However, Gabe “Westpine” Stromberg, a junior at IBW had a different opinion on the returning sounds. “If I were to close my eyes, and you made me listen to songs from CHROMAKOPIA, IGOR, and Flower Boy and then asked me to differentiate them, I’d get confused. Don’t get me wrong, it was an amazing project, but I guess I was expecting something different.”
Final Thoughts
CHROMAKOPIA is Tyler, The Creator’s eighth studio album, though it isn’t simply another addition to his already unique discography. It summarizes his sound as an artist and his messaging as he touches on various parts of his life that he’s grown out of, that still haunt him, or that he’s hopeful for the future.
However, these returning themes impacted audiences differently; some enjoyed the recurring sounds, while others fear that he may become too repetitive. This begs the question: Has Tyler settled on a style exclusive to him? Or will this be the start of his downfall due to the lack of differentiation from his previous projects?
