An album that immediately begins with a Daniel Caesar feature? Sign me up.
With each Tyler, The Creator album release, I feel part of my frontal lobe develop. “CHROMAKOPIA” was no different.
The first track had been previewed days before its release on TikTok, featuring waves of choirs in the background of a harmonized melody. Listening to “St. Chroma” for the first time all the way through, however, was an out-of-body experience as the beats built and exploded to respectively support Tyler’s verses.
Following the spiritual experience that is “St. Chroma,” the next track immediately exposed Tyler’s ability to spit bars that had been previewed by the prior track. “Rah Tah Rah” spoke to my heavily subdued “nothing can touch me” persona. The first time I listened to this, I was walking back to my car with my headphones blasting, hitting the meanest strut down Campus Avenue. I highly recommend.
“Rah Tah Tah” seamlessly floats into the next track: “Noid.” This was the only song that had been released prior to the full album, therefore I already had my feelings on it. Personally, I felt that the inconsistency of styles and beats threw me off a bit in the beginning, although I’m sure Tyler had his artistic justification for these stylistic choices. The more this song progresses, the more I feel myself getting into it. Around two and a half minutes in, the song changes styles as the track incorporates a jazzy trumpet and piano in the background. Slowly, it builds back up in tempo and let me tell you. The BUILD UP. When the beat finally drops, while its duration is short, it is well worth the wait.
“Darling, I” showcased a familiar side of Tyler reminiscent of his previous “Flower Boy” era, with a bit more of an early 2000s hip-hop feel. At this point in the album, I was able to sit back and wind down from the high energy accumulated from the previous tracks. I have seen this song get reposted the most on social media, and the nice, feel-good groove absolutely justifies this. His flow in this particular song progresses beautifully. This song overall is extremely fun and enjoyable.
“Hey Jane” was a very solid track, definitely curated to highlight Tyler’s rapping. The backtrack and beat maintained a steady tempo and mood, which personally is not my favorite! I tend to enjoy surprises. This track specifically seems to resemble old Tylerc the Creator, highlighting Odd Future styles. In addition to its sound, it uses the lyrics to tell a very cohesive story, which I definitely do appreciate.
“I Killed You,” starts off with a fun intro. Tyler uses this track to rap over percussion and trumpets, so fun! While I enjoyed this track for my own personal reasons, especially when the beats switch about halfway through, this isn’t something I would play in the car with my friends if I had AUX privileges. The acapella at the end of this track was definitely an interesting choice.
Okay, now “Judge Judy” was one of my favorites on the album. This was such a fun story, such a fun melody, and the “DOGTOOTH” lyric reference was *chefs kiss*. I could definitely dance to this song in my kitchen while making breakfast to start my day off on a positive note. This song also seems to serve as an homage to his old “Flower Boy” style, with a bit more emphasis on Tyler’s raw vocals. I will, however, probably always skip the last minute of the song for reasons I will not disclose in a published article.
For a quick mood change, the next track takes a full 180. Jam-packed with powerful female artists, GloRilla and Sexyy Red, get prepared to let out your inner baddie with “Sticky”! Oh, but just wait for Lil Wayne to hop on the track. Soon thereafter, Tyler returns with a section of horns paired with a drumbeat that makes your body automatically move to its tempo. This song is extremely fun, high energy and so cohesive.
The next track, I immediately had to fall in love with, seeing as it features Daniel Caesar. “Take Your Mask Off,” is a beautiful melodic work of art, featuring harmonies from Mr. Caesar himself. Accompanied with piano riffs and background vocals, this song soothes the ears, lowers the heart rate and guarantees a pleasant listening experience. At this point in the album, I began to truly appreciate the intersection of classic instrumentation seamlessly combined with modern production styles that Tyler executes so well. This song might be one of my favorites, if not my favorite, on the entire album.
The next track, “Tomorrow,” was easily forgettable to me. I liked it! It wasn’t anything extraordinary to me.
I was SO excited to see that ScHoolboy Q was featured on the next track, “Thought I Was Dead.” He did not disappoint. This track featured a lot of horn instruments, which honestly was a little off-putting in the beginning. The second ScHoolboy Q entered, it was quickly forgotten. I was so hyped. I was astonished. I was bamboozled. His voice perfectly fused with the horns in the background. The features on this song honestly impressed me each and every time a new artist entered.
“Like Him” switched things up a little bit, starting off slow with a falsetto moment backed by a piano. This quick little ballad was also, upon the first listen, an out-of-body experience. The build up to the beat was slow, fruitful and rewarding. I adored this track and saved it to my songs immediately. After a quick moment of silence and a… Baby Keem adlib? We’re back to the final full-blown exit. This part lasts about one minute, and elicited an emotional reaction on my part. Maybe I’m being emotional, appreciative of the art, either way. This track is amazing!
Then Doechii enters the chat! “Balloon” was also one of my favorites on the album. My reaction to this song when I first heard it could not be replicated if I tried. I hit the meanest stank face I think I’ve ever hit once Doechii’s verse played. I won’t even dive too deep into why I appreciated the style of this song, I just loved Doechii and Tyler together. I loved the flow, I loved the beat paired with the harmonies in the background.
And, if you’ve made it this far, you’ve made it to my review of the final song: “I Hope You Find Your Way Home.” As a closing song, I understand the stylistic choices made. No different from the rest of the album, piano and harmonies filled my ears and sounded just so dreamy!
As a final closing statement, I have listened to every Tyler, The Creator album upon their release. I felt that this release may have been one of my favorites. 9.5/10.