CHROMAKOPIA: A Review

Will Foley

READING TIME: 4 MINUTES

Few artists in the realm of contemporary hip-hop can match Tyler, the Creator’s knack for innovation and reinvention. From the mischievous and transgressive chaos of his early career to the warm and soulful vibe of IGOR – Tyler has consistently kept his fans on their toes, “CHROMAKOPIA” is no different. With the announcement of the record, it was apparent that Tyler was looking to shift back to the darker tones found in his earlier work. We can see the vision by examining the album’s cover art, a masked Tyler in monochrome, eschewing the pastel pinks and baby blues of his last two releases. The darker tone is further exemplified in the album’s lead single, “Noid” which discusses the feeling of always being under surveillance as a celebrity and the paranoia that comes with it. Though unfortunately, despite the promise shown by the teasing morsels released by Tyler, the finished product ended up being a surprisingly boring record. That is not to say that it is a bad album, far from it, the production is at times warm and lush like “IGOR” while the more abrasive and in your face, tracks feel more like his 2021 release “Call Me If You Get Lost” but with darker elements in the instrumentation and lyrics. While there are moments of brilliance, the album ultimately struggles to maintain the cohesion and emotional weight found in his greatest works. 

CHROMAKOPIA album cover

To begin with the good bits, the album starts off very strong with a great three track run with “St. Chroma”, “Rah Tah Tah”, and “Noid”. The choir on “St. Chroma”, sings “can you feel the light inside? can you feel that fire?”, which fits the track’s name as it provides a heavenly feel. The song then descends from the heavens into a fuzzy beat with siren-like synths before ascending once again and ending on vocals from the choir. “Rah Tah Tah” drags the listener back down into darkness with a pounding instrumental driven by a noisy and distorted drumbeat, further enforcing the unsettling vibe introduced in the middle of “St. Chroma”. “Noid” is my personal favourite track on the album as it feels the most progressive in its sound compared to the other tracks. I feel like it embodies the themes of the album very effectively. The song also makes very good use of a deep cut sample from the zamrock band the Ngozi Family’s track “Nizakupanga Ngozi” off their album “45,000 Volts” which was used as the song’s beat and complimented by Thundercat’s excellent bass work.   

The song “Sticky” is intended to be the album’s “banger” and it fulfills its purpose effectively, though I feel like it really does not fit the vibe of this album. The track is sandwiched between Steve Lacy’s relaxed strumming and Tyler’s heartfelt crooning about a deceased former lover on “Judge Judy” and the groovy “Take Your Mask Off” with Tyler spitting some great bars over the sublime vocals of Daniel Caesar and LaToiya Williams. The sound of the song is very upbeat with Tyler, GloRilla, Sexyy Red, and Lil Wayne trading bars over a mildly annoying beat that features whistles and chants of “It’s gettin’ sticky” that are reminiscent of a sporting event of some kind. I am certain that this song would go crazy live but as a part of this album it really feels out of place, like it was a cut song from “Call Me If You Get Lost”.  

“Tomorrow” is incredibly boring, with a very passé sounding instrumental and guitarwork that feels like a (thankfully) cut track from “Igor”. The slightly creepy vibe picks up again on “Thought I was Dead” with an almost Waitsian instrumental, reminiscent of his song “Singapore” from “Rain Dogs” with its off-putting horns and stumbling beat. Tyler again loses the plot on “Like Him” which is a touching meditation on Tyler’s struggle with identity and his deadbeat dad, but again, this song feels out of step with the vision. Herein lies the problem, every other song feels out of place which can give the listener a sort of auditory whiplash. Ordinarily, this would not be such an issue as many other artists create LPs like compilation albums instead of cohesive organisms whose songs exist in a harmonious unity, which is what I would characterize Tyler’s last couple projects as.  

Overall, the album is not bad, there are some very good tracks, some mid tracks, and some completely forgettable tracks. If any other artist put this out, I probably would not have examined it with such a critical eye, but since I and Tyler’s fans have come to expect a certain standard of quality, this album misses the mark. I feel like as time goes on, this album will fade into the rearview and evaporate from the minds of fans as it already left the public consciousness months ago. But maybe, I will be wrong, and this work will be the dark horse of Tyler’s discography or a cult classic, lauded among fans but forgotten by everyone else.  

Click here to listen for yourself.

7.5/10 

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