Landon Braaten

On October 28th, 2024, Tyler Okonma (better known as Tyler, the Creator) released his 8th studio album, CHROMAKOPIA. This album is an emotional roller coaster, revealing Tyler’s many personal issues to the world. This was arguably his most personal album; the songs actually touch on fears and problems he has with the way the world is. Everything: from the paranoia he feels from being a celebrity, to the many masks people wear in their lives, and even his issues with monogamist relationships. The album also brought a fresh surge of popularity to Tyler’s career, bringing in new fans and spreading his music farther. The Chromakopia World Tour is also his biggest tour to-date, and featured over sixty concerts. Many of these performances also featured songs from his latest album, DON’T TAP THE GLASS. 

The album consists of 14 songs, with an additional song on the Deluxe edition. The album follows the story of Tyler and St. Chroma, the title of the first track and the album’s alter ego. For most of Tyler’s albums, there is an alter ego that represents a facet of his personality. They are usually named after the album themselves (like Igor or Flowerboy) or have songs named after them (like St. Croma or Sir Baudelaire.) In this album, St. Chroma represents his childlike personality, bringing color into the world – hence his name. The songs in the album progress with Tyler slowly opening up, discussing more and more personal issues and problems. 

When asking Charlie Gibson about his views on Chromakopia, he said, “I think it shows more about Tyler’s and other’s viewpoints on life. The album’s songs go through different life experiences that he and many others experience, in order to bring them to attention. For example, the song ‘I Killed You.’ This song addresses the pressure that many Black people feel to tame their naturally curly hair, and the heritage that curly hair represents. I like listening to many different perspectives on life, and learning about things that people go through, because it widens my own perspective. Overall, It is one of my favorites and definitely one of Tyler’s best albums.” 

In my own personal opinion, I couldn’t agree more with Charlie. This album is a story of fear, paranoia, frustration, and truth. There is one song in particular, “Take Your Mask Off,” which focuses on people wearing metaphorical masks to hide their true selves. It tells the story of four people: the Thug, the Preacher, the Mother, and the Creator. The Thug is a young man who hides behind a mask of anger and misunderstanding, displaying a tough persona to hide the fact that he is actually cared for, only using the mask to seem tough and impressive. The Preacher tells the story of a man who hides his sexuality in favor of his religion. The song talks about how he knew he was different since he was a kid, but hid it so that the God he believes in wouldn’t ‘hate him.’ The Mother is a woman who wears a mask of happiness. She feels unfulfilled with her current life, only being a mother and a housewife, and she is experiencing suicidal ideation. The Creator is about Tyler himself. It discusses the fact that he feels like he is slowly losing his touch; that people care less and less about him and his music, and that he’ll be forgotten one day.

Other songs have significant lyrics too. For example, Noid. 

Noid (short for paranoid) is a song about the paranoia and fear that comes with being a celebrity, and the lengths fans will go to find celebrities. In Noid, Tyler says, “Privacy? Huh, yeah, right, I got a better shot in the NBA/Ain’t no respect for nothin’, voice recordin’ our discussions/ Her, him, they, them, or anybody, I don’t trust ’em at-/At all…” This shows his frustration and the overwhelming paranoia he has developed since becoming a celebrity.

The song is unfiltered, ditching wordplay and symbolism and talking about the issues straight-up. And this is only one example of the emotional significance that each song holds. Each song is in some way or another a confession of his inner turmoil and issues. CHROMAKOPIA  is overall an amazing album, and I cannot recommend it enough to people who have not listened to it.