As artists gradually take away the excitement of new albums and suck the life from their music, leave it to Tyler, The Creator to drum up attention and garner excitement for an incoming era. After suggesting he was not dropping new music anytime soon, he unexpectedly announced his eighth album, CHROMAKOPIA, just weeks before its release. Despite a shortened window, he’s managed, like previous albums, to create an entire world around his new direction, proving again his ability to stop time for himself. On Tyler’s latest release, his reign shows no signs of collapse; instead, he strengthens his chokehold on his cult, except now everyone is part of it.

To keep up with the quantum leaps he sees on every album, Tyler will also be touring worldwide starting next year. Kicking off early February in the U.S. with Lil Yachty and Paris Texas opening, he will play in LA at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, and 21.

A true jack of all trades

Being an artist who wears multiple hats means Tyler can flex his talents as a rapper, singer, producer, and arranger. In the same vein as “IGOR’S THEME,” “St. Chroma” is a fitting march and opener for what is undeniably Tyler’s biggest album yet, a sentiment that’s been repeated since Flower Boy but is nonetheless true for each release. Backed by heavenly vocals from Daniel Caesar, whose many appearances on CHROMAKOPIA make him the angelic guide, the abrasive breakdown blows whatever expectations anyone could have for Tyler and finds a message about loving one’s innate talent in the debris.

The track that most exemplifies his development comes in the second half. “Like Him,” a crushingly beautiful song about his absent father, is Tyler simultaneously at his most restrained and liberated. Primarily serving as a producer, he weaves contributions from Lola Young and Thundercat while showing off his gorgeous, soul-inflicted arrangements. Even in the lyrics, the simplicity of a line like, “Mama, I’m chasin’ a ghost / I don’t know who he is” is enough to signal his evolution on the subject from “Answer” off Wolf and his maturity as a songwriter.

At the same time, he often lets others have the spotlight like a true conductor. “Balloon” features the rare instance where another artist somehow matches Tyler’s energy and even outperforms him to a certain degree. Doechii — whose own album Alligator Bites Never Heal is a reaffirmation that creativity can still exist in hip-hop — makes an argument for herself as one of the most exciting rappers out with a verse firing off on all cylinders. Her delivery, on an unorthodox, bubbly beat no less, keeps rising with the song’s intensity, becoming more hungry and throwing out one-liners like “I don’t need you ’cause I already fuck me” and “I air this bitch out like a queef.”

Getting personal without exposing

As much as Tyler speaks about his own experiences on the album, he takes several opportunities to express his fears and values through others respectfully, particularly women. Both “Hey Jane” and “Judge Judy” are Tyler looking at life through the eyes of various women in his life, with the former literally seeing Tyler rap through the perspective of a woman he had an unexpected pregnancy with.

Aside from being among some of the most empathetic songs to come out this year, they stand out in his catalog for their willingness to touch on hard discussions people deal with on a day-to-day basis, whether it be not feeling ready to be a parent or withholding judgment over a partner’s sexual past.

That’s not to say he never talks about himself head-on. Lead single “Noid” dissects his relationship with fanaticism and feels he’s always being watched. While a tale as old as time for musicians of his caliber, the confrontational approach of the song punctuates how he’s never shied away from filtering himself or compromising for anybody, especially his most diehard fans. The last verse, in particular, ranks high in a career with many stellar verses, with highlights including him claiming to have a” better shot in the NBA” than at privacy and bluntly stating, “You sing along, but you don’t know me.”

Shakes up Top 3 conversation

Although he’s been careful not to pigeonhole himself into hip-hop for the majority of his career, having recently embraced it with his last album, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, Tyler backs up on many instances why he’s “The biggest out the city after Kenny, that’s a fact now,” on “Rah Tah Tah.” That track, sonically and energetically reminiscent of 2022’s “Come On, Let’s Go,” may lack a deeper meaning like other songs on CHROMAKOPIA, yet it more than makes up for that by simply letting Tyler hit hard on short verses before coming back on the fourth verse as if it were the final blow in a boxing match.

If there was any doubt he couldn’t stand his own next to other skilled lyricists, “Thought I Was Dead” kills that theory in the cradle. With a brief appearance from ScHoolboy Q, Tyler returns on the last verse once again to go after anyone and everyone, ranging from white rappers appropriating hip-hop to cancellation attempts. It’s far from an exhaustive list, but it gets his point across that few artists, rap or otherwise, have the same freedom he enjoys, where he can take a drastic pivot and not lose fans from whiplash.

Compared to Flower Boy, in which Tyler spoke about how he was feeling at the time, CHROMAKOPIA is what Tyler is thinking in his 30s, revealing himself in a way that expands upon past topics in his music. Narrators have become synonymous with each Tyler release for the past five years, previously granting DJ Drama and Jerrod Carmichael the honor. By choosing his mother, who often opens and closes tracks on the album, he opens himself up at a level that goes against the privacy he seeks on “Noid.”

However, that’s hardly a detriment, as it shows a complete emotional spectrum challenging to convey within 14 tracks. Like what he said in the first line on his breakout hit “Yonkers,” “I’m a fucking walking paradox,” in the best way possible.

Words: David Sosa

Visit Tyler, The Creator on his Instagram and website to stay updated on new releases and tickets to his upcoming tour, including LA shows at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, and 21.

North America Tour Dates:
* = Direct support from Lil Yachty
^ = Opening support from Paris Texas

2/4 – St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center *^
2/6 – Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum *^
2/8 – Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center *^
2/11 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena *^
2/14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena *^
2/17 – Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena *^
2/20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena *^
2/23 – Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center *^
2/24 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena *^
2/26 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center *^
2/28 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena *^
3/2 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena *^
3/5 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center *^
3/7 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena *^
3/9 – San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena San Diego *^
3/12 – Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center *^
3/15 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center *^
3/17 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center *^
3/19 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center *^
3/21 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena *^
3/22 – Orlando, FL @ Kia Center ^
3/24 – Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center ^
3/26 – Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center *^
3/28 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena *^
3/29 – Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center *^
4/1 – Washington, D.C. @ Capital One Arena *^
6/27 – Cincinnati, OH @ Heritage Bank Center *^
6/28 – Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse *^
6/30 – Chicago, IL @ United Center *^
7/3 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena *^
7/5 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center *^
7/8 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden *^
7/11 – Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena *^
7/12 – Raleigh, NC @ Lenovo Center *^
7/14 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden *^
7/17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center *^
7/22 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre *^
7/24 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena *^
7/27 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center *^